The long-sought Indigenous Peoples’ Bill has been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya said on Sunday, as the government moved to settle a set of grievances the Vedda community has pressed for years.
Speaking as chief guest at World Indigenous Day celebrations at the Dambana Indigenous Heritage Museum, the Prime Minister said the government would take the legislation forward after consulting representatives of the indigenous community and other relevant institutions. Previous administrations had discussed such a Bill, she said, but the current government had begun the process of formally introducing it. The draft went to Cabinet following the intervention of Minister Sunil Senevi.
Forest entry, registration and identity cards
Separately, the Prime Minister said a gazette notification has been signed under the Minister of Environment addressing several longstanding concerns. The measures allow members of the community to enter forest areas, provide for registering indigenous Vedda people, and issue them legally recognised identity cards.
NewsFirst reported that the regulations govern customary activities inside national parks and protected areas while preserving ecological integrity, and are expected to ease livelihood and cultural practices for communities living near the Maduru Oya and Gal Oya national parks. Indigenous communities have faced substantial obstacles accessing forest reserves under existing law.
‘Development should not destroy heritage’
Amarasuriya described the Vedda as a people who have traditionally treated the environment as their home, citing customs such as not hunting pregnant animals and not destroying entire beehives when collecting honey. She recalled that the former Vedda leader Tissahamy once declined a head of state’s offer of an official residence and land, choosing instead to protect the community’s cultural identity — an example of sacrifice, she said, in a society where individuals often pursue personal privilege.
Development should not come at the cost of the community’s heritage, she said, adding that protecting indigenous rights in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a shared responsibility. She also said relief for indigenous families affected by Cyclone Ditwah had been expedited.
The observance marks the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which the UN puts at roughly 476 million people across more than 90 countries. The Prime Minister met Vedda leader Uru Warige Wannila Aththo in June over ancestral land access and gaps in post-Ditwah relief.
