*Visit to Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy*
Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy (IMTD) hosted Dr. Susantha Goonatilake on September 12, 2007. He shares his ideas about the perennial conflict and the role of non-governmental organizations in Sri Lanka. First of all, he demonstrated that Sri Lanka is situated in the nexus of the trade routes for Asia and Islam world. In the history, Sri Lanka has been an important port and trade station for the foreign fleets. People from various ethnic groups and of different religions have been living in harmony. According to Dr. Susantha Goonatilake, 80% of Tamils live among the Sinhalese. He stated that there is no conflict on a people to people basis. For example, all the people went to the Buddhist temples to seek for help and comfort no matter what religion they have. The temples took care of everyone who came and asked for help. From the structural level, the conflict was introduced from Southern India. However, he did not define the root cause of the conflict.
As to the role that foreign non-governmental organizations can do in Sri Lanka, Dr. Susantha Goonatilake asserted that the countries which tried to do good to Sri Lanka actually fueled the conflict while he recognized the contribution of NGOs like CARE, one of IMTD partners. Norway has given humanitarian aid in Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, he argued that there is proof that Norway funded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Norway and the other foreign NGOs arrived in Sri Lanka and they get in touch with the intermediary group instead of the public. The information is filtered and selected by the intermediary group, and this forms the information and the news people get from the TV in the Western countries. He called this relationship between the NGOs and the selected groups “Neo-colonial relationship,” which is the topic he explored in his book, Re-Colonisation: Foreign Funded NGOs in Sri Lanka.
*Biography*
Dr. Susantha Goonatilake was first trained in electrical engineering and later received a PHD in sociology. Dr. Susantha Goonatilake is a Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a former General President of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science.
Dr. Susantha Goonatilake has taught or researched among others at the University of Exeter, University of Sussex, UK; Columbia University; New York; New School for Social Research, New York; Institute of Developing Economies, Tokyo; University of Philippines, Manila; University of Trondheim, Norway; University of Linkoping, Sweden and the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague. He has worked at the UN. He has also being a senior consultant for all the UN organs dealing with knowledge and science and technology issues.
His recent book, Re-Colonisation: Foreign Funded NGOs in Sri Lanka, deals with the role of foreign funded non-governmental organizations (NGOs). There is a growing awareness that they serve as a powerful structural influence which impacts on both organizational landscapes and civil society. In this context, he studies the political economy of NGO activity in Sri Lanka, a country which once had a vibrant democratic tradition and a functioning civil society. He contends that focused NGO penetration into the country began in the 1980s simultaneously with the growth of the authoritarian state. He claims that subsequent NGO activity in Sri Lanka has had a deep impact on visible civic life, drawing the conclusion that the work of foreign funded NGOs actually undermines “locally grown” civil institutions.
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