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Controversy in Galle Fort: Several Govt. institutions told to move out
View(s):The Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO has taken issue with a Law and Order and Southern Development Ministry directive to certain Government institutions to vacate historic buildings in the Galle Fort which is designated a ‘Living Heritage Fort’ by the UN agency.
The order to give up 15 buildings in the Fort was issued by Law and Order and Southern Devlopment Ministry Secretary Jagath P Wijeweera early last month. But it was done without consulting the Department of Archaeology, the Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO and the Ministry of Education under whose purview these listed sites fall.
The Maritime Museum
Mr Wijeweera’s letter implies that the vacating order was given in keeping with UNESCO guidelines. It says the Galle Fort “is currently in the process of being carefully developed on the guidance of UNESCO to protect its living heritage with added measures to improve its conservation and protection”.
“In light of this initiative and in accordance with the decision made by Cabinet (Ref. Cabinet Paper No. 17/1759/702/002-XIX on 2017/08/08) I have requested several agencies to vacate the buildings which they currently occupy in the Galle Fort,” Mr Wijeweera says.
Inmates of the Police Residence, the Police In-Service Training Institute, the Magistrate’s House, the Magistrate’s Court, All Saints’ College, the Galle Fort Post Office, the Bank of Ceylon Office in Hospital Street, the E Court’s Building, the Tea Small Holdings, the Southern Provincial Passenger Transport Authority, the Ports Authority’s official bungalow, the SIPNARA building, the Maritime Archaeological Unit, the Harbour Master’s Office and Sri Lanka Telecom have been asked to leave by December 31. The Galle District Secretary has been requested to assist in finding alternate locations.
But the Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO said the office first learnt about the development from the agency’s headquarters in Paris. Its Secretary General Dhammika Wijayasinghe then wrote to the Secretary to the Education Ministry — which is the line Ministry — and the Department of Archaeology, raising concern. There has been no response from either.
The Post Office
“Galle Fort and its fortifications have been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Property in 1988 and the competent authority for conservation and protection of the property is the Department of Archaeology with the assistance of other stakeholders,” Ms Wijayasinghe wrote.
“However, I regret to note that the Cabinet paper quoted in the aforementioned letter and the subsequent action has been taken without proper consultation of the Department of Archaeology, the Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO or the line Ministry.”
“Further, I would like to point out that UNESCO had never recommended removal of the institutions mentioned from the fort and some of these properties are part and parcel of the living heritage of this important World Heritage Site,” she states, while calling upon the authorities to take necessary action to preserve the UNESCO World Heritage status of the property.
The Archaeology Department Director General P B Mandawala said he only saw the letter of the Law and Order Ministry “two days ago” when it was given to him “by someone else”. The original had neither been copied to the Department nor to the Ministry of Education.
“I have been told that certain Government offices will be vacating,” he told the Sunday Times. “I have requested our officers who are participating in these matters to check things and raise the concerns of the Department with the relevant authorities.”
An Education Ministry official said they had also now sent out letters raising concern. Additional Secretary Asoka Siriwardana said both Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and Secretary Sunil Hettiarachchi were aware of the controversy. It was not immediately clear, however, why the Minister had not questioned the Cabinet paper when it was submitted for approval.
All Saints' College
It is not known what the buildings will be used for if this move goes ahead. A source from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said the Government institutions were only being shifted because they were unable to maintain the edifices to required standards. “They will not be pulled down,” he said. “They will be renovated. It will be decided later what will be done with the space.”
Some offices have already started shifting. But the parents of students from All Saints’ College recently protested. The institution was founded in 1867 and is located along Lighthouse Street.
The Bank of Ceylon. Pix by Gamini Mahadura