{"id":97500,"date":"2020-01-08T12:31:49","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T19:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=97500"},"modified":"2020-01-08T12:31:49","modified_gmt":"2020-01-08T19:31:49","slug":"ban-leading-ngos-confiscate-their-assets-and-freeze-their-bank-accounts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/01\/08\/ban-leading-ngos-confiscate-their-assets-and-freeze-their-bank-accounts\/","title":{"rendered":"Ban leading NGOs, confiscate their assets and freeze their bank accounts."},"content":{"rendered":"

By: A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The sovereignty of a country is defined as the supreme\npolitical power of a ruling government to regulate its affairs within its\nspecified territory without outside interference. Policies are thus formulated\nby the people of a sovereign nation via the elected government to suit the\nneeds of the nation. Our country, similar to many other countries in the world,\nwas free of foreign interference in all its affairs till the introduction of a\ndespicable Act titled \u2018registration of non-government agencies Act in 1980 by\nthe government of J.R.Jayawardene. This tyrant government allowed the\ncapitalists in this country to import everything and completely destroy the\nnascent industries (textile, tyre, sugar, steel, cement, etc) and at the same\ntime permit the foreign individuals and organizations to enter the country to\nexploit our natural resources and take charge of local policy formulations by\nthemselves or in collaboration with anti-national westernophile elements in the\ncountry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The above referenced Act facilitated foreign governments and\nvicious foreign organizations to conduct unrestricted interference in the\ncountry in all fields, economic, social, religious, educational, cinematic and\nethnic activities in the country through the vicious outfits called NGOs\n(Nefarious Gruesome Outfits)which received millions of dollars for their\nshameless and reprehensive servile activities from the foreign governments and\nthe organizations in a clear-cut interference in the sovereignty of the\ncountry.. Just think who will pump billions for nothing in return? These\nlobbyist NGOs fulfil the needs of their funding agencies whose ultimate aim was\nnone other than creating a new form of colonization around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These NGOs and their international outfits called INGOs\n(Intensively Nefarious Gruesome Outfits) \nhad been involved in change of governments in our country and in the\ndeveloping countries recently.  For\ninstance just before the 2015 elections they mushroomed like piglets and within\ntwo months there were more than 45 NGO outfits handling Sirisena\u2019s\nmisinformation, mud-slinging , and fake news campaign spreading\nunbelievable,  incomprehensible  and unimaginable news which were presented\nunder Goebbel\u2019s theory to subdue the Sri Lankan voters.  The same thing happened for the 2019 November\n16 election as well but only the dogmatic Tamils and a fair percentage of\nMuslims swallowed the bait.  All their\nattempts to mislead the Sinhala Buddhists utterly failed.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the Mahinda Rajapaksa presidency NGOs were blatantly\nacting as a government of their own interfering in all activities of the\ncountry and hence there were growing opposition from the religious leaders and\nthe patriotic organisations urging the government to take stern action to\ncontrol these NGOs.  Accordingly, the\nMinistry of External Affairs, on 11th<\/sup> July 2014, issued a\nnotification which required al Non-Governmental Organizations\n(NGOs) in Sri Lanka to register with the National Secretariat and abide by the\nregulations specified in\nthe relevant Acts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The External Affairs Ministry statement said that all NGOs\nregistered with the NGO Secretariat are liable to submit annual Action Plans\ncontaining details of the activities which would be undertaken in the forthcoming year for approval and explained\nthat the\nwork of Non-Governmental Organizations in Sri Lanka is based on the provisions\nof the legal framework provided by the relevant Acts and Regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement\nstressed that some NGOs had exceeded their mandates and hencee the\nDirector\/Registrar of the NGO Secretariat was compelled to issue the said\ninstructions, which was a mere reiteration of the existing provisions for their\nsmooth and noted that although all Non-Governmental Organizations operating in\nSri Lanka are required by law to be registered, to ensure transparency and\naccountability, it has also been found that this is practiced in the breach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ministry\nhighlighted that while 1421 NGOs have been registered with the NGO Secretariat\nand continue to carry out their activities legitimately in the country, only a\nvery few are not abiding by the regulations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ministry said\nit is universally accepted for a legal framework to be in place governing the\nconduct of NGOs and the action by the Government of Sri Lanka is in accordance\nwith such practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A report published in the Daily News on 23rs September, 2014\nsaid that Secretary to the Ministry of Defence\nGotabhaya Rajapaksa urged the NGO community to discuss their issues rather than\nopting to internationalize them. He has made this statement at a meeting held\nwith the representatives from 11 NGOs engaged with CHOGM 2013 and the\nassociated Commonwealth People\u2019s Forum, had been based on the issuance of the\nNGO Secretariat circular and the new issues that have emerged following the\ngovernment highlighting on the need for NGOs to work within their mandate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discussion has covered into government\nsurveillance