Political and Internal Developments

Land has always been a source of conflict not just between individuals or communities but also between countries. Tamils' fight for land rights Sri Lankan North is no exception and it remains one of the bones of contention in resolving the ethnic discord.

Recently Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs E. Saravanapavan and Suresh Premachandran charged that 'Sinhalese colonisation was taking place in the North' and plans were underway to set up a Sinhalese Divisional Secretariat in the Mullaitivu District. But the government vehemently denied the claim and stated that not a single Sinhala family is settled in the North till date. On the other hand, the government has requested the Tamils who have gone abroad for various reasons and not visited their agricultural land and residential land in the Northern Region for several decades, to apply for new deeds. At the same time, the government is unable to settle land disputes for want of cohesive mechanism in the Northern and Eastern Provinces even two years after the end of the conflict, and many owners are yet to regain their land.

Although the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government and majority Sinhalas are against devolving land and police powers to Tamils in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, Deputy Minister of Child Development and Women’s Affairs A. L. M. Hisbullah called for land powers to be devolved to the North and East in an interview with The Island. He stated that 'it was alright granting North and East administrations control over land, since it was over two years since the LTTE had been defeated. There was nothing wrong in devolution per se, within a unitary State'. On the issue of granting police powers in terms of 13th Amendment, he said that it was 'too early to do that'. Further, the National languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara told in an interview to the same paper recently that community and traffic police powers could be devolved. These comments from incumbent ministers have created an uneasy situation for the Rajapaksa led government.

Despite the claims and counter-claims over land rights and title disputes, the Sri Lankan government asserts that around 12,000 hectares of de-mined land were brought under cultivation in Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Jaffna after the war. Further, additional 478 hectares of land have been allotted for cultivation in de-mined areas for paddy and other crops. However, though farmers in Mullaitivu had begun to cultivate lands since last year, the government is yet to transfer the ownership of the lands to them.

As in line with post-war restructuring, the national education system in Sri Lanka will undergo a complete overhaul for the first time since independence when the new Education Bill which was passed in December will be implemented from next year onwards. The far reaching reforms were based on the proposals submitted by the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Education Reforms (PSSCER) and covering all aspects of national education school curriculum, examinations, teachers hand book, examination assessments, grading of schools, teacher recruitment, transfers and promotions, teacher training, private education, private and international schools, and among others the entrance to grade one, five, and twelve. Since Sri Lanka requires considerable investment; well-qualified teachers and educational experience to improve its education system, it offers an opportunity for Indian educational institutions to set up campuses there, though some have already established.

Foreign Relations

Sri Lanka has appointed Ranjith Uyangoda as its new ambassador to China. Further, Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to recognise newly independent China.

The controversial five star hotel project undertaken by the China Aviation Technology Import-Export Corporation (CATIC) has started off. As Sri Lanka is expecting to attract more than 2.5 million tourists by 2015, it has begun to sell and lease out land for development in several areas of the country. After the successful sale of 10 acres facing the Gall Face green to Shangri-La at US$ 125 million, CATIC followed with a proposal to invest US$ 136 million on property close to what was sold to Shangri La. However, the government recently rejected CATIC’s offer to buy the land and is offering instead to lease out the property for 99 years. The project was criticised for lack of transparency and CATIC is a military equipment producer rather than a hotel operator.

Relations with India

The never ending saga of Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen has added another footnote recently. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Fisheries informed that 12 Sri Lankan fishermen from Trincomalee and Dickwella who had crossed into Indian waters for fishing had been apprehended by the Indian Coast Guard. These fishermen had been taken into custody a few days ago near the Andhra Pradesh coast and they are presently detained at a prison in Andhra Pradesh. The Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka based in Chennai are presently negotiating with the Indian authorities to secure the early release of these fishermen.

India's increasing co-operation and engagement with Sri Lankan armed forces received a boost of late. The Indian Navy and Sri Lankan Navy had joint staff level talks about taking preventive measures to curb potential threats of drug trafficking, arms and human smuggling in Palk Bay and Palk Straits and to enhance maritime security. They mainly focused on operational and training as well as logistics and technical matters concerning the two navies. A wide range of issues of bilateral importance were also discussed with a view to strengthen the friendly ties between the Navies of the two neighbouring countries.

The Sri Lankans are in a predicament these days whether to call the Indian housing project Goebbelsian or building castles in the air. The government of India has promised to build 50,000 houses for the displaced and war affected in the areas of their choice in Sri Lanka'd North. Not even a single house has been built so far. Though the last foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, had stated that one hundred houses would be ready by the end of July.