Sri Lanka Armed Forces Stop Destroying Wildlife Habitat.

The Sri Lankan armed forces primary duty is to guard the people of Sri Lanka and the assets of the Nation and everything else including business ventures come second to this primary duty. Lately all segments of the armed forces, Including the Army, Navy and Air force has taken to business ventures such as tourist ventures, metal quarries and agro-business partnerships with companies such as Marina Company for oil palm plantation and Browns Group Agriculture Division for a banana and teak cultivation, (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) in doing so they have jeopardized their primary duty. The illegal and deceptive destruction of habitat from wetlands to elephant habitat, benefits the rich, influential and foreign corporations at great expense to our rural farmers, fishermen and wildlife such as our wild elephants. Resources such as water and jungle resources that were once free and available to the rural poor and wildlife are now fenced off or destroyed and no longer available to those that depended on these resources for basic survival. This situation has a destabilizing effect on the security of the nation by creating conflicts between humans and elephants and could even create future ethnic conflicts in a battle for the limited resources left unexploited. (7) We understand fully the power of the military and keeping that in mind we the undersigned respectfully and peacefully ask all branches of the Armed forces to follow the rule of law and withdraw from ventures such as those listed above that is doing grave harm to the environment in Sri Lanka. We also respectfully ask the Armed forces not to turn a blind eye to the illegal destruction of the environment, by the rich and powerful, in places like the Kokilai Bird Sanctuary that is continuing to this day and to actively stop such destruction. (8)

1. http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2014/12/14/thick-forests-thin-out-as-authority-errs/

2. http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2014/8/89203_space.html

3. http://www.ectsrilanka.com/media-centre/latest-news/english/710-kanthale-forest-reserve-and-naval-headworks-sanctuary-in-the-face-of-destruction-by-large-scale-metal-quarries

4. http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/21186

5. https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/illegal-land-grabs-by-sri-lanka-navy-destroys-wilpattu-national-park/

6. http://www.lakdasun.org/forum/index.php?topic=2166.0;wap2

7. http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local%2Fvillagers-want-wild-jumbo-menace-curbed

8. http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2010/05/30/mag02.asp