Abstract
This chapter reviews the history of NGO involvement in Sri Lanka. It begins by identifying ambiguities in defining NGOs in the Sri Lankan context. These ambiguities, complex legal procedures and institutional mechanisms have led to a lack of clear data about NGO growth in Sri Lanka. Over time, government-NGO relations have been collaborative and conflicting and have taken a variety of forms. These have been shaped by the policies of ruling governments, political parties and leaders. They have also been shaped by the exploitation of specific historical events by political actors for political gain.
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Notes
- 1.
Uyangoda, “NGOs, Hate Politics,” Pravada, 6.
- 2.
See Perera, “Non Government Organizations” and Kloos, The Sri Lankan Government and the NGO’s.
- 3.
Perera, “Non Government Organizations,” 1.
- 4.
Ibid., 2.
- 5.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 76.
- 6.
Voluntary Social Service Organizations (Registration and Supervision) Act, No. 31 of 1980.
- 7.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 3.
- 8.
Ibid.
- 9.
Ibid., 4.
- 10.
Ibid.
- 11.
Among the early NGOs was the Buddhist Theosophical Society which pioneered the movement for Buddhist education (Jayawardena, “The NGO Bogey,” Pravada, 10).
- 12.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 4.
- 13.
Kloos, The Sri Lankan Government and the NGO’s, 12.
- 14.
Ibid., 13.
- 15.
This was happened in April 1971 when the JVP, a primarily rural Sinhala youth movement claiming a membership of more than 10,000, began a ‘blitzkrieg’ operation to take over the government ‘within 24 hours’. The purpose of the insurrection was to capture state power (Country Studies, “A Country Study: Sri Lanka.”).
- 16.
Kloos, The Sri Lankan Government and the NGO’s, 13.
- 17.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 5.
- 18.
Kloos, The Sri Lankan Government and the NGO’s, 13–14.
- 19.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 39–40.
- 20.
Perera, “Non Government Organizations,” 7.
- 21.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 108.
- 22.
NGO Secretariat, “The Growth of NGOs”.
- 23.
Perera, “Non Government Organizations,” 8.
- 24.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 78.
- 25.
Perera, “Non Government Organizations,” 3.
- 26.
Ibid.
- 27.
The second JVP youth insurrection lasted for around 2 years from 1987 to 1989. The second insurrection was different from the first one in several aspects. The second one, more than being an insurrection, was a long-lasting armed struggle over two years (Fernando, “Youth and Politics.”).
- 28.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 5.
- 29.
Movement for Inter-Racial Justice and Equality (MIRJE), Movement for the Defence of Democratic Rights (MDDR), Information Monitor on Human Rights (INFORM), Women for Peace, Dharmavedi Institute for Communication and Peace, National Christian Council, Citizens’ Committee for National Harmony, and Sarvodaya are some of the leading NGOs active in the peace and democracy front (Uyangoda, “NGOs, Hate Politics,” Pravada, 7).
- 30.
Ibid.
- 31.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 21.
- 32.
Brochard, “New Regulations and Procedures,” 1.
- 33.
Ibid.
- 34.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 5.
- 35.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 82–83.
- 36.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 5.
- 37.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 82–83.
- 38.
Ibid., 75.
- 39.
Orjuela, “Dilemmas of Civil Society Aid,” Peace and Democracy in South Asia, 5.
- 40.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 75.
- 41.
Walton, “Conflict, Peacebuilding and NGO Legitimacy,” 139.
- 42.
Ibid., 163.
- 43.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 84.
- 44.
Perera, “Non Government Organizations,” 4.
- 45.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 99.
- 46.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 10.
- 47.
Ibid.
- 48.
Ibid.
- 49.
Ibid.
- 50.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 99.
- 51.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 14.
- 52.
The forum of donor countries supporting Sri Lanka under the auspices of the WB.
- 53.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 11.
- 54.
Ibid.
- 55.
Ibid.
- 56.
Ibid.
- 57.
Ibid., 11–12.
- 58.
Leitan, Political Integration through Decentralization, 26–28.
- 59.
Mahaweli is the longest river in Sri Lanka. Mahaweli development project aimed to generate electricity and to develop agriculture in the dry zones in Sri Lanka.
- 60.
Cited in Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 99.
- 61.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 24.
- 62.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 101.
- 63.
Ibid., 92.
- 64.
The JTF was jointly funded by the government and bilateral or multilateral donors (ibid., 101). The strategy of the JTF was to work in partnership with NGOs that functioned both at the national and village levels in order to mobilise the CBOs (Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 14).
- 65.
Ibid.
- 66.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 101.
- 67.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 14.
- 68.
Ibid., 15.
- 69.
