Land confiscations and evictions are a worry of the population of Turks & Caicos. The United Kingdom took control over the islands last August 2009 and has since been making mistake after mistake in this island nation.
More than mistakes, in my opinion, is UK's willful lack of respect for the people and the laws of the country. This certainly includes UK's "land grabs" there.
At the outset of UK's take over, it was said by the so-called "UK interim government" that land confiscations would be made if the land was transferred by way of corrupt practices.
However, in this case, corruption has not been proved nor is there any fair and realistic approach by the UK to proving corruption. The United Kingdom strangely uses the circumstantial evidence that it has gathered from a local political opposition activists for proof. And, the UK has disregarded balancing testimony and balancing documentation which could exonerate the accused.
Even more ominous is that regular citizens are being victimized and evicted from their lands and homes by the UK. This has the local people, "frightened, angry and helpless."
This quote from the land owners of Chalk Sound, the latest victims of land grabs by the UK. These Chalk Sound residents have invested their life savings and borrowed money toward purchasing land and building their homes on these lands.
The UK government announced last month that these people/families in Chalk Sound must move. This will cause displacement of many native families.
Local leaders in the Turks & Caicos have finally met with the United Nations, Fourth Committee for Decolonization, this month. The Fourth Committee has condemned UK's actions in Turks & Caicos, however it had no direct indication that the people opposed UK's installed government there, until now.
Indeed the United Kingdom has used no legal means to confiscate lands in Turks & Caicos. If the UK was trying to make a pretense of being fair, it would have used Eminent Domain laws to confiscate property. Eminent Domain is a set of laws allowing government rights to take land for government purposes. Eminent Domain requires legal steps and equitable relief for those affected.
UN advisers have said that even if Eminent Domain laws are used by a country, the world needs to be diligent and vigilant to make completely certain that Eminent Domain is not being used to take land illegally.
The United Nation Chronicles address areas of concern related to illegal land seizure, it calls "land grabbing". According to the UN Land Grab is defined as follows: "It's a phenomenon wherein any means possible, including legislative, is used to confiscate or grab land."
The UN advisers warn that the dogma of Eminent Domain laws allow a country to exploit a system wherein a state can in effect confiscate land as an opportunity to oppress, punish or victimize. This process will allow unfettered access to the land without any legal means for the victims to challenge the land grab.
Particularly dangerous is where a state uses Eminent Domain in such a way to exploit a political element, particularly affecting minorities: "Which severely affects the housing and land rights of indigenous people. There is this element of discrimination, based on race, ethnicity or income levels that comes in, where particular groups are affected even more."
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More land grabs under the badge of government are on the way -- and they will be connected to the rising interest in "shale gas" deposits around the world.
ReplyDeleteAs the author of this post suggests, property owners are suspicious that the pretense for such "takings" have been engineered to justify the action of government and corporations.
Those of us who have faced the threat of eminent domain know two things: It is a sobering experience and much of the reasoning for it seems manufactured.
For example, in the U.S., more “taking” is already underway in New York and Pennsylvania, thanks to the rising interest in drilling in the gas-rich Marcellus Shale. With more drilling comes more pipelines and more underground gas storage fields — and that (pipelines & storage fields) always means eminent domain, at least in North America.
Alexandra Klass, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School, wrote an article in 2008 titled, “The Frontier of Eminent Domain.” She raises the question: “Why aren’t Kelo activists also incensed over natural resource development takings?”
Indeed. The excellent Institute for Justice of Kelo fame declines to intervene in energy/utility “takings” because, they told me, of the “public good” premise. The Institute should reconsider what support it can offer in this expanding “market” for eminent domain abuse.
But property owners can fight back. Our two-year battle against Houston-based Spectra Energy which seized our property rights for an underground gas storage field led to the development of a website which has begun to attract whistle blowers inside the energy industry.
If you want to learn from our experience & understand the adverse effects of this type of eminent domain, refer to this post: Spectra Energy
Spectra Energy’s facility has had operational problems from the start, has received two Notice of Violations for “unlawful conduct” related to emergency shutdowns and emissions at its storage field in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Reports of contaminated water supplies are on the rise since they began operations.
The ripple effects of eminent domain are never over.