1Review of laws and issues relating to landMirak Raheem

1 Purpose and MethodologyThis review seeks to provide a background document that will offer a general understanding of landissues for RajarataPrajaKendraya working in Anuradhapura. It will provide an overview on key landissues, focusing on land law, governance relating to land, challenges to women owning and accessingland and post-war issues. It is important to note that this review has been conducted through reviewingexisting literature and did not involve primary research nor does not look at related issues of agriculture,irrigation and the history of land use in Anurdhapura. The literature review includes a number ofpublications and the author made a number of efforts to identify other sources through internetsearches, questions to various individuals working on land and visiting key libraries.2 BackgroundAnurdhapura, which is part of the North-Central Province, is a district outside of the North and East thathas been most-affected by the conflict. It has often been described as a border area, yet the work doneon documenting the impact of the war, including on land issues is highly limited. Similarly while stateactors provide raw data on key statistics for the district, there have little new research that is publiclyavailable on land issues in the district. Anurdhapura has the highest population growth rate of all thedistricts in Sri Lanka, 1.33% and as of 2011 had a population of 855,562. Although it is the eighth mostpopulous district in the country, given the extensive land area in the district it ranks among the bottomsix in terms of population density.1Kebithigollewa with a population of 22,2272 located in the north-eastof the district is one of the DS divisions most affected by the war. Over the course of the 30-year oldconflict, villages in this division and in other areas of the district were attacked by Tamil militant groups,including on 15th June 2006 attack which killed 60 civilians near Kebithigollewa,3 and as a result of thisviolence and fear civilians have been displaced, suffered damages to their houses and communityinfrastructure and have had to endure loss of income and livelihoods among other impacts. While thepost-war context has offered an environment for communities to return and rebuild their lives, homesand livelihoods, as with other war-affected communities there are challenges they faced both resultingfrom the conflict or exacerbated by it that need to be addressed. Land is one such issue that needs to betackled.3 Types of Land Ownership and Land LawsLand falls into two broad category: that which is owned by the State and that which owned by privateindividuals and institutions. This section will set out the applicable laws relevant to land ownership. At

1 Department of Census and Statistics, Population of Sri Lanka by District, Census Population and Housing Data2011, pages 39, 42, 20122 Department of Census and Statistics, Population of Sri Lanka by Division, website of Department of Census andStatistics, http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=pop31&gp=Activities&tpl=33GaganiWeerakoon, Kebithigollewa Attack Condemned, Daily Mirror, June 16 2006

2the outset it needs to be noted that the Sri Lankan Constitution does not explicitly recognise a right toland. However, the Fundamental Rights Chapter contains provisions on the right to equality and nondiscrimination4 and the freedom of movement and the right to choose ones place of residence,5 amongothers. In addition The Directive Principles of StatePolicy further advocate the realisation by allcitizens of an adequate standard of living for themselves and theirfamilies, including adequate food,clothing and housing, and the continuous improvement of living conditions.6The cumulative effect of allthese provisions may suggest a right not to be arbitrarily denied the right to land, housing andproperty.7

State land ownership: The state provides land to private individuals or institutions through a variety ofschemes. For private individuals state land is given primarily through permits, grants and deeds whichprovide varying ownership rights. There are relevant laws that set of out procedures for granting land tostate actors. Even though grant or deed holders have greater rights over their land as compared to thosewith permits, there are conditions that restrict how the land can utilised. Given the misperceptions onland rights pertaining to state land there have been efforts by organisations to produce basic guides toexplain relevant laws and rights.8There are a number of relevant laws through which permits and grantscan be provided including State Lands Ordinance No 8 of 1947 (as amended),Land DevelopmentOrdinance No 19 of 1935 (as amended), Land Grants (Special Provisions) Act No 43 of 1979 and StateLand (Recovery of possession) Act No 7 of 1979.Private land: While there are a number of laws governing private land, the principle document to proveownership is a deed. Transaction relating to land, including sales, transfers and mortgages are only validif they are done by a document in writing which has been executed by a notary. It is important that adeed is registered at the district land registry. The Government is currently in the process ofimplementing a land titling system under the Registration of Title Act No. 21 of 1998 and theBimSaviyaprogramme which is a 10-year action plan to enable the registration of around 10 millionblocks of land in 332 divisional secretariat divisions and also to computerise related information,9 whichshould help simplify the process of identifying land ownership.As listed in CPAs Basic Guide to State and Private Land private land or property can be obtainedthrough a number of ways including purchase, prescription, inheritance among others.10In the contextof war the application of prescription can be complicated. Under the Prescription Ordinance No. 22 of1871individuals can secure ownership of land and other immovable property owned by someone else

