{"id":129121,"date":"2014-08-17T01:05:47","date_gmt":"2014-08-16T19:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=129121"},"modified":"2014-08-29T12:16:33","modified_gmt":"2014-08-29T06:46:33","slug":"friday-forum-says-ngos-are-voluntary-associations-and-accountable-like-private-persons-only-if-they-break-the-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/friday-forum-says-ngos-are-voluntary-associations-and-accountable-like-private-persons-only-if-they-break-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Forum Says NGOs Are Voluntary Associations And Accountable Like Private Persons Only If They Break The Law !"},"content":{"rendered":"

Popular terms such as “accountability” and “transparency” are at times\u00a0used with reference to NGOs by unscrupulous persons both within and outside the Government,\u00a0to promote their own agendas, the Friday Forum<\/span><\/a> accused today.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jayantha<\/a>

Jayantha Dhanapala<\/p><\/div>\n

Issuing a statement the Friday Forum said; “We must remember that NGOs are voluntary associations of people for purposes that they define for themselves.” ” NGOs are accountable like private persons\u00a0only\u00a0if they break the law of the land.” it further said.<\/p>\n

Criticising\u00a0the recently issued circular to NGOs the Friday Forum said; “The policy-making establishment of NGO Secretariat and the Ministry of Defence seem unaware of the laws of our country,\u00a0or are deliberately adopting policies that violate them. It is shocking that the Prime Minister and Ministry of External Affairs are seeking to justify these violations and the Defence Ministry circular on NGOs, supporting an erosion of our Constitution and the law of the land on the peoples\u2019 right to freedom of association, freedom of speech and information.”<\/span><\/p>\n

We publish below the statement in full;<\/span><\/p>\n

Democratic Governance, Voluntary Associations and People\u2019s Rights<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Some months ago the Friday Forum <\/span>issued a public statement<\/a><\/span> that reflected on certain emerging trends in our country, and posed the question whether Sri Lanka is moving towards authoritarianism. \u00a0Though circulated<\/span> <\/i>widely, this statement did not receive extensive publicity in the national newspapers. \u00a0A recent letter issued \u201c<\/span>To all NGOs<\/a><\/span>\u201d by the Director\/Registrar of an Institution known as the \u201cNational Secretariat for NGOs\u201d located in the \u00a0Ministry of Defence confirms our concerns that the government is on a dangerous path that will soon erode every basic norm of democratic governance.<\/span><\/p>\n

This letter of the National Secretariat is titled \u201cNGOs acting beyond their mandate.\u201d It states that \u201cit has been revealed that certain NGOs conduct press conferences, workshops, training of journalists, and dissemination of press releases.\u201d \u00a0These are activities which are described as \u201cbeyond their (NGOs) mandate.\u201d \u00a0The letter demands that \u201call NGOs should prevent from such unauthorised activism with immediate effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

This circular clearly violates the rights of the people under our Constitution,\u00a0as well as legally binding international treaties ratified by the Sri Lankan State\u00a0before this government assumed office. \u00a0The rights of the Sri Lankan people to freedom of association, access to information, and freedom of speech and expression, are guaranteed in specific provisions of our Constitution. They have been interpreted by our Supreme Court and accepted as critically important areas for realising the fundamental rights of our people.<\/p>\n

In Channa Pieris v. The Attorney General (1994) Justice A R B Amerasinghe expressed the views of the Supreme Court and stated that the citizen\u2019s right to freedom of association (under Article 14 (1) (c) of our Constitution) is linked to other freedoms, including freedom of thought and conscience (Article 10), and the right to free speech and expression (Article 14 (1) (a). Group associations, he said, advances these rights. \u00a0In the Janaghosha case (1994) Justice Mark Fernando said that these articles of the Constitution \u201crecognise the right of every Sri Lankan to\u00a0be<\/span>\u00a0different; to\u00a0think<\/span>\u00a0differently; and to have and to\u00a0express<\/span>\u00a0different opinions – not merely a right to dissent privately in silence but to communicate disagreement openly by word, conduct or action by peaceful and lawful means\u201d. \u201cDissent or disagreement,\u201d said Justice Fernando \u201cis a corner stone of the Constitution….\u201d \u00a0His Lordship stated that democracy requires not merely that dissent be tolerated, but that it be encouraged. \u00a0In Wanigasuriya v. S I Pieris (1985) GPS de Silva (subsequently Chief Justice) said that \u201ca democratic polity … implies that consent (of the governed to be governed) shall be grounded in adequate information and discussion aided by the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Popular terms such as “accountability” and “transparency” are at times\u00a0used with reference to NGOs by unscrupulous persons both within and outside the Government,\u00a0to promote their own agendas. We must remember that NGOs are voluntary associations of people for purposes that they define for themselves. They are established in Sri Lanka according to diverse frameworks including under the Companies Act 2007. Some NGOs have registered under the\u00a0controversial Social\u00a0Services Act,\u00a0and agreed to provide information on their budgets and work programs. NGOs are accountable like private persons\u00a0only\u00a0if they break the law of the land. The existing laws and procedures should not\u00a0restrict NGOs and the people’s fundamental rights under the Constitution, including the freedoms referred to in the above decisions of the Supreme Court. If there\u00a0exist laws and practices\u00a0that contravene these basic\u00a0principles of democracy and our right to freedom of association and expression, then such laws should be repealed or amended,\u00a0and such\u00a0practices abandoned. Our laws and practices should always be\u00a0within the principles of the fundamental rights assured by our constitution\u00a0and the international standards to which\u00a0our country has subscribed to\u00a0better secure\u00a0the rights of our people.<\/p>\n

