As is their right, last afternoon, the Park Rangers of the
Minneriya Park, arrested a fisherman, for loitering on the park grounds. The
fishermen are NOT allowed to go on land in the park grounds, they are permitted
at certain stipulated times to fish in the Minneriya Tank, and they can go
ashore on the bund side of the tank, that is out of the National Park Boundary.
Hundreds of fisherman and the local thugs surrounded the park
offices and beat up the Park Rangers doing their job and many have now been
hospitalized. There has been no action taken as of the following morning 8am,
why?
The law should hold for all, and if it is broken people
should be punished, and those defending the law should be protected from the
law.
Where is the police in taking action against the mob who beat
up the Park Officials who were just doing their job? Who is more important to
the police? Who are they trying to protect? Unless rules are enforced there is
no point in having rules for people to break thinking they are beyond the law.
It is a reminder to the general public that protecting the
National Park boundaries is an ongoing, extremely hazardous task left to the
minor staff of the DWC. They have to contend with Poachers, who leave traps
that can kill and maim park staff as well as anyone who happens to tread on
them. Then there are unauthorized cattle that stray into park lands that lead
to issues with DWC staff reprimanding the owners to keep their livestock away.
Elephants don’t like to eat grass grazed upon already by domestic cattle. Then
there are the fishermen who have strict rules to adhere to, with regard to
balancing the Park property with their own livelihood as fresh water fisherman.
As part of the latter balancing act, where no one is allowed
to even get down from their vehicles when in the Park, except in a few
permitted places, it is alarming to see fisherman nonchalantly whizzing by in
the bikes with their fishing tackle and catch inside the park.
No one wants to interfere, “the ALMIGHTY vote BANK seems to
be the threat they face”. Don’t forget the park staff are mere employees from
all parts of the Country. The fisherman are a local vote bank to which the
local politician plays pandam, and the local police are in hock with for all
the sins in creation. The DWC is isolated unless, they have their own security force
to protect their property! How’s that for a suggestion?
A literal TURF WAR. Appreciate
the real threat that the Island with the greatest biodiversity on the planet
faces from its own citizens, who just don’t care, in this protection of their own
from the law, to them to hell with Biodiversity!
4 comments:
Turf War - I understand that Sarath Fonseka wants the Dads Army of Civil Security to be assigned to protect the DWC. This lot are local kids, who don't want to mess with local thugs, and so are not going to enforce the law. So they are the wrong people for the security our wildlife needs from our very uncaring people in this pretend to be Buddhist Country.
Of course I am generalizing, as there are always exceptions to the rule in these situations too. However the first rule of a civilized country is an impartial police force and judiciary. That sadly is a long way off in Sri Lanka, so along too for it to be civilized country.
Let's hope we can get some civilized people to lead us to begin with before the guttersnipes ruin what is gradually disappearing
This is just a protection racket by the fishermen exerting their rights to do what they want. No difference to the protection racket of the GMOA who think they are running the Country. We just need strong leadership to tell them where to get off. Just remand the top brass of the GMOA on treachery and then order will be restored.
When people use their collective bargaining to for treasonable activity, which is break the law and have no regard for the law, the law has to come down hard.
No use imprisoning Bodu Bala Galaboda for contempt of court, if worse traitors like the GMOA are not treated likewise. Padeniya is merely an acolyte for Mahinda and so both should be accused and incarcerated and the rest will just fall into line. They are all traitors
More important the the humans who reside today in Sri Lanka are the humans who will reside in Sri Lanka in 50 years time. So in order to preserve our bio diversity, we need a powerful Ministry not answerable to the people who have serious powers over the environment.
DWC along with the Forest Department and Waterways, and ALL reservation land that exceed all Forest and Wildlife Parks should be part of this overall czar that will control about one third of the Country.
First thing is for their land to be clearly alienated with everyone knowing whose it is and no one will dare BUT adhere to the rules set out by this Ministry for everything that takes place within their jurisdiction.
The problem today, is no one knows who owns what, and so every bit of land, scrub or cultivated is exploited and wasted, ruined, garbaged and so on and so forth. There is just no one in charge or no one we can complain to about preserving our environment.
Let all the jokers in SL play any political game they want as long as our environment is preserved for the future generations and when we know that is inviolable, then there will be grudging respect for what they wish to do as all they want is to preserve SL for the future.
In today's context SL will not last 50 more years and people are arguing about freehold or leasehold or 99 years, when the Country will not survive that long
You forgot to mention the biggest threat against the beleaguered and understaffed DWC, that if the HEC or human elephant conflict, where there are incidents daily and the DWC staff who have nothing to do with blamed all the time, just because the people cannot guard their property against elephants as they have encroached into territory that is not theirs and blame the elephants for interfering.
I have known cases where farmers have taken their angst against the DWC minor staff, as the first people on the scene, instead of appreciating the enormous challenge they face in balancing the rights of the animals against the humans who honestly believe they have been wronged, without knowing how to protect their property against the elephant threat that has been there for thousands of years but is now a problem! Why?
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