4 Article 12(1) and 12(2)5 Article 14(1)(h)6Article 27(2)(d)7BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Eastern Province Politics, Policy and Conflict, CPA,May 2010, page 148 CPA, Basic Guide to State and Private Land, June 20119BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Eastern Province CPA, May 2010, page 74;See BimSaviyawebsite, page on progress date 6 December 2012http://www.bimsaviya.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=17&lang=en&limitstart=110 CPA, Basic Guide to State and Private Land, June 2011

3through prescription by proving undisturbed and uninterrupted possession for uninterrupted possessionover a minimum time period as ten years and a title that is adverse (i.e. a competing claim) orindependent of that of the other party.11 With regards to the North and East there have been requeststhat the Prescription Ordinance should be suspended for the duration of the conflict due to theextraordinary circumstances, including large-scale violence, displacement and a climate of fear andintimidation.12 In the reviewed literature there was no reference as to how the conflict had impactedsecondary land occupation and application of the Prescription Ordinance in Anurdhapura.There are legal provisions for temporary orders for possession under Chapter VII of the Primary CourtsProcedure Act No of 44 of 1979, which are referred to as Section 66 applications. The objective ofthese provisions is to settle minor disputes relating to land which result from breaches of the peacewithout resorting to civil courts.13 In a context of disaster, natural or man-made the application of thisprovision can prove unfair.14

Land owned by private individual and entities can be taken over by the State for a public purposeunder the Land Acquisition Act No. 9 of 1950. In a case before the Supreme Court, the Court held thatThe purpose of the Land Acquisition Act was to enable the State to take private land, in the exercise ofits right of eminent domain, to be used for a public purpose, for the common good, not to enable theState or State functionaries to take over private land for personal benefit or private revenge.15The Actdoes not specify that the Minister specify the public purpose.16 The Act aims to maintain proceduraldue process17 so sets out specific procedures that need to be followed for acquisition to move ahead,including notification to the owner/s of the land so that objections may be expressedand gazettting ofthe specific acquisition. The Act provides for compensation for the land acquired and an appeals processon compensation provided.18 The State passed the National Involuntary Resettlement Policy (NIRP) toaddress the social and economic impact of land acquisition for development purposes but it is not clearthat it has been used by Governments in dealing with all those who have been affected by landacquisitions for military and developmental purposes throughout the country.It needs to be noted that there are various other laws, including those specific to individualcommunities. The Sri Lankan legal system has incorporated indigenous personal laws includingTesawalamai (applying to Tamils who originate from the North, especially from Jaffna), Kandyan Law(applying to the descendents of Kandyan Sinhalese who were residing in the Kandyan Provinces before15th March 1815) and Muslim personal law (applying to all Muslims).19 All of these laws which seek to

11 Section 3 of Prescription Ordinance No. 22 of 187112 CPA, Land and Property Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, February 200313 COHRE, An Introduction to Housing and Land Laws in Sri Lanka, COHRE, 2007, page 6914BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Eastern Province CPA, May 2010, page 7715De Silva v. Atukorale, Minister of Lands, Irrigation and Mahaweli Development and Another [1993] 1 Sri LR 28316COHRE, An Introduction to Housing and Land Laws in Sri Lanka, COHRE, 2007, 5717COHRE, An Introduction to Housing and Land Laws in Sri Lanka, COHRE, 2007, 5818 Part II and III of the Act19 See Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena and Jayantha de Almeida Guneratne (ed), Is Land Just for Men? CritiquingDiscriminatory Laws, Regulations and Administrative Practices relating to Land and Property Rights of Women inSri Lanka, Law & Society Trust, September 2010