of NGO activities, power devolution, issues on missing persons and\nthe unwillingness of NGOs to dialogue with the government. The Defence Secretary\nhad made several proposals in order to iron out differences that have arisen\nbetween the NGOs and the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two decisions had been reached during the\nmeeting which included regularizing meetings between the NGO Secretariat and\nthe NGOs to collect relevant information and to solve issues and bringing the\nDefence Secretary into dialogue with those NGOs that are more strongly and\nopenly critical of the government Among one such proposal had been for the NGOs\nto work closely with the NGO Secretariat liaison offices in district\nsecretariats in order to resolve any problems that would be encountered in the\nfield. He had also expressed his commitment to environmental protection and on\nthe possible role that can be played by NGOs in working in the environmental\nsector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A total of 11 NGOs had participated in the\nmeeting with the Defence Secretary which included Colombo District Business\nDevelopment Co-op Society, Maternity & Child Life Development Foundation,\nEco friendly Volunteers (ECO-V),The Sarvodaya Movement, Seva Lanka Foundation,\nVanni Cultural Fund, National Peace Council, Centre for Poverty Analysis, Oferr\nCeylon, Manawa Shakthi Padanama and the Human Rights Organization of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These objectives must simultaneously co-exist\nwithin a vigorous debate on NGO activism that is founded on a shared\nappreciation of the roles that both NGOs and their detractors play in a\ndemocratic society. The argument here is not to suppress debate on NGOs, but to\ncouch such commentary in a manner that helps those who locate themselves within\nNGOs to reform them from within. While it is a tragedy that maligning NGOs in\nSri Lanka seems to be a pursuit in itself, it is possible that NGOs which\ncreatively address such criticism can change the tenor of the present debate\ninto one that is more conducive for the exchange of ideas that at the end of\nday would help all Sri Lankans to enjoy the benefits of a just, peaceful and\ndemocratic society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This endeavour is critical because NGOs exist in\na symbiotic relationship with their constituencies. NGOs cannot assume, even\nthough it may be the ideal that they work towards, that social empowerment can\nbe conflated with unqualified support for NGOs in the light of increasing\nattacks on their activities. NGOs must and should deal with criticism leveled\nagainst them. The essential fragility of NGO interventions in the light of\ngrowing extremism and intolerance is becoming far too evident. NGOs need to\ndevelop ways in which they engage with such criticism head-on. It is only in the\ncontinuous process of dialogue with its harshest critics that NGOs can hope to\nmaintain a semblance of credibility in the eyes of these critics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issues of transparency and accountability are at\nthe core of much criticism leveled against NGOs. Given the vast sums of money\nthat are involved, it is not unfair to request ways in which NGOs open up,\nwhere they should subject their on-going interventions to public scrutiny. NGOs\nshould not create dependencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peace building is about a committed and sincere\nattempt to assist the motherland, which requires the transfer of knowledge to\nlocal actors in order to eschew the creation of new dependencies which may\ncreate new fault-lines between and within communities. There is also the need to\nbuild systems and social networks that function long after donor aid has dried\nup. Serious internal discussions need to take place on the foci, scope and\nstrategic engagements that NGOs undertake in pursuit of their ideals. Internal\ndebate on the propriety of handling finances and management needs to be\nexercised by the management levels of NGOs, but need to involve all levels in\norder for such debates to be sustainable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report said that a fundamental problem with\nNGOs is that across the spectrum, their impact in shaping the mindset of the\nmasses is limited by their ineffective engagement with the mainstream media.\nThis is primarily due to inadequate training on how best to use mainstream\nmedia for advocacy purposes and many Sri Lankan NGOs fail to publicize their\nactivities and circulate their ideas in the media to incorporate the values\nthey promote into the political arena. They are unable to inform and shape\npublic opinion, clearly picture the situation of the on-going reconciliation\nprocess, and fully address the concerns of the public regarding the that\nprocess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report further stated that m<\/strong>any NGOs, even those based in Colombo, don\u2019t\nhave the capacity to conduct such vigorous self-assessments without donor\nsupport \u2013 despite perceptions to the contrary and it is imperative that support\nmechanisms that proactively engage with key concerns raised on the role and\nnature of NGO activism are helped about by donor commitments to such processes.\nIn order to counter allegations of partisan bias and the perceptions of\nduplicity.  It said that the danger of\nacquiescing to such Western agendas that are discordant with building local\ncapacities is that it creates in the minds of those who most desperately need\nassistance the impression that one is only trying to help for parochial or\nmercenary gain, instead of a deep seated commitment to help the community stand\non its own feet. Hence what is required are dialogues that support progressive\nreformist tendencies in NGOs, while at the same time exploring ways in which\nsuch reform can take place in the eyes of those who are outside of NGOs\nframeworks. To this end as the Defence Secretary has suggested that the NGOs\nought to commence a dialogue with the NGO Secretariat liaison offices in\ndistrict secretariats in order to resolve any problems that would be\nencountered in the field, while expressing his commitment to environmental\nprotection and on the possible role that can be played by NGOs in working in\nthe environmental sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many countries establishment of NGOs or organising\nactivities with foreign patronage is taboo and those indulging in such\nactivities will face severe penalties and several years of jail terms.  