Insight on Conflict » Sri Lanka

Liberal peacebuilding and civil society in Sri Lanka

Insight on Conflict — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:03:59 +0000

Civil society organisations have played a very active and at times controversial role in the peace process in Sri Lanka. To their supporters, the best civil society organisations represent a vital force for human rights and justice; but they have also received strong criticisms, including, amongst other things, being conduits for international influence and agendas, and being biased for one ‘side’ or another in the conflict. According to Oliver Walton, Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, much of the controversy has been caused by the relationship between civil society organisations and international donors, where support from donors has resulted in unintended consequences and a backlash against the work of civil society and peacebuilders.

Oliver kindly agreed to be interviewed about his research, transcribed below. His research focused on the Sri Lankan peace process, 2002-2008, though his findings offer insight into both the current situation in Sri Lanka after the defeat of the LTTE, and also relationships between international donors and civil society in conflict situations more broadly.

Insight on Conflict (IoC): What impact has the international engagement in Sri Lanka had since 2002?

International engagement in Sri Lanka since 2002 provides a good case study for looking at the impact of ‘liberal peacebuilding’

Oliver Walton (OW): In the paper The Limits of Liberal Peacebuilding? International Engagement in the Sri Lankan Peace Process Jonathan Goodhand and I argue that the international engagement in Sri Lanka since 2002 provides a good case study for looking at the impact of ‘liberal peacebuilding’, a model of international intervention where conflict resolution is promoted via democratisation and liberalisation. The case of Sri Lanka shows that liberal peacebuilding interventions may have illiberal consequences. They can become instrumentalized and manipulated by nationalist actors on the ground and therefore contribute to an illiberal backlash against international intervention.

IDPs arrive at a transit centre on their way home, Oddusuddan, Sri Lanka, 2010. Photo from DFID, uploaded under a Creative Commons Licence

In Sri Lanka, the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) became closely connected to the peace process. Some nationalist groups used NGOs as scapegoats against an international intervention. These groups argued that international actors posed a threat to Sri Lanka and its sovereignty, its society and values. There was also a widespread view that international actors are seeking to influence the peace process and support the LTTE side.

Academics and international policy-makers have criticised the way that international donors have tended to focus their attention on a so-called ‘charmed circle’ of English-speaking NGOs in Colombo. NGOs are often considered by locals as rather money-focused (a problem which exists in many countries). NGO workers receive higher than average salaries, which can help to create a negative perception of NGOs amongst the wider population.

IoC: You point out in your article that international engagement in Sri Lanka has been counterproductive. What kind of alternative approach would have been more productive?

‘Peace’ became linked to a process of economic and political liberalisation based on the Western model of liberal democracy

OW: There is certainly a risk of overstating the impact of international actors on the ground. The domestic political situation changed quite dramatically and international actors were not solely responsible. The Western-oriented peace approach pursued by the United National Party and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe also played a crucial role. ‘Peace’ became linked to a process of economic and political liberalisation based on the Western model of liberal democracy. The governments focused specifically on economic reforms, which became quite unpopular in the south of Sri Lanka. A more robust alternative may have been one that placed more emphasis on the material needs of communities in both the North and the South.

IoC: You argue that existing modes of donor peacebuilding have tended to depoliticize civil society. How can international donors make their support to NGOs more effective and credible?

OW: At the time when the peace process was breaking down and the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime was beginning to pursue a more authoritarian approach, some argued that NGOs should develop a more confrontational attitude against the government: that they should have challenged the government concerning human rights violations or played a bigger role in shaping the peace process, that they should have tried to ensure that more political aspects are addressed in Track I negotiations rather than only economic ones.

I would argue that it is important to look at the historical context of civil society engagement in Sri Lanka to understand the potential for NGOs to play these roles. Sri Lankan politics is highly centralized, making it difficult for NGOs and civil society groups to effectively mobilise opposition to influence the state. There are very few examples in Sri Lanka’s history where civil society groups were able to successfully confront the government in this way. The state and the political parties dominate the national political arena and have generally co-opted civil society groups when they have grown to prominence.

