January 2006 was turbulent, with Sri Lanka balanced on the edge of war. During this alarming time, most International NGO's had to close their offices in Trincomalee or significantly restrict the movement of their staff. The Nonviolent Peaceforce Sri Lanka Team (NPSL) continued to work under these circumstances as the demand for its protection services was greater than ever. In Batticaloa, an explosive destroyed a Norweigan Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission vehicle and damaged several others that were parked inside a high security zone. The attack on the international monitors symbolized what many view as the complete breakdown of whatever remained of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA).
The overall environment created great difficulties for peace and development organizations. A number of NGOs and INGOs experienced office searches and threats to their local staff due to the increased polarization of the communities. Several small bombs went off in different areas of Colombo but no people were reported injured. After a visit by the Norwegian Minister of Development and facilitator, Eric Solheim, talks between the government and the LTTE in Geneva on how to bolster the CFA will now commence in the near future.
Against this background, NPSL prepared for crisis and designed ways to deal with the threat of war during two emergency meetings. Several initiatives were taken to strengthen relationships with stakeholders and increase collaboration with allies including the International Committee of the Red Cross, UN High Commission for Refugees, and local organizations. Since the decrease of human security coordination has become problematic, NPSL put this issue on the table in meetings at the community, district, and national level. At the same time, NPSL requested the assistance of the wider NP network to become involved in support of the people of Sri Lanka who long for dialogue and negotiations as opposed to war and more violence.
Immediately after the announcement of talks in Geneva, NPSL observed a reduction in violence. During the relative peace, NP is reconnecting with groups and individuals to determine their needs in the wake of the recent violence.
The Work of the Teams
Due to the high demand for protection, NPSL intensified its focus on community structures that are committed and able to reduce the violence locally. The Mutur team facilitated several gatherings between Tamil and Muslim communities. These were observed by the army and police and pledges were made to allow the safe return of displaced people including a commitment by the army to work closely with Tamil and Muslim peace committees. The Valaichchenai team responded to several hand grenade incidents and were told that their presence improved the army’s handling of civilians in the aftermath of such violence.
Both the Trinco and Valaichchenai teams hosted Mel Duncan and Christine Schweitzer who reviewed the field work and management performance and discussed emergency planning as well as a number of personnel, financial, and programmatic issues.
In Colombo, NPSL took part in various civil society gatherings to mobilize people to advocate an end to the violence. At the same time, NPSL and UNICEF conducted a joint workshop that brought together several agencies to share information on child protection strategies as part of a new joint initiative with UNICEF to strengthen local community systems for the protection of children. In an effort to continue to raise awareness of NP, NPSL organized an open forum that increased understanding about the work and the situation in the East and North with national and international actors in Colombo.
Recruitment and Training
The recruitment process for new field team members for Sri Lanka has led to the invitation of 18 people including 9 men and 9 women from 16 countries to an assessment and training in April in South India.