4protract to protect the traditional rights and customs of religious and ethnic groups20 have provisionsrelating to land ownership, particularly on issues relating to inheritance.4 Challenges Relating to Women Owning and Accessing LandIn general it needs to be noted that there are common problems that citizens, both men and womenface in accessing and owning land. In general landlessness is a problem that is often highlighted, yetaccording to government statistics 98.1% of households in the Anuradhapura District owned land.21There are additional problems such as lack of or loss documentation, poverty, intra-family and otherland disputes, and loss of lands to development project that limit or thwart civilians being able to fullyexercise their ownership rights. Among the variety of problems related to land issues, including legal,administrative and challenges on the ground relating to land, is the lack of awareness on land rights anddocuments is a serious issue and the need for awareness raising initiatives is also highlighted.22 Therehave been publications including in the form of leaflets or booklets to increase basic awareness onproduced by organisations such as COHRE, CENWOR, CPA and NRC, while other organisations andindividuals have researched specific aspects relating to land. Women, however face specific problemsand challenges.4.1 Discrimination in Law: The Sri Lankan Constitution guarantees equality to all its citizens underArticle 12 and even notes that special provisions should be taken to advance the status of women.Furthermore, Sri Lanka has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1981.23 Nonetheless, as a number of studies havehighlighted, in particular the work carried out by CENWOR, there are deficiencies in land law andpolicies that discriminate against women and a series of recommendation have been made.24 Thediscrimination in law and policy is also borne out in public perceptions, particularly that of women, ofhow land laws are viewed. CENWORs study Women and Land Rights in Irrigation Settlement Schemesin Sri Lanka looked at three case studies, including one relating to the Mahaweli Scheme andquestioned women on their land rights and provided some insight of the perception of men and womenin particular communities. There is a clear gender divide in terms of perceptions: 50% of women thoughtthat current laws relating to land rights in the settlement and inheritance of these lands were unfair towomen, while 30% thought that they were fair, as opposed to 60% of men who believed that they werefair.25

Key discriminatory laws relating to land include:

20BhavaniFonseka, Landmines and Land Rights in Sri Lanka, Geneva International Centre for HumanitarianDemining, August 201021 Central Bank, Report on Consumer Finances and Socio-Economic Survey of 2003/4,22 CPA, Womens Access to and Ownership of Land and Property in Batticaloa, Jaffna and the Vanni, September2005, page 6; CPA, BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Northern Province Post-War Politics, Policyand Practices, CPA, December 2011,page 4223 See CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation Settlement Schemes in Sri Lanka, CENWOR, StudySeries No. 35, 2006, page 824CENWOR,Proposals on Reform to State Land and Housing Legislation and Policy, March 200825CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation 2006, page 55

5Land Development Ordinance (LDO) The key problem in the LDO relates to the issue of succession.While the LDO does recognise the primary right of a spouse to succeed, there are restrictions if theowner does not nominate a successor. Some of the key problems in such a scenario faced by the spouseare that the spouse is not able to dispose of the land nor nominate successors as she/he chooses and ifthe spouse re-marriesshe/he will lose title.26 Given that the majority of persons to whom land has beengranted have been men,27 the assumption is that this issue largely impacts women. Under the ThirdSchedule of the LDO, sons are also advantaged over daughters in terms of succession, which clearlyviolates the principles of gender equality.28

Land Grants (Special Provisions) Act This Act contains a similar discriminatory provision in terms ofsuccession where a title holder does not nominate a successor, Section 10 which lists the list ofsuccession discriminates against female members of the family.29

A number of actors have made recommendations calling for reform of the law to remove genderdiscrimination in terms of succession and to introduce joint ownership.30 An amendment bill was putforward by the Ministry of Lands with regards to the first issue but this has not yet been passed.31 Onthe second issue the Attorney General has given an opinion that there are no problems for the conceptof joint ownership being introduced under the State Land Ordinance.32

4.2 Discrimination in Policy and Practice: It needs to be noted that it is not just the law, but in theimplementation of the law and policies the state can discriminate. As noted above the general practicehas been for men to be given ownership of the land by the state, rather than to women or for theproperty to be jointly owned.33 Field based research in the 1980s, especially in the new Mahaweliagricultural schemes indicated that women were not being allocated for land under the LDO becauseSchedule III, and the concept of male head of household were being interpreted by the officialsresponsible for issuing permits as indicating a preference for male applicants.34