A more constructive way to improve peacebuilding activities is to give local organisations more flexibility in developing their own strategies. It is important for donors to engage with a broader range of organisations and not just the normal circle. This is quite a common refrain, but in reality it is quite difficult for donors to actually engage with this wider section of civil society. They need to invest more in building capacities for this kind of organisations and support them to develop their own strategies.

During my research, I also came across a small number of NGOs that were trying to develop a more genuine and participatory approach to peacebuilding, based on strengthening the capacities of local communities and leadership, but most did not do this, partly because of the constraints placed on them by donors. This approach appeared to be an effective model of community peacebuilding. If donors provided NGOs with more space to develop their own peacebuilding strategies, it seems likely that more NGOs would start functioning in this way.

IoC: One of the consequences of this backlash was that the fairly neutral-sounding terms such as ‘peacebuilding’ became heavily politicized. Some civil society groups tried to distance themselves from the terms peace and peacebuilding. Why was that?

OW: When I was doing field research in Sri Lanka in 2006/07 I wanted to find out how peacebuilding organisations managed their legitimacy as the public environment for their work was becoming more hostile. One of the strategies I identified was that NGOs sought ways to engage in peacebuilding without using the term ‘peace’. Since 2002, the term had become quite politicized.

During the early part of the peace process the government was very supportive of the so-called peace NGOs and actively encouraged them to support the peace process. However, this quickly changed with the new government after 2004. NGOs were put in a very difficult position. These organisations started trying to develop ways to do peacebuilding without using the actual word ‘peace’. They started replacing it with other words that seemed to be appropriate to the current context such as ‘dialogue’, or ‘community problem-solving’.

IoC: Are there any general lessons you would draw in terms of how international actors should engage with civil society, or how civil society should engage with international donors?

OW: International actors need to have a better understanding of the struggle for legitimacy that NGOs are experiencing. They need to engage constructively with the organisations on the ground and give them the chance to make decisions on their own. NGOs can react in a flexible manner if the situation on the ground shifts and adapt to the new circumstances. Therefore, one of my conclusions would be that we need to give local actors more flexibility in these kinds of environments.

Mine risk education by HALO in Sri Lanka. Photo by DFID, uploaded under a Creative Commons Licence

I would stress that flexibility concerning objectives and strategies is key to improving NGO-donor relations and in improving outcomes

Donors often put NGOs under pressure by putting forward specific objectives and pressuring the NGOs to achieve these. I would stress that flexibility concerning objectives and strategies is key to improving NGO-donor relations and in improving outcomes. Donors and NGOs need to develop more open relationships, which provide room for greater honesty about goals and how these might need to change in order to adapt to changing circumstances.

IoC: Finally, what are the prospects for peace in Sri Lanka? How has the end of the war in 2009 had an impact on the peacebuilding process?

OW: The war has ended and it seems quite unlikely that major violence will return at least in the short- to medium-term. The population is relieved that the war is over. However, Sri Lanka’s peace is a victor’s peace, which is potentially storing up various problems for the future if the more fundamental issues that caused the violence are not addressed. The current regime has made little effort to address the most fundamental issues such as human rights and political representation for minority groups. The political trends that facilitated the end of the war such as the militarization of society and politics, and the growing centralization of power around the President and his family have had very negative consequences for Sri Lanka’s post-war politics and will continue to damage the prospects for long-term peace in Sri Lanka if they are not addressed.

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National Ethnic Unity Foundation (NEUF)

Constance Buerger — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:05:24 +0000

National Ethnic Unity Foundation (NEUF) stated working in the early 1990’s and registered as a non-governmental organisation in 1996. They have 6 members of staff based in the office in Batticaloa and organised groups at the villages where they work.

In their early years, NEUF had worked to raise awareness about the need for a political solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka. In this regard, NEUF conducted awareness-raising programmes to promote unity and co-existence among the different ethnicities living in Ampara.

