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Veddah man, Eastern Sri Lanka. |
Ten Wanniyala-Aetto
people have been arrested for trespassing' on their own land in an
attempt to return to their hunting grounds. They face trial later this
year.
The ten were part of a group of 19 Wanniyala-Aetto who had returned to
the forest from which they were evicted more than twenty years ago. The
group, from government rehabilitation village Hennanigala, had returned
to their former village, Kandeganville, in what is now the Maduru Oya
National Park. The remainder of the group fled the forest when park
guards came to arrest them.
The Wanniyala-Aetto people were moved from their last forest refuge in
1983 when the Sri Lankan government designated it as a national park.
They were barred from the forest and banned from hunting and gathering.
Crowded together on small plots of land outside the park, many find it
difficult to feed their families.
The nine men and one woman are likely to face heavy fines or
imprisonment. Three will face trial on 3 November, and the remaining
seven are awaiting court summons.
To write a letter in support of the Wanniyala-Aetto click here