Hence, even if the law is reformed there are other challenges to ensuring that women are able toexercise their right to ownership and land use, including being recognized as joint head or head ofhousehold. The tendency of state officers to grant ownership rights to male members of a family ratherthan women is a key point that is highlighted by a number of reports.35 As one report notes Thisstructure is founded on the hypothesis that a woman must necessarily derive her economic support26Under Section 48B (1). See also CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation page 18-19; KishaliPinto-Jayawardena and Jayantha de Almeida Guneratne, Is Land Just for Men?... 5627CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation 2006, page 1328CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation 2006, page 1529Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena and Jayantha de Almeida Guneratne, Is Land Just for Men?... September 2010, 84-530 CENWOR, Proposals on Reform to State Land page 131Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena and Jayantha de Almeida Guneratne, Is Land Just for Men?... September 2010, pages75-632 COHRE, Shadow Report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Sri Lanka, 48th Session, 17 January to 4 February 201133CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation 2006, page 13; Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena andJayantha de Almeida Guneratne, Is Land Just for Men?... September 2010, 5634 CENWOR Proposals on Reform to State Land page 135 CENWOR Proposals on Reform to State Land page 1

6from her husband and there is no necessity for her to have an independent means of income. It shouldbe noted that this contradicts the spirit of the laws on ownership of private property which recognisesthe right of a married women to her separate property36 and lived realities. Thus a keyrecommendation that has been made is that Common national guidelines on allocation of land andhousing in conformity with these norms should be developed to ensure uniform policy in the criticalareas of non discrimination equality. These guidelines should be followed by all State agencies allocatingland housing and especially in post natural disaster and conflict situations, displacement, urbandevelopment and slum clearance, and allocation of housing in the plantation sector.37

As highlighted in some studies, the discrimination in policy and implementation may be tied to otherissues including the tendency by the State and other key actors to undervalue the role of women asworkers and not just as home makers. Jayaweera points out that womens role in subsistenceagriculture has been largely unacknowledged and that they have been perceived as farm wives ratherthan as female farmers working in partnership with men.38Jayaweeras comment is in reference to theagricultural sector but it is reflective of challenges faced by women in society at large. Hence, in framinga response to issues such as the lack of womens rights to land ownership it is necessary to look atrelated issues such as land use. Taking into consideration the historically disadvantaged position ofwomen, it will not be sufficient to merely allocate land to them it will also be necessary to take proactivemeasures to bring them into the mainstream of the agricultural process.39

This also links to a larger societal issue of perceived gender roles and responsibilities. In a CENWORstudy, when male and female respondents were asked if it was more difficult for women to obtain landthan men 65% of women and 40% of men agreed. In explaining their response, a majority of the maleand female respondents noted that the head of the household should be male.40 This highlights asignificant issue in that the problem in societal practices and attitudes may be due to patriarchalviewpoints that women may also share. Hence, the challenge in perceptions and attitudes is not justwith key male-dominated institutions, including the judiciary and the legal practice,41 and communityleaders, but also of women themselves.Contrasting perceptions on womens equal rights and its application in the socio-economic context is akey challenge in the struggle for securing womens rights. There appears to be a lack of awarenessamong women of the equal rights of women or even arguably support for equal rights. In CENWORsstudy Women and Land Rights the largest proportion of female respondents (35%) felt that theywomen should be given ownership of land if they are left destitute, while 15% stated that it should bebecause women participate more in colonization activities than men and only 10% felt that womenwork equally with men and should have the same right. The male respondents adopted a more pro-equal rights stance than responding from a more socio-economic perspective, whereas women seem tohave taken a more a position based on vulnerability and need rather than equality. This results in36CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation 2006,page 1537 CENWOR, Proposals on Reform to State Land page 938 Quoted in CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation 2006, page 7239CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation 2006, 7340CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation 2006, page 4941BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Northern Province CPA, December 2011, page 114

7scenarios such as none of the respondents in the study felt that when the male head of household diesthe land should be provided to the widow, instead a majority (40%) believe that it should be to thewidow and children of both genders.42 As the author of the study notes men appear to value womenand their contribution to the family and the economy to a far greater extent than women dothemselves.43 Hence, even while there are clear discriminatory state and societal norms and practices,it is difficult to deny the agency of women in perpetuating these practices and beliefs.44