Police officers,\u00a0at the same time, have a duty as officers of the state to ensure that people can exercise their right to\u00a0assemble together peacefully and enjoy their right of free exchange of information and views.\u00a0Such assemblies must be protected from invasion by miscreants or other\u00a0uninvited persons,\u00a0as\u00a0liberty of the individual needs as much protection from other individuals as from governments.<\/p>\n

The Government and the current Foreign Minister consistently refer to the rights of a sovereign Sri Lankan State to resist national and international review of the government\u2019s performance on human rights. \u00a0They do not seem to know, or are deliberately concealing from the public, the fact that the concept of the sovereignty of a State has been modified significantly by many decades of development\u00a0in Constitutional and International Human Rights law.<\/p>\n

A state which has a national constitution guaranteeing the enforceability of citizen\u2019s fundamental\u00a0rights,\u00a0and a state which is bound by international law under treaties that it has voluntarily signed, must fulfill legal obligations to citizens under these instruments. \u00a0The Sri Lankan state has surrendered sovereignty to the extent that it has voluntarily agreed to have its performance reviewed both by its citizens and the community of member states of the United Nations. The government, acting through the Defence establishment, cannot violate the rights of the people that elected it to public office, and justify these violations by referring to state\u00a0sovereignty. Our Constitution says\u00a0very clearly that \u201cIn the Republic of Sri Lanka sovereignty is in the people, and includes the powers of government (legislative power exercised by Parliament, executive power exercised by the President) fundamental rights and the franchise\u201d – Article 3 and 4 (a) and (b). The perception that any critical review of government performance by the people including by NGOs and civil society is an act of treachery,\u00a0which undermines the independence \u00a0and sovereignty of our country,\u00a0has been rejected time and again in interpretations of our national Constitution by respected judges of the apex court, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

NGOs\u00a0are\u00a0important actors\u00a0that have recognised legal status under national and international law,\u00a0to raise awareness on issues concerning governments\u2019 performance relating to human rights protection and fulfillment. Sri Lanka as a member state of the United Nations must conform to these current norms on NGO and civil society participation, and their role and responsibilities in evaluating the human rights situation in our country. All the activities mentioned in this letter of the NGO Secretariat fall within and not outside the mandate of NGOs, supporting critically important citizens\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n

The criticism of the circular after it was sent to NGOs has\u00a0led to contradictory statements by officials. The External Affairs Ministry issued a strong statement justifying the circular as a legal order because NGO\u2019s were failing to follow guidelines set for registration under the Social Services Act. However, Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratna<\/span><\/a> stated in Parliament that the circular from the Ministry of Defence was not an order but a circular of \u201cinstruction\u201d with a \u201crequest\u201d to act within the guidelines that NGOs had accepted at the time of registration.<\/p>\n

The public should note that the circular quoted above states that \u201cNGOs should prevent from such unauthorised activism with immediate effect\u201d. Is this the Prime Minister\u2019s idea of language of gentle persuasion or is this a military order from the Defence Establishment?<\/p>\n

The policy-making establishment of NGO Secretariat and the Ministry of Defence seem unaware of the laws of our country,\u00a0or are deliberately adopting policies that violate them. It is shocking that the Prime Minister and Ministry of External Affairs are seeking to justify these violations and the Defence Ministry circular on NGOs, supporting an erosion of our Constitution and the law of the land on the peoples\u2019 right to freedom of association, freedom of speech and information.<\/p>\n

The recently issued and obnoxious circular to NGOs must be challenged by the people of this country. \u00a0We must not legitimise this public rejection of the norms of democratic governance by a government that has been elected to hold office on behalf of the people. \u00a0We cannot allow an erosion of the Constitutional guarantees on peoples\u2019 rights by a defence establishment that is steadily and dangerously acquiring a status and role in government that is both illegal and dictatorial.<\/p>\n

<\/b>Jayantha Dhanapala\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Professor. Savitri Goonesekere<\/b><\/p>\n

On behalf of The Friday Forum;<\/p>\n

Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala, Professor Savitri Goonesekere, Dr. G. Usvatte-aratchi,\u00a0Ms.\u00a0Suriya Wickremasinghe, Ms.\u00a0Manouri Muttettuwegama, Professor Camena Guneratne,\u00a0Rev. Dr. Jayasiri Peiris,\u00a0Dr. Deepika Udagama, Rt. Reverend Duleep de Chickera, Dr. Devanesan Nesiah, Dr.Upatissa Pethiyagoda, Mr.\u00a0Tissa Jayatilaka, Mr. Ahilan Kadirgamar,\u00a0Ms, Damaris Wickremesekera, Mr. Javid Yusuf, Mr. Danesh Casie-Chetty, Mr. Faiz-ur Rahman, Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran, Dr A.C.Visvalingam, <\/b>Professor Arjuna Aluwihare,\u00a0Mr. J.C. Weliamuna, Professor Ranjini Obeyesekere, Ms. Shanthi Dias, Mr. Chandra Jayaratne<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":45902,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1,6969,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-news","category-popular-stories","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nFriday Forum Says NGOs Are Voluntary Associations And Accountable Like Private Persons Only If They Break The Law ! - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/friday-forum-says-ngos-are-voluntary-associations-and-accountable-like-private-persons-only-if-they-break-the-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friday Forum Says NGOs Are Voluntary Associations And Accountable Like Private Persons Only If They Break The Law ! 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