Sri Lankan plantation workers have been struggling for 60 years demanding civil rights, MP M. Thilakaraj said. The estate people of this country have dedicated their lives for 60 years to obtain the citizenship of this country, he stated.
He says that the plantation workers who were brought to Sri Lanka as hired laborers during the British rule in 1815-1820 have been tortured ever since and the British rulers at the time were mainly responsible for this.
He points out that although the people of this country were given universal suffrage in 1931, these plantation workers were tortured for the second time in 1948 when Sri Lanka gained independence. That was the first local election held in 1948 to call all Sri Lankans in this country except those of Indian descent.
Mr. Tilakaraj points out that no action was taken to include these people in the Gam Sabha and give them a civic right, except as estate people.
From then until 2009, the people of these estates fought for their citizenship and even though they were granted citizenship, the relevant laws are still not being implemented in practice, he said.
He says that these communities should also be included in the Gam Sabha inter-governmental system and these communities should be taken out of the torment they are still suffering from. He further stated that they should be given the rights of all Sri Lankans by giving them an opportunity to resolve their legal issues.
He was speaking at a discussion organized by the Right to Life Human Rights Organization’s Nuwara Eliya Human Rights First Aid Center on the issue of torture faced by the plantation workers’ community.
This was organized by Human Rights Defenders including Mr. A. Selavaraj, Coordinator, Human Rights First Aid Center, Nuwara Eliya, on occasion of International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
Basil Fernando, Attorney-at-Law, Dulan Dasanayake, Attorney-at-Law and Philip Dissanayake, Attorney-at-Law, Chairman of the Asian Human Rights Commission also engaged in this discussion.
Lakshan Fernando, Attorney-at-Law conducted the discussion in Sinhala and A. Selavaraj conducted the discussion in Tamil.
– Shani