Pornographic DVDs spur threat to women in
Eastern NGO’s
By Poornima Weerasekara
Leaflets warning women to quit working at NGOs have been circulated
across the eastern coast, after pornographic DVDs surfaced last week.
The leaflets distributed by the Tamil Eelam Women’s Uprising Army
are threatening all women working in NGOs to quit their jobs before
April 15. The warning states that “your future life may be endangered”
if this directive was not obeyed.
Akkaraipattu Inspector A. Gaffar said one DVD contains explicit video
clips of a foreigner sexually abusing a 19-20 year old Tamil girl. The
DVD apparently contains shots taken in the Elle area in Badulla.
However, it has not yet been proved whether the foreigner or the girl
are employees of an NGO operating in the Ampara, Akkraipattu or
Kalmunai areas. However, Mr. Gaffar said investigations have not yet
been completed in Trincomalee or Batticaloa.
The DVDs are available for Rs. 50 in open markets across the Eastern
province. The leaflet also quotes a statement made by the Batticaloa
Tamil National Alliance MP Pakkiaselvam Ariyanenthiran which states
that “183 Tamil speaking girls in Batticaloa and 163 in Ampara district
have undergone abortions,” and that these women were “Employees
of NGOs”. This statement was made at a recent seminar on “Tamil
women and culture” in Pawattan Thirukkovil.The leaflet claims that
“women working in NGOs are sexually abused” and that “in some
cases where the abortions were not successful, they are on the verge
of giving birth”. It also claims that parents who allow their daughters to
work for NGOs should be held responsible for these supposed
atrocities.
NGO sources also said two mosques in Kalmunai and Saindamaradu
had publicly requested women to leave the NGOs. However, the Police
did not corroborate this statement. No complaints on sexual
harassments have been recorded in the Akkraipattu, Kalmunai or
Ampara Police divisions. Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA)
Executive Director Jeevan Thiagarajah noted that a joint plea has
been forwarded to Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, IGP
Chandra Fernando and the DIG East asking for protection for female
NGO workers in the region.
LTTE Batticaloa head Daya Mohan said the LTTE was unaware of
such an organisation that was said to have issued the threatening
leaflets. [Daily Mirror]
