The planters strongly condemn the behavior of Jeevan Thondaman, Minister of Estate Infrastructure, who entered the Ratthawatte estate with armed guards and behaved with illegal and indecent behavior without an accurate and responsible assessment of the incident. A letter has been sent to the President. (Sri Lanka Latest News)
The planters have told the President that there is an urgent need to reveal the truth about the incident at Ratwatte Estate, an institution under the Alkaduwa Plantation Company Limited, and that the plantation sector has been exposed to danger without justice being done against the open land robbery with political power on the eve of an election. .
They say this incident is not an isolated incident. They inform the President that this is a terror created by a few politicians by preventing the estate managers from performing their duties in an accountable manner and that the video evidence that is widely circulating on the internet confirms this conflict.
Dhammika Kobbekaduwa, a member of the association, wrote to the President on behalf of the planters that the person who made the temporary construction of the Ratwatte estate created this crisis and this person is an outsider who does not belong to the Ratwatte estate community and is not a resident employee of the estate.
In this letter, the planters inform the President that they acted in an extremely legal and responsible manner and that the Plantation Superintendent first made a formal complaint to the police regarding this illegal resident.
According to the letter, when the police brought this person and the estate management authority to inquire, this person accepted the situation and agreed to remove the unauthorized construction and leave the land.
After a few days, when the estate superintendent asked this person about not leaving, he behaved provocatively and called in vulgar language, and the situation took an unexpected turn and it has been pushed to another dimension.
The planters point out that this situation requires a clarification of the role of responsibility for a government estate manager in relation to the custodial rights related to the state.
They point out that an estate manager is legally bound to establish ownership of land within the scope of estate companies.
The Estate Controllers point out to the President that such an illegal invasion which takes place on the eve of an election cycle has tragically escalated into a conflict with Minister Jeevan.
The planters informed the President that Minister Thondaman and six armed members of the Minister’s security team had put a lot of pressure on the General Manager of Alkaduwa Plantation Company, Suresh Navatharannam, who had gone to explain his duties on the instructions of the President.
They explain to the President that during the Minister’s visit, Suresh Navaratnam was there to explain the incident with responsibility, and that an early intervention was necessary to prevent a catastrophic outcome from the direct threat of Minister Thondaman.
“This incident has plunged us into the unsettling darkness of a recurring pattern of intimidation and violence.
We respectfully request you to curtail this behavior in the estate sector and to increase efforts to develop contemporary political ethics and establish justice and equality through the principle of subjecting all to the rule of law.” Its member Dhammika Kobbekaduwa wrote to the President on behalf of the planters.
Plantation leaders tell the President that the invasion of government-owned plantations by outsiders affiliated with a specific politics not only destroys the integrity of plantations, but also destabilizes local communities.
They call on the President to protect the principles of impartiality and justice, and that a thorough investigation is necessary, and given his strong loyalty to the rule of law, to protect it.
The Ratwatte plantation incident underscores the dire need for accountability and an impartial investigation and the committee’s purview should include a detailed investigation, revealing the truth, identifying the parties responsible for the conflict and establishing a transparent legal framework to prevent such situations from reoccurring, plantation leaders said. The President is informed.