Due to social norms, many women take a back seat, letting the make family members play a moreactive role over land related issues, relegated by what is considered accepted behaviour and theresponsibilities of caring for children, even though the land may be written in the name of the women,as in the case of dowry land.45 Even while women may even claim they support equal rights, they maydefer claiming those rights from the male members of their families due to patriarchal societal attitudesand practices. This means that perceptions of equality are often complicated and not straightforward.46Given the number of awareness raising workshops on gender rights that have been carried out it wouldbe useful for both individual agencies engaged in such activities and sector leads to assess existing gapsboth in terms of easily accessible guides to understanding the issue, while highlighting the keyattitudinal obstacles to securing women their full rights to property and to using and accessing theirland. This is not to underemphasise the other challenges relating to accessing and utilising land thatwomen face. In addition it needs to be noted that even within a given community the ability of womento access their land will vary depending on a number of factors including income, social status, ethnicity,caste and specific vulnerabilities including female headed households, disabilities and age. While somework has been conducted on this,47 the impact of these multiple cleavages on accessing land is an areafor further research.5 Post-War Land Policy and LegislationLand is administered by a number of state actors. At the central government level there are a number ofministries in the large cabinet dealing with land but the most relevant line ministry is that of Land andLand Development but there are other ministries including the Ministries of Defence and UrbanDevelopment, Economic Development, Ports and Highways, and Irrigation and Water ResourceManagement, Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs which also play a significant role. Under the Ministryof Land there are a number of departments that have specific devoted to particular subject areas, someof which overlap.48

42CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation 2006, page 6143CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation 2006, page 5644CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation 2006, page 6745BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Northern Province CPA, December 2011, page 10946 A CENWOR study shows that a majority of respondents believe that the head of household should be male, anoverwhelming majority (95%) feel that women should not lose their inheritance rights if they marry and moveaway to another village (CamenaGuneratne Women and Land Rights in Irrigation page 67).47 CPA, Womens Access to and Ownership of Land and Property in Batticaloa, Jaffna and the Vanni, September200548 Some of the departments include: the Land Commissioner, the Department of Land Settlement, the Land Use

8At the district level the central government has a structure that is overseen by the district secretariat.The Divisional Secretariat (DS) has significant powers over land, which prior to decentralisaiton in the1990s were handled by the Government Agent (now District Secretary).49 A key actor involved in landissues is the Mahaweli Authority which is involved in the administration of land and irrigation in specificareas called systems.50 System L covers areas including Kebithigollewa DS division. The significant powerof the Authority over land issues is also borne out in public perceptions of the Mahaweli Authority.When having to explain why land owners could not leave their land to a person of their choice 81.3%respondents in a survey stated that the restrictions were due to laws and conditions specific to theMahaweli.51 There are also a number of elected bodies both at the provincial (the North CentralProvincial Council) and local level (urban councils and pradeshiyasabas), that also play a role in terms ofland issues.A key policy and governance issue that has come up in the post-war context is the consolidation of thepowers of key actors in the central government, including the Urban Development Authority over land,at the expense of other elected bodies such as provincial councils and local authorities. In the post-independence era there have been efforts to devolve and decentralise powers that were held by centralgovernment actors at higher levels to either lower levels of central government, including in the districtsor elected bodies but these have not always proved successful. While the Thirteenth Amendment to theConstitution created a provincial council system that would also have significant land powers, there hasbeen little done to ensure that provincial councils (PCs) are able to exercise substantive power on thissubject or even to establish National Land Commission which is meant to devise national landpolicy.52The current Government despite assurances that it seeks to empower local communities and toexamine power sharing models, has proposed legislation challenging the powers of the provincialcouncils over land issues.In 2011 the Government introduced the Town and CountryPlanning(Amendment)Bill that that wouldgrant the Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs significant powers to declare private lands inurban areas or along trunk roads as Protection Areas, Conservation Areas, Architectural or HistoricAreas and Sacred Areas. A key issue raised by some civil society actors was that the vagueterminology usedin the Bill could provide broad powers to the Minister to demarcate privateproperty asa specific area with no regulatory control, and may result in thedispossession of many of their privatelands.53In December 2011 the Government had to withdraw the amendment after the Supreme Courtdetermined that Provincial Councils had power over land issues and therefore the bill required the

