Anyone can buy property in Jaffna

I wish to broaden the scope of this column to include discussion about issues concerning the Sri Lankan Tamil problem raised by the readers. Till now I took note of the comments the readers mailed and dealt with them in the column. From now, I will interact directly/ Vipulanda Sivakumaran, a journalist from Bharain who called last week’s column excellent and timely hoped that decision makers would take note of it and build up the unity of the country, But another Tamil reader, he withheld his name, doubts whether the elated Sinhala Buddhists would allow President Mahinda Rajapaksa to accommodate Tamil aspirations. He says the situations that existed after the passage of the Sinhala Only Act and now, are similar.
His doubt is based on the experience of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. A delegation of prominent Tamils and Muslims led by Sir Arunachalam Mahadeva met Bandaranaike at his Rosmead Place residence and requested: “Now that you have honoured the promise you gave the Sinhala people please look at the possibility of giving the Tamil language its place.”
L.H. Methananda, a prominent Sinhala extremist who was present replied: “The mandate we got was to make Sinhala the official language.”
Dr. M.C.M. Kaleel, a member of the delegation, said, “We want a reply from the Prime Minister.”
Buddharakita Thero who was also present: “What Methananda said is the position of the government.”
All that Bandaranaike could say was: “That is correct.”
He had unleashed the forces that controlled him. But when Bandaranaike gathered strength to enter into an agreement with Federal Party leader S.J.V. Chelvanayakam, the UNP led by J.R. Jayewardene agitated and made him to abrogate it. But Bandaranaike enacted the Reasonable Use of Tamil Act. He was then murdered.
The situation now is different in two respects: President Rajapaksa is the decision maker and the UNP has promised not to disrupt a solution. The solution depends solely on President Rajapaksa.
Neomal Abeywardene has raised two basic points. He says that the displaced persons housed in the camps are not treated badly. That differs from the information we get daily from the visitors to the camp. To sum up the situation effectively I can only quote TULF president V. Anandasangaree’s comment: “horrible.” This column is not finding fault but is trying to press for improvement.
One of my friends who went yesterday to see his relatives said, “They have not been given clothes and the food they get is unfit to eat.”  He said everything is available in the camps at double the cost. Who is making money?
Neomal also mentioned about the belief held by the Sinhalese that they cannot buy land in the Jaffna peninsula. They believe that Thesavalamai law forbids the sale of land to the Sinhalese. That was the result of the wrong Sinhala extremist propaganda.:
A Sinhala journalist asked this question from Mahawali and Lands Minister Gamini Dissanayake about 25 years ago. I was also there to cover the press conference for the Daily News. The minister turned to me and asked me to explain the actual situation.
The following is the summary of my answer:
“Sri Lanka has a highly complex mixture of Roman- Dutch Law, English Common Law and customary or personal laws. When the Portuguese landed in Sri Lanka they found the western and southern portion of the country was ruled by the Kotte Kingdom; the northeastern portion by the Jaffna Kingdom and the hill country by the Kandyan kingdom.
The Portuguese who brought Kotte and Jaffna kingdoms under their control allowed the people of those regions to continue their administration. But the Dutch who introduced their system of courts introduced the Roman- Dutch Law wherever the local customs were not clear. Thus the Roman- Dutch Law became the general law of Sri Lanka. But the Dutch permitted Thesavalamai to continue and codified it in 1707.
The British who succeeded the Dutch introduced their own system of courts allowing the existing legal systems to continue and introduced the English common law through statues. Thus English Law forms the statutory law of the country.  The British too permitted Thesavalamai to continue and allowed the Muslims to continue to be governed by their laws and customs. Following the conquest of the Kandyan Kingdom the British allowed the people of Kandyan origin to follow their customs and practices.
Thus Kandyan Law, Muslim Law and Thesavalamai are still followed in Sri Lanka. They are mainly concerned about marriage and property.
  The Kandyan Law which applies to people of Kandyan origin relates to marriage, divorce, and interstate succession. Kandyans are free to choose to follow the Kandyan or general law.
Muslim Laws apply to all Muslims in Sri Lanka. When a Muslim marries another Muslim, the bride and the groom are governed by the Muslim Law. Marriage, divorce and other related issues involving Muslims are governed by the Marriage and Divorce (Muslim) Act, no.13 of 1951, and any subsequent amendments.
The Thesawalamai is based on the ancient customs of the Tamils of the Northern Jaffna province. It applies to Tamil inhabitants of the Jaffna Peninsula. It relates to property and interstate succession resulting from marriage. It is intended to protect and conserve the ancestral family property. Anyone who wants to sell his inherited property should give his parents, brothers and sisters the option to buy it. If they are not willing to buy it or are unwilling to pay the current market price the seller is free to sell it to those outside the family.
Then the buyer can be other Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims or even foreigners. So I offered to sell my property with the consent of my brother and sister to the reporter who asked the question or to any other Sinhalese. There were no takers. Neomal, the offer is open to you also.”
Since I gave that explanation an important change had occurred. The Supreme Court had ruled in 1988 in the case Sivagnanalingam v. Suntheralingam that Thesavalamai is a personal law and applies to the Tamils of Jaffna origin wherever they live in Sri Lanka. According to that decision if I possess an ancestral property in Wellawatte I must give the first option to my sister and brother before I sell it to others. So, Neomal please erase that misconception from your mind.