Sri Lankan Catholics protest to save fishing families threatened by mega tourism project

(June 15, 2011) In Sri Lanka, more than 300 villagers, including priests, organized a silent protest at Mohoth-thu- waram island in Kalpitiya recently, to protect fishing families threatened with beach developments for tourism. Fr. Vincent Anthony Jeyarasa, of Our Lady of Good Voyage church in Kalpitiya, claimed that land belonging to the church had been appropriated and sand excavated for drainage was blocking access to the church. And Fr. Abraham Barnaba, director of Caritas Chilaw, said: “We could not find original land titles to show our ownership, even though some of our villagers went to the relevant authority in search of it.” Protesters believe private developers are hiding the original land documents. “They should respect our religious
Rights”, said Dinesh Suranjan Fernando, general secretary of the All Ceylon Fisher Folk Union. The project, as proposed by the government will affect 14 islands in the northwestern coastal area of Kalpitiya. More than 10,000 people there, depend on fishing for their livelihood.
A report of a group of foreign human rights activists, who visited the area at the beginning of June said this mega tourism project involving the islands of northwestern Kalpitiya is important for the economy of Sri Lanka, but it should not come at the cost the livelihoods of the local fishermen, nor destroy the ecosystem.