An Amnesty International report published in\nFebruary last year (2019) said that Governments across the world are\nincreasingly attacking non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by creating laws\nthat subject them and their staff to surveillance, nightmarish bureaucratic\nhurdles and the ever-present threat of imprisonment.  The report said that the startling number of\ncountries that are using bullying techniques and repressive regulations to\nprevent NGOs from doing their work. The report lists 50 countries worldwide\nwhere anti-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NGO laws have been implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Secretary General of Amnesty International Kumi Naidoo\nsaid that in many countries, during the past two years alone, almost 40 pieces\nof legislation that hamper the work of civil society organizations have been\nput in place or are in the works around the world. These laws commonly include\nimplementing registration processes for organizations, monitoring their work,\nrestricting their sources of resources and, in many cases, shutting them down\nif they don\u2019t adhere to the unreasonable requirements imposed on them. A report published in The\nGuardian\u201d said that more than 60 countries have passed laws that curtail the\nactivity of non-cto inhibit NGOs from operating at full capacity, under which\ninternational aid groups and their local partners are vilified, harassed,\nclosed down and sometimes expelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 2018, Pakistan\u2019s Ministry of the Interior\nrejected registration applications from 18 international NGOs, and dismissed\ntheir subsequent appeals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NGOs in Belarus are subjected to strict state supervision.\nWorking for those NGOs whose registration request is rejected is a criminal\noffence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Saudi Arabia, the government can deny licenses to new\norganizations and disband them if they are deemed to be harming national\nunity\u201d. This has affected human rights groups, iwho have not been able to register\nand operate freely in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Egypt, organizations that receive funding from abroad\nneed to comply with stringent and arbitrary regulations. This has led many\nhuman rights defenders being banned from travel, having their assets frozen and\nprosecuted. Some could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of receiving\nforeign funding. <\/strong>Sweeping new legislation on terrorist entities\u201d<\/a> encompass human rights and civil\nsociety organisations. NGOs are already required to register with the\ngovernment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In China, new legislation tightly controls the work of NGOs\nfrom registration and reporting to banking, hiring requirements and\nfundraising. NGOs in that country are required to register with police and\nobtain approval to carry out activities, and submit annual activity plans and\nbudgets to a supervisory unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Russia, the government has labelled NGOs who receive\nforeign funding foreign agents\u201d \u2013 a term synonymous with spy\u201d, traitor\u201d and\nenemy of the state\u201d. The government applies this legislation so broadly and\nsuch organizations are heavily fined, and put on the foreign agents\u201d register.\nIn July, the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy became the\nfirst organisation to be banned<\/a> under the new law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

n Hungary, a number of NGOs are being forced to label\nthemselves as foreign funded\u201d to discredit their work and the general public\ndesist them. Organizations failing to comply with these rules face high fines\nand ultimately the suspension of their activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Indonesia\u2019s\ndisaster coordination agency has issued guidelines on the involvement of\nforeign aid workers, stating that they needed to conduct all activities through\nlocal partners, and be registered with government agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some countries, the attack on NGOs is particularly\ntargeted against organizations that defend the rights of marginalized groups,\npromoting women\u2019s rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights,\nLGBTI rights etc..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nIndia, the government\nlabelled the environmental NGO Greenpeace as anti-national\u201d<\/a>, blocking its bank accounts,\ndeporting foreign workers and preventing local staff from travelling abroad.\nLicences for more than 13,000 organisations have been revoked for alleged\nviolations of a law on foreign funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be continued\u2026.<\/em>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA The sovereignty of a country is defined as the supreme political power of a ruling government to regulate its affairs within its specified territory without outside interference. Policies are thus formulated by the people of a sovereign nation via the elected government to suit the needs of the nation. Our country, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aamnizam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97500\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}