The United Nations World Tourism Organization(UNWTO) has organized an international conference on tourism at a hotel in Passikudah, at a coastal village in the east coast of Sri Lanka on 11 and 12 of July. The whole objective is to invite investors to invest to boost tourism in the post war development process in Sri Lanka. The aim seems that the develop war affected nation with support of tourism promotion bringing investment in to the country. The President Maithripala Sirisena will be the chief guest at the closing day while tourism minister John Amarathunge inagurate the opening ceremony.
NAFSO expected to take part inside the forum and wanted to raise the concerns of the coastal communities as well as the others in the country while highlighting the issues faced by them. NAFSO in collaboration with STP-Swistzerland wrote to General Secretary of UNWTO requesting possible participation in the conference and did not respond until last week.
NAFSO being an organization which is advocating the rights of communities had decided to organize some events to highlight the issues of communities.
* Parallel an alternative seminar to the UNWTO conference
* Media briefing to highlight the issues of communities
* Protest to demonstrate the issues and draw attention of UNWTO and investors on people's views
NAFSO together with concern civil society actors mediated to organize the communities and Civil Society Organizations in Batticoloa. Three fisheries cooperative societies agreed to attend all those events as they received painful and highly disturbed experience from Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe. At a visit and a meeting with Passikudah fishing community who ate already squeezing and to cornered to 150 meter narrow stretch land due to hotel construction at Kalkudah bay PM Wickramasinghe has forcefully informed to fishermen amidst their resistance that they need the small available land too for tourism purposes.
Once our team met the fisheries groups early June, they were ready to organize series of actions against loosing their land, the coast. The actions were aimed at to connect the UNWTO conference this week. Not surprizingly, newly elected so called good governance government's intelligence personnel (CID) summoned the fisher leaders to Valachchenai police station & had threatened them not to engage any protest and if fishers organize such a protest on 11 or 12 July the police won't allow fishermen to go to the sea three days during 10-12 July.
The fishers were then afraid to engage any protest and NAFSO had to called off the protest on 12th without support from the fishermen in the area.
However, NAFSO expected to continue to highlight the issues of fisher communities the land rights violations, loss of livelihoods, environmental degradation and adverse effects to fisheries etc. while organizing a media briefing. Today, NAFSO together with Praja Abilasha land Rights Network and People's Alliance for Right to Land organized a media briefing at National Library which attended fisher leaders from Passikudah, Paanama and KKS communities all are affected from the tourism industry one or the other.
Francis Raajan, the coordinator, Praja Abilasha land rights network and Ruki Fernando, a human rights defender attended in supporting the fishers issues.
Mr. Christy Fernando who attended the press briefing today expressed his grave concern over the plans of the present government and criticizing them, "We drop to the fire from frying fan. There is no much difference between current government and previous Mahinda regime. We the people, Tamils in particular betrayed very badly proving none of the capitalist party can be trusted ever."
This is really a very serious concern of people in the country, Tamils in partocular.
Paralel to this, there was another onteresting development took place as the UNWTO chairperson had indicated his interest to meet NAFSO Convener together withfew fisher community leaders while the UNWTO conference being held.
In the absence of NAFSO Convener, some of my colleagues, few civil actors together with fisher leaders will meet the UNWTO tomorrow.
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