Dr. Goonatilake Challenges pro-NGO Critics

rapa · **Dr. Goonatilake Challenges pro-NGO Critics -** 06-22-2007, 10:31 AM

Sociologist, former UN Consultant, Engineer and Author, Dr. Susantha Goonatilake, responding to criticism of his views on politically-motivated NGOs, told the “Asian Tribune” that he did not wish to re-enter a lengthy debate on the subject, since the issue had been dealt with much earlier at seminars where the several NGO representatives including National Peace Council Media Director Jehan Perera had been present. “If anyone doubts what I’ve explained, they can find the facts in my forthcoming book,“ the Dr. said.

The 400-page book titled, Foreign Funded NGOs and Death of Sri Lanka ’s Civil Society is expected to go on sale before the end of the year.
He further stressed that had these critics been present at last week's seminar, their questions would have been adequately responded to. He challenged them to disprove following points given at a power-point presentation at the seminar noted the following points relating to a number of politically-motivated NGOs:
* To influence the military and weaken it to their working, they have formed “The National Anti War Front” which has never confronted the LTTE; but only the Sri Lankan Government.

The National Anti War Front includes
*Dr.Kumar Rupasinghe - Chairman - Foundation for Co-existence (FCE)
*Mr. Kingsley Rodrigo - PAFFREL
*Rev. Fr. Oswald B. Firth - Director - Centre for Society and Religion (CSR)
*Mr. S. Balakrishnan - NPC
*Mr. S. Sivagurunathan - Movement for Defence of Democratic Rights (MDDR)
*Ven. Madampagama Assaji - Co-President - Inter Religious Peace Foundation (IRPF)
*Mr. Indika Gunawardena - Chairman - Kelani Mittiyawatte Podujana Udanaya (KMPU)

NGOs infiltrate Defence:
*Investigation into Army Intelligence Officer Lt. Colonel Muthaliff’s death showed that the suspects had informally visited the Kotelawala Defence Academy
*Several members of The Anti War Front have taught in the Kotelawala Defence Academy
*When Sri Lankan troops were about to take back Jaffna from the LTTE … Kumar Rupasinghe, Director of International Alert (IA) called for UN intervention to prevent Jaffna being regained

International Alert (IA) Scandals
*After a major series of scandals IA was internationally attacked, then probed. It lost law suits by London employees on charges of gross discrimination. Under this cloud, its Director Kumar Rupasinghe soon resigned. Its funder, Norway commissioned an inquiry

Kumar Rupasinghe
*IA’s Rupasinghe is back in Sri Lanka today and sponsoring the Muslim cause and writing about “Regaining Muslim coastal and fishing lands in the East”.
*These coastal and fishing lands were lost precisely because of the exclusive Tamil zones demarcated by his International Alert.
*Kumar Rupasinghe has campaigned for the ISGA as reflecting “the maturity of the political debate in the country”.
- * He said “the ISGA is the only vehicle”
- * He has campaigned for P-TOMS as “the only way out”

A New Form of Attack
*Chief ally of IA and other intruders is National Peace Council (NPC) …

National Peace Council (NPC) Organiser:
*The organizer of the National Peace Council, Ajith Rupasinghe, the brother of IA’s Kumar Rupasinghe who participated in a march and rally of the Tigers’ territory in Geneva and spoke at the rally.
* The “rally ended with [the LTTE] liberation song sung in chorus”.

National Peace Council Questions Sovereignty:
*After the Indian Accord, National Peace Council’s Jehan Perera, Media and Research Director, had once threatened Sri Lanka with dire consequences from the Indian army
*Jehan Perera has questioned the need for sovereignty and had called for “shared sovereignty ” and “two near-states”

The National Peace Council Strategy:
*The NPC has spelled out in their publications detailed plans to brainwash the country from the top political hierarchy to the grass roots through comprehensive propaganda.
“They get far more money than the total sum given to Sri Lanka ’s academic bodies to spread deliberate disinformation on Sri Lanka ’s territorial integrity.”
* National Peace Council has infiltrated state radio
* The SLBC has a live radio programme “Subharithaya” in Sinhala and Tamil by NPC
* It also operates also through the Norwegian TV station “Young Asia” Changing Constitution for ISGA, P-TOMS
* The National Peace Council launched propaganda for the Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA)
* The NPC The National Peace Council congratulated the government and LTTE and the Norwegian facilitators for signing the P-TOMS
* After P-TOMS was suspended by the Sri Lankan courts NPC advocated UNP and SLFP parties, together to accommodate P-TOMS

Most Foreign Funded NGOs Interconnected :
Case of Berghof Foundation
*Berghof Foundation wanted to train the Sri Lanka Armed Forces for a total remaking of their thinking
*Berghof Foundation wants to manage and monitor the security sector through NGOs and “the international community.”
*Berghof also requires “demilitarization” [their words] of the armed forces
*They want to “disarm”, “demobilize” and “right-size the political and economic role of the military”.
(For the first time since Independence there is an attempt to bring our armed forces under foreign heel)
*And at a time of grave danger to our sovereignty, Berghof aims at disbanding our forces
*An uninvited foreign organization will determine through NGOs the right size of our military.
*Under the security sector they include the “military, paramilitaries and police forces”
*And among “institutions with a role in managing and monitoring the security sector” they included NGOs and