Policy and Planning Division, the Survey Department and the Land Titling and Related Services Project.(BhavaniFonseka, Landmines and Land Rights in Sri Lanka, Geneva International Centre for HumanitarianDemining, August 2010)49 See for further detail BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Eastern Province CPA, May 2010,Report, Annex III, page 8350http://www.mahaweli.gov.lk/Other%20Pages/Systems/Maps/PMU%20systems%20with%20Dis%20B.jpg51CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation 2006, page 5352 See BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Northern Province CPA, December 2011, pages 22-27;BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Eastern Province CPA, May 2010, page 13-1653 CPA, Legal Framework Governing Places of Religious Worship in Sri Lanka, 30 April 2012, pages 5-6

9consent of Provincial Councils as laid out in the Thirteenth Amendment.54 Instead of the post-warcontext seeing the strengthening of devolution (powers and responsibilities being shared by the centrewith regional elected bodies), the powers of provincial councils are being eroded. This has a directimpact on long-term peace and democracy.If land use is effectively decided in Colombo, and localelected actors and ultimately communities are unable to influence this then it creates a sense ofpowerlessness and limits the space for public participation in governance and development.Dealing with complex post-war land issues in the North and East: The war had multiple impacts on landownership, use and administration, particularly in the Northern and Eastern provinces, which witnessedsome of the most intense fighting and mass displacement. In the post-war context this means that landissues in these two provinces are complex. As documented in a number of publications, key landproblems relating to the law include loss of land documents both by the land owners and relevantgovernment bodies responsible for administering the land; occupation of land by the military, police andother state actors; secondary occupation by other civilians; competing claims over properties;distribution of land by militant groups, including the LTTE during the war and even after, and confusionover land boundaries.55 There are a couple of reports that highlight problems faced by specific groupssuch as women;56 minorities57 and individual communities,58 however there is a paucity in terms ofavailable literature on both post-war governance and the current state of land. The literature on womenand conflict looking both at the international and Sri Lankan context highlights key points particularly onhow gender impacts at multiple levels including in dealing with the state, specific vulnerabilities,especially for female headed households, during flight, displacement and upon resettlement.59

In a post-war context displaced communities return and attempt to reclaim their land, while theadministration attempts to re-establish its writ, including on issues of state land. In terms of theliterature on the North and East, there is significant reference to these processes sometimescomplicating or even creating land problems.As noted above, published materials on the post-war landsituation in Anurdhapura is very limited, highlighting the need for more work on war-affectedcommunities in general and border districts specifically. The need for documentation that will examinethe scale and range of problems in districts such as Anurdhapura is much needed and could prove usefulfor feeding policy dialogue.

54NaminiWijedasa, Supreme Court determines land is a devolved subject coming under provincial councils,Lakbima, December 11 201155 See BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Northern Province CPA, December2011;BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Eastern Province CPA, May 2010.56 International Crisis Group, Sri Lanka Womens Insecurity in the North and East, December 201157 The Citizens Commission on Expulsion of Muslims from the Northern Province by the LTTE in October 1990,The Quest for Redemption: The Story of the Northern Muslims, November 2011.58BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, High Security Zone and Special Economic Zone, CPA, September 2009;Herman Kumara, Resettlement of the Mullikulam People: Whither Reconciliation and Peace in the country? Dateprovided.59 Sophia Elek, Choosing Rice Over Risk Rights, Resettlement & Displaced Women, Centre for the Study ofHuman Rights, University of Colombo, 2003