Especially the NGOs collaborated with two initiatives of the PA government. The first was the Sudu Nelum Viyaparaya (the white lotus movement), which raised the public awareness of the ethnic conflict and advocated a non-military political solution. The second was the National Integration and Planning Unit (NIPU) formed under the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs and Ethnic Integration with the assistance of the Norwegian government. In both these initiatives, many NGOs took an active part in collaborating with the government (ibid.).
- 70.
Ibid.
- 71.
The strategy of Samurdhi was to recruit about 3000 unemployed educated youth as village-level coordinators (Niyamakas) and to establish a powerful network of CBOs.
- 72.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 15.
- 73.
Ibid.
- 74.
Ibid.
- 75.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 99–100.
- 76.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 23.
- 77.
The manifesto claimed that the UNF recognised the NGOs and CBOs as important partners of the development process, and as leading actors in socio-economic transformation.
- 78.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 24.
- 79.
Walton, “Conflict, Peacebuilding and NGO Legitimacy,” 141.
- 80.
Ibid., 142. See Lanka Standard, “Helping Hambantota Investigation” and Sri Lanka State Terrorism, “Sri Lanka’s Tsunami Aid”.
- 81.
Walton, “Conflict, Peacebuilding and NGO Legitimacy,” 142.
- 82.
Ibid.
- 83.
Ibid.
- 84.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 84.
- 85.
Social Scientists’ Association, “ICJ on the NGO Commission,” Pravada, 15.
- 86.
Brabant, “NGO Legislation,” RPN, 12.
- 87.
Social Scientists’ Association, “NGO Commission,” Pravada, 5.
- 88.
Brabant, “NGO Legislation,” RPN, 12.
- 89.
Social Scientists’ Association, “NGO Commission,” Pravada, 5.
- 90.
Ibid., 6.
- 91.
Brabant, “NGO Legislation,” RPN, 12.
- 92.
Social Scientists’ Association, “ICJ on the NGO Commission,” Pravada, 15.
- 93.
Brabant, “NGO Legislation,” RPN, 12.
- 94.
Social Scientists’ Association, “ICJ on the NGO Commission,” Pravada, 14.
- 95.
Brabant, “NGO Legislation,” RPN, 12.
- 96.
Ibid.
- 97.
Social Scientists’ Association, “ICJ on the NGO Commission,” Pravada, 16.
- 98.
Ibid., 17.
- 99.
Social Scientists’ Association, “NGO Commission,” Pravada, 6.
- 100.
Although the report of the NGO Commission has not been released or published, some authors have referred to an unofficially released version on the NGO Commission report. See Kloos, The Sri Lankan Government and the NGO’s and Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka. Some authors mention that they have to go on certain brief government statements and extracts in the newspapers of some sections of the NGO Commission report (Social Scientists’ Association, “NGO Commission,” Pravada, 7). This writer was not able to find the NGO Commission report. But an official from the Sri Lanka National Archives mentioned that there is a copy of the released report, but as it is a closed and restricted archive, it cannot be released for reference for any reason.
- 101.
Brabant, “NGO Legislation,” RPN, 13.
- 102.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 13.
- 103.
Brabant, “NGO Legislation,” RPN, 13–14.
- 104.
Ibid., 13.
- 105.
Ibid.
- 106.
One on ‘administrative matters’ and one on ‘state-NGO relations’.
- 107.
Brabant, “NGO Legislation,” RPN, 13.
- 108.
Ibid., 14.
- 109.
Kloos, The Sri Lankan Government and the NGO’s, 32.
- 110.
Ibid., 29.
- 111.
Ibid., 32.
- 112.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 12.
- 113.
The establishment of an NGO Forum in 1993 followed the creation of the European NGO Forum on Sri Lanka in 1990. Sri Lankans decided in 1994 to form a ‘counter Forum’ and therefore four types of NGOs would participate: those in the fields of human rights, relief and rehabilitation, economic development, and peace (Kloos, The Sri Lankan Government and the NGO’s, 33–35). The topics to be discussed were economic development, human rights and NGO partnership in addition to the more sensitive topics of peace and humanitarian assistance (Perera, “Today the NGOs,” Pravada, 31).
- 114.
Kloos, The Sri Lankan Government and the NGO’s, 35.
- 115.
Ibid., 36.
- 116.
Perera, “Today the NGOs,” Pravada, 31.
- 117.
Uyangoda, “NGOs, Hate Politics,” Pravada, 6.
- 118.
Ibid.
- 119.
Orjuela, “Dilemmas of Civil Society Aid,” Peace and Democracy in South Asia, 7.
- 120.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 40–41.
- 121.
Ibid., 152.
- 122.
