Sri Lanka Tea estate workers send thousands of postcards to ministry to demand land

(February 02, 2012) Workers on tea estate in Nuwara-Eliya District, in Sri Lanka’s upcountry, have mailed almost 2,000 postcards to the country’s Plantation Minister insisting on their right to land after the government in December announced plans to distribute unutilised land in order to boost the sector. The protest is set to continue until the end of week and include other districts. Tea growing is an important part of Sri Lanka’s economy. The sector employs 600,000 people on 245 plantations. In Nuwara-Eliya alone, 113 estates employ 65,000 people. In order to alleviate poverty and reduce unemployment, President Rajapaksa in December said that the government would distribute unutilised land but nothing has been done yet. After the Forum for Up-Country People’s Rights and other groups launched a poster campaign on 21 December in all the district, in January 08th the Plantation Ministry told Tamil-language paper Veerakesari that it would distribute 37,000 hectares of unutilised land. However, this has not convinced campaign organisers who began urging estate workers to fill up the ministry’s mailbox. “We sent postcards to remind the government about our rights,” Forum for Up-Country People’s Rights President Moorthy said. ”Without a piece of land of our own, we will continue to be exploited on the estates.”