NEUF uses environmental and income issues as a bridging point to encourage businesses across ethnic boundaries.

However, today NEUF believes that awareness raising programmes themselves are not sufficient to bring unity and co-existence amd has embraced a different working principle in the past years. Nowadays, NEUF works for peace by bringing together different ethnic groups to address social issues that affect all of them. Taking environmental and income issues as the gathering point, NEUF brings together Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim groups to work with each other. They form multi-ethnic committees of farmers and are encouraged to form businesses between different ethnic groups.

Creating a context for peacebuilding through social issues brings unity and co-existence into everyday practice, reducing the chances of a relapse into conflict.

NEUF finds that community peacebuilding through this strategy is more productive and efficient than attitude change or awareness-raising programmes. They believe that peacebuilding can easily get caught up when it is addressed as an intellectual topic. Creating a context for peacebuilding through social issues brings unity and co-existence into everyday practice, reducing the chances of a relapse into conflict. Because the shared social issues are not related to ethnic difference, NEUF finds that people are more willing to work together with people from other ethnicities.

In this inter-ethnic cooperation which has not existed in the region for a long time, unity and co-existence between different ethnicities emerges for real.

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Centre for East Lanka Social Services (CELSS)

Constance Buerger — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:58:11 +0000

The Centre for East Lanka Social Services (CELSS) started its work in 1994 to promote peace and understanding in the Ampara district and to support the rehabilitation of children, women and young people affected by the war. It is jointly formed by Tamil and Muslim youth who have directly experienced the conflict and have realised the value of living in peace.

CELSS is jointly formed by Tamil and Muslim youth who have directly experienced the conflict and have realised the value of living in peace.

CELSS’s main focus is to promote mutual understanding between the different communities living in the area. Misunderstandings and the lack of communication between the different ethnicities resulting from the protracted conflict are seen as what keeps the communities apart in today’s Sri Lanka and CELSS aims to address and rectify this situation through their work.

To achieve this end, CELSS works in a number of different ways. They organise sports events between Tamil and Muslim youth to bring these two ethnicities together. This facilitates the youth to get to know each other at a personal level. Further, CELSS brings these communities together through Shramadana (community activities where everyone gets together to complete a common task, such as repairing a road or digging a communal well), livelihood programmes for women, awareness programmes and workshops on peacebuilding. After the Tsunami, CELSS started providing development assistance to affected communities. In these too, CELSS worked through mixed ethnic beneficiary groups to further its vision of peace and mutual coexistence.

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Jeeva Jothy

Constance Buerger — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:54:14 +0000

Jeeva Jothy was established in 1992 primarily for the rehabilitation of female former Tamil Tiger (LTTE) child soldiers. With the vision to work towards ‘Happy Children’ irrespective of their ethnic identity, Jeeva Jothy has continued taking in former female LTTE soldiers and orphaned children from war into their children’s home in Batticaloa.

Jeeva Jothy has the vision to work towards ‘Happy Children’ irrespective of their ethnic identity.

Jeeva Jothy has taken a multidisciplinary approach towards the rehabilitation of former child soldiers, giving them the opportunity to live with other war affected children, providing education, counselling and vocational training. Taking on a “Community Based Rehabilitation” approach, Jeeva Jothy encourages its beneficiaries to integrate into the normal life of the community around them. This holistic approach is seen to be sustainable and productive in the long term.

Jeeva Jothy works at the national level, offering human rights programs, psychosocial counselling and empowering women and widows. The members from its children’s home for child soldiers form an important part in these programmes.

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Deepaloka Foundation

Constance Buerger — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:43:31 +0000

Deepaloka Foundation was started in 1996 in the Ampara District and now it has spread to the North and Eastern Provinces. At the moment the organisation has 6 officers and 75 volunteers and is well established with a network of Community Based Organisations (CBO) based in over 180 Grama Niladhari Divisions.

The conflict has become so entrenched due to the language barrier that prevents communication between Tamil and Sinhala ethnic groups.

