15.09.2011 Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Advocacy
Joint lobbying in Berlin, Brussels and Geneva
Although the war in Sri Lanka ended in 2009, the country’s Tamil-populated north is not at peace. Quite the reverse: their land is completely occupied, tens of thousands live in internment camps and thousands are in prison. Lawlessness is also increasing in the south, with journalists ‘disappearing’, trade union activists being arbitrarily detained, any opposition gagged. This is also placing the work of medico and other development non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in a precarious position: any statement about Sri Lanka endangers the work of our partners on the ground, which is all the more important in the uncertain post-war period.
To protect them and safeguard their mutual assistance and support, the network ‘Sri Lanka Advocacy’ was formed at the start of 2010 as a means for a number of NGOs, including medico, to coordinate lobbying activities in Berlin, Brussels and Geneva and run a joint website at www.lanka-advocacy.org.