10

A key issue impacting the North and East but also other districts is military occupation of land. There areonly a few publications that document and comment on military occupation in detail.60 From theexisting literature it appears that there is lack of transparency on the part of the State with no clearinformation as to the actual extent of military occupation, or whether the military has followed thecorrect procedure to acquire the land and the necessity of so many military camps and of displacingcivilians for supposed military purposes in a post-war context. The impact of militarisation on women,both in terms of the occupation of land and the presence and influence of military on daily life, areissues that have been flagged especially in terms of the North and East, but requires greater attentionwith regards to Anurdhapura.Given the volume and intensity of these problems it was difficult for the normal systems of governanceand land administration, and the justice system to deal with these problems in the post-war context. Assuch, the Government introduced a number of measures specific to the North and East to deal with thissituation. The Government issued two circulars: one by the Ministry of Land and Land Development inFebruary 2011 to suspend all new land alienation apart from the Indian Housing Project and another bythe Land Commissioner Generals Department in June 2010 to cease issuing temporary landdocumentation.61 The Government also issued a land circular titled Regulating the Activities RegardingManagement of Lands in the Northern and Eastern Province (No: 2011/04) on July 22 2011 which setout government policy on both state and private land. The circular set out a process for addressing anumber of land problems including loss and damage to documentation, competing claims andlandlessness. While in its overall aim and specific components of the process was perceived as a positiveinitiative, it was also problematic, including the legal validity of the circular and the military involvementin the proposed land claims settlement process. The Circular was challenged in the Court of Appeal andthe Supreme Court in November 2011 and it was subsequently withdrawn by the Government.62 A newcircular was introduced in January 2013 titled Accelerated Programme on Solving Post Conflict StateLands Issues in the Northern and Eastern Provinces- Land Circular 2013/01. Overall the new circular isseen to have a number of improvements compared to the previous circular but there are problems,including its legal validity and the loss of lands due to state occupation and acquisition.63 Given that thisprocess is relatively new there are no publications on the implementation of this circular. However, themedia coverage on this subject has also been poor. With regards to Anurdhapura, the key question thatarises is whether existing procedures and processes are adequate to responding to war-relatedproblems or whether there is a need for additional processes, including in terms of awareness-raising onland rights and documents but also competing claim settlement, if this is a wide-spread issue in divisionsmost affected by the war.

60BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Northern Province CPA, December 2011, Chapter Ten onMilitarisation, pages 150-175.61BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Northern Province CPA, December 2011, page 5962BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Northern Province CPA, December 2011, page 6163BhavaniFonseka, LuwieGaneshathasan and Mirak Raheem, Commentary on The National Plan of Action toImplement the Recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, CPA, August 2012, page78

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List of ReferencesCentral Bank, Report on Consumer Finances and Socio-Economic Survey of 2003/4Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), Land and Property Rights of Internally Displaced Persons,February 2003CPA, Womens Access to and Ownership of Land and Property in Batticaloa, Jaffna and the Vanni,(Conducted in CARE Lift Villages), September 2005CPA, Basic Guide to State and Private Land, June 2011CPA, Legal Framework Governing Places of Religious Worship in Sri Lanka, 30 April 2012CPA, Note on Divineguma Bill, January 2013Centre for Womens Research (CENWOR), Proposals on Reform to State Land and Housing Legislationand Policy, March 2008Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), Post Tsunami: Women and their Right to OwnProperty, (No date)COHRE, An Introduction to Housing and Land Laws in Sri Lanka, COHRE, 2007COHRE, Shadow Report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination againstWomen Sri Lanka, 48th Session, 17 January to 4 February 2011Department of Census and Statistics, Population of Sri Lanka by District, Census Population and HousingData 2011, 2012Sophia Elek, Choosing Rice Over Risk Rights, Resettlement & Displaced Women, Centre for the Studyof Human Rights, University of Colombo, 2003BhavaniFonseka, Landmines and Land Rights in Sri Lanka, Geneva International Centre forHumanitarian Demining, August 2010BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Eastern Province Politics, Policy and Conflict, CPA,May 2010BhavaniFonseka and Mirak Raheem, Land in the Northern Province Post-War Politics, Policy andPractices, CPA, December 2011BhavaniFonseka, LuwieGaneshathasan and Mirak Raheem, Commentary on The National Plan of Actionto Implement the Recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, CPA, August2012CamenaGuneratne, Women and Land Rights in Irrigation Settlement Schemes in Sri Lanka, CENWOR,Study Series No. 35, 2006Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena and Jayantha de Almeida Guneratne (ed), Is Land Just for Men? CritiquingDiscriminatory Laws, Regulations and Administrative Practices relating to Land and Property Rights ofWomen in Sri Lanka, Law & Society Trust, September 2010