Deepaloka Foundation believes that the conflict has become so entrenched due to the language barrier that prevents communication between Tamil and Sinhala ethnic groups. Their activities for peacebuilding are therefore aimed at bridging this language barrier between all the ethnicities living in North and Eastern Provinces, namely the Sinhalese, Tamils and the Moors.

Deepaloka foundation carries out three types of activities for this end:

they provide language teaching programmes at the village level;
they promote cultural exchange activities between different ethnic groups; and
they organise sports events for youth from different ethnic groups.

Through their officers and the volunteers working at village level, the Foundation organises and carries out basic Tamil and Sinhala language classes to the monolingual ethnic groups. This is open to anyone in the village irrespective of age limits.

Deepaloka Foundation conducts cultural exchange activities among different ethnicities. The activities are organised at the village and regional level for one or two ethnic groups to travel to a village where most people are from a different ethnicity. In that village, the visiting group performs their traditional music, dancing and drama for the host village. These activities range from one to three days depending on the location of the villages in exchange. Another cultural activity promoting the different ethnicities to work together takes place during traditional festivals of each ethnicity. Cultural celebrations of one ethnicity such as the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year are opened to people belonging to the other ethnic groups, thereby giving them an opportunity to experience the culture of the other.

The conflict loses its meaning when people get to know the other ethnicity at a personal level.

Deepaloka Foundation also holds sports events among youth from different ethnic backgrounds. Again, Deepaloka Foundation organises the groups through their CBO network.

Deepaloka Foundation finds their approach to the conflict to be effective at the community level. They believe that the conflict loses its meaning when people get to know the other ethnicity at a personal level and engages in a dialogue with them. This familiarity is perceived as a precondition for peace.

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Sri Lanka Unites (SLU)

Constance Buerger — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:13:15 +0000

Kegalle SLU Workshop 2011

The Sri Lanka Unites movement brings together young people, aged 12 to 30, from different ethnic and religious groups to rise up, to give them a voice and to unify their efforts to strengthen the peace-building process in Sri Lanka.

Emerging out of decades of great adversity, and a culture of suspicion and divisiveness, the end of the war finally marks a window of opportunity to rebuild one nation. Sri Lanka Unites aims to correct the wrongs of the previous generations and promote a culture of hope and reconciliation. It takes a multi-pronged approach to empower young people and give leadership to inter-community reconciliation initiatives in their localities.

To unite the youth of Sri Lanka from all ethnic and religious groups in a movement which provides hope and facilitates reconciliation in Sri Lanka, paving the way for a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka for future generations.

Activities of SLU:

Annual Future Leaders’ Conference for Hope and Reconciliation
School tours and leadership and reconciliation seminars in every district
Mentoring weekends and in depth training on reconciliation , community development and leadership for student leaders
Reconciliation Centers: youth led centers for development, education and reconciliation
adopting and rebuilding schools in rural Sri Lanka
rebuilding and contributing liberaries in former war zones
Sri Lanka Unites academic syllabus and work book
Sri Lanka Unites Dance troop, Fusion music band, drama team
Sri Lanka Unites Cricket team

SLU Ocober School Relations visit

School Tours

Sri Lanka Unites motivates young leaders in schools across the country to understand the need for reconciliation in post-war Sri Lanka, and empower them to undertake and give leadership to inter-community reconciliation initiatives in their localities. They believe that reconciliation comes not from the cosiness of a capital, but from the grassroots of a nation.

To listen to the voices of Sri Lanka’s young people and to read about their experienes with Sri Lanka Unites, visit SLU’s Blog.

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Peace Development Foundation (PDF)

Joel Gabri — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:05:26 +0000

Peace Development Foundation (PDF) was established in 2002 with a focus on the Mannar District of Sri Lanka. The multi-ethnic community residing in the district, as well as the large internal displaced community from the conflict, resulted in creating a need for the peacebuilding work of PDF.

PDF believes in the significance of human rights and democracy for a just multi-ethnic society. Therefore they conduct trainings, advocacy and capacity and skill building workshops on human rights and democracy. PDF understands the importance religion holds in people’s lives and through their work. The Foundation encourages participants to draw strength and guidance from religious teachings to see each other as equal human beings.

