Sri Lanka Is Not For Sale

Today we see a tendency that the State mechanism has created room for selling lands and resources to large scale private enterprises. This has not only posed a threat to the forest cover but also to the coastal resources. Most ongoing development strategies seemed to be based on this.

- Nishantha Hewage

Intending to build public opinion against the foreign private enterprises taking over lands on a large scale and causing an irreversible impact on the environment, a forum named ‘Our Land is Not For Sale’ was formed recently with the participation of environmental activists and other civil groups movements in collaboration with the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR).

NEED FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION

“It is necessary that all concerned citizens and organisations work together to overcome challenges related to the environment. Today we rally here, as a first step to oppose the foreign private companies taking over our lands,” said Rev. Fr. Rohan Silva, the Director of the CSR. He said there was a need to remind the responsible authorities of the great saying by Mihidu Thera: “we’re only caretakers of Earth, not its owners. We must protect it for our children.”