Were NGOs/INGOS saviours or mercenaries ?

A report in the South Asians Media Net on the 23 November, 2008 under the caption ” Gotabhaya wants NGO/INGO funds audited” , is a timely report on the scandalous affairs of these international ” do-gooders”. There had been many articles appearing in the Lankaweb about the NGOs who came after the tsunami, and organised their personal lives in a way they would never have been able to live in their own countries.

[ad#200×200]Immediately after the tsunami the generosity of the ordinary people of the West had no bounds. Not knowing where to send what ever money they could contribute, they sent them to Catholic Institutions, Red Cross, UN Agencies, and other NGOs that sprung up like mushrooms after the rainy season.

The millions of Euros collected were not channelled directly to the respective governments, on the ground that the government officials will misappropriate funds for their own benefit. This resulted in the NGOs’ setting up on their own to establish local offices in the tsunami affected areas to undertake construction work and welfare activities.

This was the beginning of innumerable number of NGOs and INGO coming to Sri Lanka as the saviours of the people affected by the tsunami. As always money brings corruption along with it and the NGOs became a law unto themselves. They organised themselves where they want, and how they want without any one in place to control their activities.

In Sri Lanka, the NGOs who had access to areas controlled by the terrorists, began their own “welfare activity”, apparently helping the terrorists to set up their Eelam State. Sri Lanka Government which was keen in helping the people in the areas controlled by the terrorists, trusted as always the non-descript white westerners as fair and reasonable, leaving the areas in their hands for necessary development project. It is now that the Government begins to see for itself the farce of development enacted by the Western NGOs.

Some of these NGOs organised them selves and openly worked against the government, canalising the displeasure of the International Community towards the “Sinhala” Government, creating an issue of violation of human rights by the Government Forces.

Now it is becoming evident that the NGOs in the terrorist controlled areas, did not do what the government expected of them, but provided the terrorists with machinery for construction of massive ditches, earth bunds, underground bunkers, with even cemeteries in some of them. They prepared and organised the terrorists for an all out war against the Government. It has even been found that in Killinochchi, the NGOs had fortifies the town building “offices”, and buildings, strategically as defensive posts, to protect the town from an assault by the Government Forces, making it a veritable Fortress.

The Norwegians had of course taken the lead, involving its own Embassy to purchase modern communication equipment for the use of the terrorists, and “gifted” trucks, and earth digging machinery for the terrorists to dig ditches and build earth mounds to protect themselves from the government Forces.

The NGOs who had come as saviours with the money gifted by the generous people of the West to help the people struck by the tsunami, had turned out to be mercenaries helping the terrorists to build their own Tamil State. In doing so they have used every possible means available to them, to discredit the Government of Sri Lanka, accusing it of violation of human rights.

From the large number of images received from the areas now cleared of the terrorists by the Government Forces, it has become evident that the NGOs have not carried out any development work. The money that was supposed to have been utilised for mine clearing seems to have been utilised for other activities resulting in number of soldiers being killed and injured by mines still in place in the terrorist controlled areas.

It is now time as suggested by the Defence Secretary to take stock of what had been the real activities of the NGOs and INGOs in the terrorists controlled areas and stop the further engagement of NGOs in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lanka Government had been able to carry out large number of reconstruction work and welfare activities in the areas that were in the cleared areas on its own , and there is no reason to have the NGOs any more in Sri Lanka for future development work in the areas now being cleared by the Government.

By Charles.S.Perera