Thier main focus is with the IDP resettlement areas. PDF works with the IDP communities directly and with the villages where the IDPs have resettled. They facilitate the process of resettling for both the communities. The relations between the two communities can be be very stressful and the IDPs are viewed as a threat to the existing community. PDF seeks to minimise this tension and future conflicts between these two communities by encouraging them to work together and learn about the shared principles of human rights and democracy upon which we all need to live. The Foundation collaborates with the relevant religious authorities to ensure the resolution of day-to-day issues that arise between these communities.

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People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL)

Joel Gabri — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:05:24 +0000

People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) started in 1987 to fill what they saw as a crucial gap that had arisen in Sri Lankan civil society organisations. Ensuring a free and a fair election is the basis for a democratic country. PAFFREL is based on the notion that for a political solution to ethnic conflict, the political structure of the country and its election process has to be transparent and fair. There was hardly any impartial civil society mechanism in practice to ensure the fairness of elections and therefore, PAFFREL filled this gap with its extensive volunteer network spread throughout the country.

With over 20,000 volunteers coming from its allied civil society organisations, PAFFREL monitors elections from the local government to the presidential. PAFFREL see themselves as performing an important role as impartial monitors, to the strengthening and expanding democracy in Sri Lanka.

PAFFREL also has community level citizen’s committees with whom they work, educating them with political awareness and protecting their voting rights as a way of making themselves heard. This process, of being fairly represented and transparency in the governance, is seen by PAFFREL as imperative for sustainable peace in Sri Lanka between different ethnic and religious communities as well as political groups.

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People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PPF)

Joel Gabri — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:05:22 +0000

People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PPF) was founded as a united civil society voice for peace in Sri Lanka in 1999. It is a coalition of over 200 organisations all of which work in the social service sector in Sri Lanka. In the face of the heightening conflict, working for peacebuilding became an urgent call upon which the sustainability and effect of all the other social services depended. This is the situation that brought PPF together as a coalition of civil society organisations conducting peacebuilding activities.

As a united civil society voice, the objective of PPF is to build public awareness on issues related to conflict and the need for sustainable solutions that address the concerns of all the relevant parties. The strength of PPF is in its united front and its widespread civilian network. The networking ensures more productive outcomes of the resources for peace as well as stronger voices on concerns, human rights violations and grievances.

The working methodology of PPF is two-fold: when working face to face with people on conflict related issues, PPF uses workshops and seminars as the methodology. When addressing or commenting on state or informal institutions, PPF uses press releases, press conferences, public speeches, rallies, protests and campaigns.

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Suriya Women’s Development Center (SWDC)

Joel Gabri — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:05:20 +0000

Suriya Women’s Development Centre (SWDC) was established in 1991 with the objective of working with women and children displaced by conflict. Suriya started working with women and children in refugee camps and continued working with them when they were resettled in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka in early 1993.

Though their initial objective was to facilitate the transition and integration of these women and children into society, this has expanded with time. It acts as a voice of for women living in the Eastern Province: Suriya works with war-affected women and organises them to voice their perspective of the conflict. It brings together women from Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim ethnicities through their human rights, gender empowerment, development and theatre programmes. Suriya believe that although women are the most severely affected during a conflict, their voice is hardly given notice within the patriarchal hierarchy of the society. Suriya is striving to make these voices heard through the opposition, empowering women to speak up for a peaceful society.

Suriya uses a number of methods to bring out women’s voice for peacebuilding: they work in refugee camps, resettlement areas and with women living in conflict areas. They organise vocational training for women to encourage their attendance and in the centre, educate the women and children on human rights and gender equality, provide psychosocial counselling, legal advice for the women who suffered at the hands of armed groups and males and use cultural theatre and traditional songs as a form of expression and empowerment. These diverse approaches facilitate the participation of war affected women and highlight their voice as a significant factor in relation to the conflict.

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