Foreign Ministry Attacks NGOs

NGOs and INGOs operating in Sri Lanka reacted with shock to Minister of Foreign Affairs Rohitha Bogollagama’s plan to investigate them for allegedly funneling money to “certain elements” in society, an obvious reference to former General Sarath Fonseka. Two weeks ago, the CID discovered Rs. 78 million, including US$ 550,000, in the safety deposit box of Mrs. Ashoka Tillakaratne, the mother of Sarath Fonseka’s son-in-law Dhanuna Tillakaratne. This discovery led the government to accuse foreign countries of funding Fonseka’s presidential campaign. Now, government suspicion seems to have expanded to include the NGO sector.

“This is a serious development that the Government of Sri Lanka is very much concerned about,” Bogollagama reportedly told a group of high-level diplomats. “All possible measures will be initiated in this regard to trace such transactions, and those individuals and groups involved. Legal action will be taken against those individuals who are found to be involved directly or indirectly in such transactions.”

Coming on the heels of two major setbacks — the international condemnation it received for arresting Fonseka, and its loss of the GSP+ — the government appears to be using NGOs as scapegoats to distract the public from its own failures. Indeed, after reports of Bogollagama’s remarks were leaked to The Daily Mirror the government has not released any more information about the investigation, prompting some NGO officials to wonder if Bogollagama is serious about his threat.

“I wouldn’t give credence to those statements,” said Jeevan Thiyagarajah, the head of the Consortium for Humanitarian Agencies, which represents 89 local and international NGOs. “The government is confused. Part of this whole thing has to do with the elections. We have a process by which we get approvals and get on with our work. So I don’t think our work is affected by this.”

In response to the latest allegations, the US Embassy, which has repeatedly denied supporting Fonseka in any way, once again dismissed the government’s claims.

“We can state categorically that none of the NGOs supported by the US government have engaged in such activities,” said Embassy Spokesperson Jeff Anderson.

As for the individual NGOs, some are taking Bogollagama’s remarks more seriously than others.  Centre for Policy Alternatives Director Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, who received an anonymous death threat in August, said that this latest threat against NGOs fits a pattern of government harassment.

“I see this story as very much part of a basic clampdown on dissent,” Saravanamuttu said. “I think the space for any dissent, constructive or otherwise, is being whittled down very fast, and this must be resisted. If the government has problems with certain organisations it should come out and name them, and they can be charged under the law. Banning organisations suggests that there is a government orthodoxy that cannot be violated.”

The government has long blamed NGOs for the international criticism of Sri Lanka over its human rights abuses, including the European Commission’s negative report on the country’s compliance with the GSP+ requirements. As a result of that report the EU formally suspended the GSP+ trade concession on February 15, with the suspension to go into effect in six months’ time. When asked if Bogollagama’s threat was related to the recent loss of the GSP+, Saravanamuttu said that there was an indirect connection.

“I don’t see a direct causality between the GSP+ and this, but I think it’s one of a variety of factors in the government’s paranoia,” Saravanamuttu said. “If there are violations of the law, then the law should take its course and the parties should be tried in court. We’ve been targeted with all sorts of accusations, including death threats, so we have to be prepared for anything. But we believe we are doing things that are for the benefit of all Sri Lankans — upholding democracy and promoting peaceful solutions to the country’s problems.”

When contacted by The Sunday Leader, government officials were evasive and ambiguous about the status of the “investigation.” Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene claimed that he “didn’t know anything about it.” And despite repeated questions, Bogollagama himself avoided giving any more details about his plan.

“I can’t say that the investigation is going on, because there is still some preliminary work to do,” he said. When asked how long he thought the investigation would take, Bogollagama said that he didn’t know.
Meanwhile, other Sri Lankan NGOs were scornful of an investigation into their activities.

“There has been a select committee in parliament that has gone into all these issues about foreign-funded NGOs,” said Kumar Rupesinghe, director, Foundation for Co-Existence, which receives much of its funding from the Norwegian government. “I don’t think that opposing the government is a crime — it depends on what the issue is. This country has the right to protest, to criticise, to question. Those are fundamental rights.”

Sarasi Wijeratne, Information Officer, International Committee of the Red Cross in Sri Lanka, denied that the government had made any complaints about its activities.

“The ICRC is a humanitarian organisation; it’s not an NGO,” Wijeratne said. “Having said that, we are an organisation that works in full transparency and has a good working relationship with the Government of Sri Lanka.”

But just how long the country’s NGOs can maintain their “good working relationship” with the government is a question nobody seems able to answer.

Funding Crisis Hits Idp Camps

By Munza Mushtaq

International funding organisations, including the United Nations, are facing a massive funding shortage which will impact the upkeep of the thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who continue to be housed in makeshift camps in the Northern Province.

Funding organisation representatives have cited the Sri Lankan government’s failure to stick to its original resettlement deadline as the primary cause for the shortage of funds. The shortage will affect food distribution and general healthcare services of these displaced families.

The government’s latest deadline to resettle some 100,000 IDPs expired at the end of January. Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sri Lanka has also disclosed that funding shortages will be faced by the organisation beginning at the end of this month.

“In Menik Farm, which still has a population of about 100,000 persons, funding shortages will affect humanitarian operations starting from the end of February. This includes, among other things, complementary food distribution, water bowsering, toilet maintenance and healthcare provision,” OCHA said in its latest humanitarian update.

“The food sector has already conveyed its decision to stop complementary food supply to the Vavuniya Government Agent (GA). Health services are progressively shutting down. Reduced capacity for maintaining shelters and tents will affect the IDPs’ dignity and their health as materials continue to deteriorate,” the update said.

Meanwhile, in a joint emergency UN appeal, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) appealed for US$ 23.6 million to support the displaced families and to cover their immediate food needs.

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Cabinet Nod Sought for Emirates’ Stake Buyout

By Raisa Wickrematunge

Minister of Ports and Aviation Chamal Rajapaksa has forwarded a memorandum seeking Cabinet approval to buy out the Dubai-based Emirates Airlines’ stake in SriLankan Airlines.

“We are still in negotiations, and also awaiting Cabinet approval for the buyout,” Rajapaksa said.

Upon being asked how SriLankan Airlines would finance the buyout, as it was recently in the throes of a financial crisis, Rajapaksa said the cost would be split.

“The Shipping Corporation and airline authorities are willing to buy shares as well. We can split the cost between us,” Rajapaksa said. In response to queries as to the reason behind the takeover, he said, “SriLankan Airlines will then be wholly owned by Sri Lanka.”

Emirates bought 43.6% of national carrier SriLankan Airlines in 1998 for US$ 70 million.
SriLankan Airlines recently suffered a massive Rs. 9.9 billion loss for the year 2009.