*"the international community”.
* NGOs and the so-called “international community” are now to manage our security forces
*Berghof has a careful plan of brain washing “decision makers, their advisors, politicians and political practitioners, senior civil servants and influential from all parties and sections of society.”
*Berghof wants to change radically what we think by “promoting curriculum changes and research in academic and research institutions, and in defence academies”. They are ambitious.
*The Berghof Foundation, aims at restructuring not only the armed forces but also it says, our State.
*Berghof also want to bring in foreign countries as so-called “international stakeholders on Sri Lanka ’s process of conflict transformation”
*They thus want to institutionalize foreign interfere in our internal affairs, especially its defence.

On what basis?
*Berghof accepts the fiction of Tamil traditional homelands. And it wants to “explore a range of models of governance and local governance for the North-East and the rest of the country”.
*Berghof assumes Self-Determination rejected by UN as only a basis for separatism.

Other NGOs briefly: PAFFREL
*PAFFREL is an organization which claims to work for democracy by monitoring elections
*The LTTE has opposed fair elections
*Yet PAFFREL has come out firmly for P-TOMS which legitimizes the dictatorial regime of the LTTE
*Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has questioned the need for sovereignty; advocated foreign intervention
*International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) has numerous examples of distortion of facts; sponsored removing our sense of history; advocated foreign intervention
*CPA has welcomed ISGA
*CPA has said that signing of the P-TOMS is necessary

Seeming Independent NGOs are interlocked:
*Jehan Perera is Media and Research Director National Peace Council
*With Sarvodaya
*Is the General Secretary of the People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL)
*Kingsley Rodrigo, the Chairman of the PAFFREL
*Kingsley Rodrigo General Secretary of National Peace Council
* S. Balakrishnan, Director Programmes, of .

Berghof’s published ideologues are:
*CPA’s Ketheshwaran Loganathan , *Jayadeva Uyangoda, *CPA’s Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu,
*IA’s Kumar Rupasinghe

*Berghof lists about 70 Foreign Funded NGOs both local and international, allegedly linked to them PAFFREL works closely with other NGOs
*National Peace Council , *Sarvodaya, *SEDEC *Conference of Major Religious Superiors,
*National Conference on Religion and Peace (NCRP) , *Marga Institute
*Centre for Society and Religion, - Subverting the state
These NGOs have openly declared that they wish to change the thinking of government, the armed forces and political parties.
*To influence the military and weaken it to their working, they have formed “The National Anti War Front”

This group has never confronted the LTTE; only Sri Lanka
The National Anti War Front includes:
* Dr.Kumar Rupasinghe - Chairman - Foundation for Co-existance (FCE)
* Mr. Kingsley Rodrigo – PAFFREL
* Rev. Fr. Oswald B. Firth - Director - Centre for Society and Religion (CSR)
* Mr. S. Balakrishnan - NPC
* Mr. S. Sivagurunathan - Movement for Defence of Democratic Rights (MDDR)
*Ven. Madampagama Assagi Nayaka Thero- Co-President- Inter Religious Peace Foundation (IRPF)
*Mr. Indika Gunawardena - Chairman - Kelani Mittiyawatte Podujana Udanaya (KMPU)

NGOs infiltrate Defence
*Investigation into Muthalieff’s death showed that the suspects had informally visited the Kotelawala Defence Academy. But ….
*Several members of The Anti War Front have taught in the Kotelawala Defence Academy
*This is a world’s first where the ideological enemy is paid to subvert troops
*The Flag Officers’ Association (FOA) is an organization of retired senior army officers. FOA includes navy– coastal defense
*NGOs and Kumar Rupesinghe, the very persons who objected to the army taking over Jaffna in 1995 advise them today (source FOA).
And who advises the government’s Peace Secretariat?
*Berghof Foundation , *Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), *PAFFREL, *International Alert
*International Centre For Ethnic Studies -- Colombo , *Marga Institute .
- All organizations that have questioned our integrity.

*One of the key Presidential Tsunami committees has an army officer who has been advised by International Alert allies (source FOA)
*Air force seniors have links with Berghoff Foundation (source FOA) anti-nationals threatening Sri Lanka
*Anti-national foreign funded NGO tentacles have penetrated deep into this government and the last one threatening defence.
All the NGOs above have:
* stood continuously for foreign intervention
*Worked against our sovereignty
*Wants to restructure the state and armed forces
*Accepted the Tamil traditional homelands hoax
*Have infiltrated political parties, the armed forces and media and
*Advocated the break-up of the country

- Asian Tribune - 04-08-2005