London --The human rights work of Peace Brigades International (PBI) in Sri Lanka was brought to an abrupt end recently when the Sri Lankan government demanded the right to censor the organization's reports on the human rights situation in the East of the country.
In a meeting with the Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Plan Implementation and Parliamentary Affairs on 4 March, PBI was told that if it wished to remain working in Sri Lanka it would have to submit its reports to the authorities to be censored prior to their publication.
PBI believes that placing such restrictions on local and international human rights observers is unacceptable. In its words: "when such measures are applied to non-partisan NGO witnesses whose presence can increase respect for human rights, the result is counterproductive: these measures undermine trust in the government, and weaken the possibilities for achieving true democracy and respect for human rights."
Although its' eight and a half year protective unarmed presence in Sri Lanka has come to an end, PBI has stated that it will do its best to continue to support the work of non-violent and non-partisan peace and social justice activists in Sri Lanka in the future.
PBI is an international NGO working for the peaceful resolution of conflicts in Central America, Colombia, Haiti, and the Balkans. It has associate status with the United Nations Department of Public Information.
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Her Excellency Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga
President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Presidential Secretariat
Colombo 1
24 April 1998
Your Excellency,
It is with regret that we inform you that Peace Brigades International has decided to close its project in Sri Lanka. We have had a presence in your country since 1989, striving to protect and encourage those working to ensure respect for human rights. During this period, we have felt privileged to learn from the wisdom of Sri Lankan history and culture. We have been deeply moved and inspired by the courage and commitment of the many Sri Lankans who have worked towards peace and reconciliation during these difficult years.
Throughout this eight and one half year period, we have offered protective accompaniment to many Sri Lankan democratic activists when they faced threats for their work for peace and reconciliation. This has included the protection of lawyers and victims calling attention to human rights abuse and defending the rule of law, especially under the previous UNP government. It also has included the accompaniment of communities in the East who have felt threatened by multiple armed parties. In addition, starting in 1994 we began to offer our services to protect the process of election monitoring. Since our arrival in Sri Lanka we have published regular reports on the situations our teams have witnessed, and distributed them internationally in order to reinforce the international support network that has proven so essential for encouraging respect for democracy and human rights. The importance of our presence has been gratefully acknowledged by Inform, Movement For Free and Fair Elections, Peoples Alliance For Free and Fair Elections, and many others.
During recent years the demand for our service of protective accompaniment by democratic activists has reduced significantly, especially in the South where most of our early work was centred. This is a positive change. At the same time, we have continued to perceive a need for our presence in other regions, particularly in the East. However, our ability to work effectively in that region has been noticeably hindered by the limitations on access to the region that your government has deemed necessary to impose due to the ongoing conflict. As a result of these two factors, combined with other internal criteria within our organisation, over the last year we have gone through a process of evaluation resulting in a decision to withdraw our team from Sri Lanka.
We must, however, express our most serious concern and surprise over the recent actions taken by your government with respect to our organisation. On 4 March 1998 at a meeting with members of the Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Plan Implementation and Parliamentary Affairs, we were informed that we would be unable to continue our work in Sri Lanka without agreeing to new and strict conditions. In particular, those conditions included the demand that we refrain from publishing reports outside Sri Lanka without first submitting them to the appropriate government ministries. No such condition had ever been imposed before, not even under the UNP government. As a non-governmental organisation with a firm commitment to non-partisanship and independence, it was unthinkable that we could condition our work in this way. As a result our on-island representatives did not receive the necessary recommendation for residents visas to be issued. Under these circumstances we were forced to withdraw much more abruptly that we had planned.
You have often eloquently voiced your commitment to human rights and democracy, and we have been encouraged by your attempts to seek a negotiated solution to the conflicts in Sri Lanka. We recognise that a sovereign government facing an internal conflict will often deem it expedient to control both geographical access and information about the conflicts. Nevertheless, when such measures are applied to non-partisan NGO witnesses whose presence can increase respect for human rights, the result is counterproductive: these measures undermine trust in the government, and weaken the possibilities for achieving true democracy and respect for human rights.
Despite our withdrawal, our commitment to the people of Sri Lanka continues. We hope to continue to serve the cause of democracy and human rights in Sri Lanka by monitoring the situation and informing our members, other international NGOs and international government contacts of ongoing developments. We will also do our best to support the efforts of other non-partisan, non-violent NGOs still working in Sri Lanka.
In closing, we again offer our sincerest support for all efforts your government can take towards a negotiated solution to the conflict, and towards the respect for the human rights of all Sri Lankans.
Respectfully yours,
Anne Harrison, Chair of PBI's International Council
Andrew Kendle, Chair of the Sri Lanka Project
Kevin Ellis, Coordinator of the Sri Lanka Project
cc:
Hon. Lakshman Kadiragamer, Foreign Minister
Hon. Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte, Deputy Defence Minister
Hon. Mr. Wickremasinghe, High Commissioner in London
British High Commission, Colombo
Canadian High Commission, Colombo
Indian High Commission, Colombo
Swedish Embassy, Colombo
United States Embassy, Colombo
Amnesty International, International Secretariat, London
Human Rights Watch, New York
Article 19, London
The above text may freely be reproduced, copied, or translated,
in whole or in part, as long as the source is stated as:
Peace Brigades International.
formatted by pgordon@gn.apc.org