Uyangoda, “NGOs, Hate Politics,” Pravada, 7–8.
- 123.
Ibid., 8.
- 124.
Ibid.
- 125.
Ibid.
- 126.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 152.
- 127.
Brabant, “NGO Legislation,” RPN, 14.
- 128.
Ibid., 15.
- 129.
Jayawardena, “The NGO Bogey,” Pravada, 10.
- 130.
Ibid., 11.
- 131.
Uyangoda, “NGOs, Hate Politics,” Pravada, 8.
- 132.
Voluntary Social Service Organizations (Registration and Supervision) Act, No. 31 of 1980.
- 133.
Companies Act, No. 17 of 1982.
- 134.
Brabant, “NGO Legislation,” RPN, 14.
- 135.
Under this regulation, the organisations that are dependent upon the public or government grants-in-aid for funds and that are engaged in social welfare, development, empowerment, research, and environmental protection activities were defined as NGOs. Cooperative societies and NGOs with annual budgets less than Rs. 50,000 were excluded. The regulation required an NGO to register with the director of social services and submit detailed information regarding receipts and disbursements. Heavy penalties for non-compliance were built into the regulation (Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 84–85).
- 136.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 13.
- 137.
Social Scientists’ Association, “NGO Commission,” Pravada, 7.
- 138.
Brabant, “NGO Legislation,” RPN, 14.
- 139.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 13.
- 140.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 84–85.
- 141.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 13.
- 142.
Ibid.
- 143.
Kloos, The Sri Lankan Government and the NGO’s, 33.
- 144.
Ibid., 39.
- 145.
Fernando, “The Landscape of NGOs in Sri Lanka,” 13–14.
- 146.
Ibid., 14.
- 147.
Brochard, “New Regulations and Procedures,” 1.
- 148.
Ibid., 2.
- 149.
Ibid.
- 150.
Caritas is a confederation of 164 Roman Catholic relief, development and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
- 151.
Brochard, “New Regulations and Procedures,” 2.
- 152.
Ministry of Finance and Planning, Budget Speech—2005.
- 153.
Brochard, “New Regulations and Procedures,” 3.
- 154.
Ibid., 4.
- 155.
It was pointed out that foreign recruits ideally should have qualifications and experience that were not available locally. Foreign accountants were particularly discouraged with the arguments that: (1) there is a pool of local professionals; and (2) accountants must be familiar with local accounting practices.
- 156.
Brochard, “New Regulations and Procedures,” 5.
- 157.
Walton, “Conflict, Peacebuilding and NGO Legitimacy,” 143.
- 158.
Ibid.
- 159.
Perera, “Non Government Organizations,” 9.
- 160.
NGO Secretariat, “Measures to Introduce a System”.
- 161.
For example, in 1997 the Ministry of Social Services collected lists of NGOs from variety of sources such as ministries, provincial councils, divisional offices, government agencies and human rights commission. At the end of 1997 a four-page form was sent to all known NGOs. Many filled-in forms have meanwhile been returned, but nothing has been done with the data due to lack of staff and computer facilities. The ministry could do not much more than store the forms in one of its two rooms (Kloos, The Sri Lankan Government and the NGO’s, 15).
- 162.
NGO Secretariat, “Measures to Introduce a System”.
- 163.
NGO Secretariat, “Mission and Goal”.
- 164.
NGO Secretariat, “Objectives”.
- 165.
NGO Secretariat. “Activities”.
- 166.
Ibid.
- 167.
The ERD approval is needed only if the objectives of an NGO contain the provision that their relief services are for the mentally retarded or physically disabled, the poor, the sick, the orphans and destitute, and contains the provision that the relief services aim the needy in times of disasters. These NGOs also needed to get positive recommendations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence to be qualified to be registered in the NGO Secretariat (ibid.).
- 168.
For example, after the war the Sri Lankan military forces denied all access to the IDP camps by NGOs (see Amnesty International, “Sri Lanka: Unlock the Camps.”).
- 169.
Sumanthiran, Situation in North-Eastern Sri Lanka.
- 170.
Kloos, The Sri Lankan Government and the NGO’s, 36.
- 171.
Ibid., 26.
- 172.
Ibid., 30.
- 173.
Ibid., 37.
- 174.
Ibid.
- 175.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 98.
- 176.
Cited in ibid., 99.
- 177.
Kloos, The Sri Lankan Government and the NGO’s, 37.
- 178.
Wickramasinghe, Civil Society in Sri Lanka, 101.
- 179.
Brabant, “NGO Legislation,” RPN, 15.
- 180.
Ibid.
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Akurugoda, I.R. (2018). NGOs in Sri Lanka. In: NGO Politics in Sri Lanka. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58586-4_3
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