Protest campaigns against IFIs

CHAMIKARA WEERASINGHE

With the international community declaring a protest week against the operations of the international financial institutions (IFIs), The Green Movement of Sri Lanka will stage campaigns against the IFIs in Sri Lanka from October 14 to 21, with a focus to oppose several IFI-sponsored projects in the country associated with water privatisation and watershed management in Udawalawe.

Green Movement's Manager Net-working Ranjan Karunaratna said, they have arranged to hold demonstrations in front of the Asian Development Bank, International Monitory Fund, Japan Bank of International Co-operation and World Bank during the "Week to protest against the IFIs."

Islandwide programmes have been arranged by the Movement to make the public aware about the problems caused by debt-burdens engendered by the International Financial Institutions to countries like Sri Lanka , under the banner of aiding the developing countries, said Karunaratna.

"Since the important days like The International Day to Eradicate Poverty, The World Food Day and The International Youth Day fall during the declared week. We plan to make a big impact out of our programmes with the envisioned demonstrations, seminars, and launching of books on the subject during the week," he said.

The Green Movement of Sri Lanka will stage a demonstration in front of the Agriculture Ministry against water privatisation. Explaining their aim, he said that they stand for a country that can depend on its natural and environmental resources for the sustenance of its people.

"The IFIs do not give aid to countries without laying serious conditions. These conditions can sometimes overstep the inherent rights of a country or its people," he said.

"They lay some conditions with sinister purposes to acquire environmental and bio-diversity resources of a country," he explained.

"Some of them are ruses targeting our national parks to carry out their genetic engineering projects," he said.

The IFI-sponsored projects like Udawalawe Watershed Management have not produced expected results in spite of the moneys spent on them involving billions of dollars, he pointed out.