The tragedy at Meeriyabedde estate in the Huldumulla Division on 29th October, 2014 has killed scores of up-country men, women and children. It has displaced hundreds of families from their homes and has forced them to take shelter in other places. It has created panic among thousands of vulnerable families in the hill country area.
We express our deepest condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones. We share the pain of those families whose members are trapped in the landslide and are considered missing. Our heart felt sympathies are also with those who have been injured, those that have lost their houses and all their belongings and are currently in IDP camps with uncertainty about their future.
We are heartened by the outpouring of grief expressed by people of Sri Lanka and the relief assistance that has been arriving from several parts of the country to the survivors. We appreciate the efforts of officials and agencies that are taking care of the survivors. The grief due to such tragedy is shared by people across ethnic and religious divides and is indicative of the common humanity that binds us all together. Such natural disasters also forces us to think about caring for our environment.
But we are outraged by the fact that this was a completely avoidable tragedy. If the government and the relevant officials had intervened and taken appropriate action in a timely manner, the people would have been saved from this tragedy. We blame the government and the plantation company (Maskeliya Plantations of the Richard Peiris Group) for their callousness and criminal negligence. We hold the Government and the Plantation Company responsible for the deaths of these upcountry women, men and children.
We endorse the ‘8 point demand’
articulated by the directly affected community and would like to see that their
voice is heard and responded to by the Government.
We believe that the scale of the loss was directly a result
of the political, economic and social marginalization of the up-country Tamil
people. As long as they remain a discriminated segment of the population that
the Government of Sri Lanka doesn’t take full responsibility for and ensures
that they are treated equally in terms of land, housing and other rights the
situation will not improve. Meeriyabedde should be taken as a wake-up call to
ensure equality.
We are shocked and outraged by the lack of action by the
government despite clear and persistent warnings for nearly a decade. Though
the risk of landslide and areas vulnerable had been identified as early as 2005
and in several subsequent assessments by NBRO – the preventive and mitigation
actions had not been taken resulting in the deaths and destruction. We deplore
the shifting of blame to one department or the other and demand that the
Government takes responsibility and immediate disciplinary action against those
who had not done their jobs over the period. We are distressed that the
threat potential and evacuation orders even in the last days were not
communicated to the vulnerable people with required urgency. We deplore the
ignorant statements by certain ministers and officials to blame the victims for
the disaster.
We condemn the Plantation Company for their continued and
criminal negligence. This is indicative of the disregard for the lives and
welfare of workers who have toiled for generations in these estates to enrich
its owners and the country. We are shocked at their denial of knowledge of
landslide risk and other lies when there is clear evidence to the contrary.
Their refusal to face the affected people and the media and assume
responsibility for their actions is contemptible. We are yet to see a public statement
from the Company regarding the tragedy. Unless the company steps up to their
responsibility we will be compelled to reach out the buyers of their products
and the consumers to raise this issue.
We demand that the Government and the
Company immediately announce and implement plans for compensation for loss of
lives, livelihoods and property and safe relocation and resettlement for the
affected families. We ask that safe lands be identified in proximate locations
that will enable the families to continue their livelihoods and resources be
allocated for constructing houses that are at least of the same standard as the
ones being given to war-affected families.
We demand the land and housing promised for
upcountry Tamils in the national budgets of 2012 and 2014 be adequately
resourced and implemented. We note with dismay that despite grand promises not
a single cent has been actually allocated for the purpose.
We have no confidence in the police inquiry announced by the
President. We demand that an impartial inquiry team consisting of
professionals, including members from the up-country Tamils and experts in
disaster risks be appointed, be given a specific time frame and the report be
made public.
We also demand that a more wider
disaster risk reduction action plan covering the up-country area is developed
in consultation with the experts and vulnerable communities and is followed
through as a national priority. We ask that the
leaders representing the plantation community call for a special session in the
Parliament to deliberate and decide on this.
While we are heartened by the relief
efforts we have concerns regarding the immediate rescue operations, subsequent
search operations and resettlement activities:
The inability to even ascertain the number of deaths and missing
even after five days with any degree of certainty and the irresponsible,
insensitive and wildly varying accounts by the Minister of Disaster Management,
no less, is indicative of the collective disregard for the up-country Tamil
people. Correct information about deaths and missing should be communicated
clearly through the media channels on a regular basis in a responsible and
sensitive manner.
The search operations are being conducted solely by the
Army, Navy and Air force. It has been very slow and done haltingly. There is no
sense of urgency. There is no indication that specialized equipment or
expertize is being utilized. The people from the area – who are very conversant
with the terrain and are experienced in working in these mountains – are not
being utilized. It is a sad indictment that the community that is most
experienced and knowledgeable about the terrain has to stand by and watch young
recruits from military with little experience are used to conduct digging operations.
It is an internationally accepted norm that technical assistance should be
sought globally in such disasters and that the community be involved in the
post-disaster decision making.
The families are keen that the operation be continued till
the fate of the last person is established and bodies are accounted for. They
fear that the search may be discontinued. It is imperative that the authorities
involve the affected community and provide them with regular updates on the
progress of the search operation.
The management of the relief camps should be completely left
to the civilian authorities and military should not have any role. Ensuring a
safe environment in and around the camps should be the responsibility of
Police.
The military using the temple premises as their operational
command, though may have been necessary at the beginning, should now be changed
in order to restore the sanctity of the shrine. They should move out of the
temple.
The management of the camps and the responders are almost
exclusively Sinhala speaking with little bilingual ability whereas the affected
community is tamil speaking with bilingual ability. It is important that when
dealing with needs assessment, counseling, consultation and communication on
future course of action etc that it be done in the language that the affected
community is most conversant with.
The affected families should be given freedom of movement
and be able to meet and interact with their friends and relatives freely.
The families in the displacement shelters must be given full
information as to the next steps. Where will they be moved from the schools? What
is the transitional arrangement? Does that meet adequate standards? Will they
be able to go back to their old places? Where will land be allocated and is it
agreeable to them? When will land be allocated and when will houses be built?
Lessons from previous disasters in terms of camp management
and resettlement should be adopted when dealing with the affected community.
Particular attention should be paid to ensure that women are involved in
decision-making and the concerns of women and children are adequately
incorporated in the relief and resettlement activities.
