Goals
Time period notes
Time period
Country
Location City/State/Province
Methods in 1st segment
- Catholic Mass at St. Jude Forest Birds festival
Methods in 2nd segment
- in boats on Negombo lagoon
- boating in construction site
Segment Length
Leaders
Partners
External allies
Involvement of social elites
Opponents
Nonviolent responses of opponent
Campaigner violence
Repressive Violence
Cluster
Classification
Group characterization
Groups in 1st Segment
Groups in 3rd Segment
Additional notes on joining/exiting order
Segment Length
Success in achieving specific demands/goals
Survival
Growth
Total points
Notes on outcomes
Database Narrative
After his election to office in 2005, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced he would work to bring peace and economic prosperity to all communities of Sri Lanka with his Mahinda Chinthana development program. The program included his SeaPlane project, a plan to build a number of seaplane airports to encourage tourism to more secluded areas of Sri Lanka such as Negombo Lagoon.
Concerned about the negative effects of the seaplane airport construction on the vegetation and natural resources of the lagoon and their livelihoods, fishermen and villagers from Negombo began a campaign against the SeaPlane project.
The earliest known action the fishermen and villagers took was on 31 October 2010 at the annual St. Jude Forest Birds festival. About 2,000 fishermen, Catholics, church leaders, members of trade unions and local organizations, and social activists gathered in the parish of Kurulu Kele, archdiocese of Colombo, and prayed for God to protect their livelihoods from the disruptions the project would cause. At the mass, the attending Catholic priests announced their support for the campaign and wrote a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, requesting that he stop development because of the potential impacts on the fishing families in Negombo. Fishermen have estimated that the Negombo Lagoon directly supports over 5,000 families in 35 villages and indirectly supports 4,000 families, fish sellers, collectors, repair centers, and centers for the sale of equipment.
On 18 November over 8,000 fishermen and villagers protested excavation work for building a seaplane platform in the lagoon. Hundreds rowed boats out into the lagoon to nonviolently interject and physically prevent digging. The Convener of the Alliance for the Protection of Negombo Lagoon, Herman Kumara, announced to the media that they would not leave until authorities removed the excavation machines, including a barge carrying dredged dirt.
The protestors also demanded an immediate halt to the excavation work as well as a meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa to put an end to the entire project.
President Rajapaksa’s younger brother and Defense Minister, Gotabya Rajapaksa, blamed the Catholic clergy for stirring up the local fishing population and threatened to use the Navy to force the demonstrators to disperse.
After ten hours of protest (from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm local time), authorities agreed to suspend work on the project. The demonstration ended after the announcement, but protestors vowed to continue to fight until the government released an official statement for the cancellation of the construction in Negombo.
On December 2, fishermen and activists met with Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, who agreed to mediate with the government for a permanent end to the SeaPlane project.
The Sri Lankan governmet refused to back down on the project but decided to move the SeaPlane project from Negombo to a different location in January 2011.
No information on protests occurring in 2012 was found.
In May 2012, the government opened their main seaplane airport in Dandugama Oya.
Sources
“Sri Lanka: Catholic priests support fishermen’s protest against seaplanes.” Spero News. 4 Nov 2010. Web 27 Oct 2012. <http://www.speroforum.com/a/42774/Sri-Lanka---Catholic-priests-support-fishermens-protest-against-seaplanes>.
Roshan, Shamith. “Thousands of fishermen protest against sea plane project.” NAFSO. 1 Nv 2010. Web. 27 Oct 2012. <http://www.nafso-online.org/2010/11/thousands-of-fishermen-protest-against.html>.
“Fishermen protest against tourist project.” UCA News. 2 Nov 2010. Web. 27 Oct 2012. <http://www.ucanews.com/2010/11/02/fishermen-protest-lankan-sea-planes-project/>.
“Sri Lanka: Fishermen protest against sea plane project.” JDS: Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka. 18 Nov 2010. Web. 27 Oct 2012. <http://jdsrilanka.blogspot.com/2010/11/sri-lanka-fishermen-protest-against-sea.html>.
“Sri Lanka: Some 8,000 fisher people hold sit-in against government tourist project.” Spero News. 19 Nov 2010. Web. 27 Oct 2012. <http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=43586&t=Sri+Lanka%3A+++Some+8%2C000+fisher+people+hold+sit+in+against+government+tourist+project>.
Perera, Melani Manel. “Sri Lankan fisher people call on Card Ranjinth to mediate with the government.” Asia News. 02 Dec 2010. Web. 27 Oct 2012. <http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Sri-Lankan-fisher-people-call-on-Card-Ranjith-to-mediate-with-the-government-20160.html>.
Perera, Melani Manel. “Sri Lanka governemnt ready to move seaplanes from Negombo Lagoon.” Asia News. 07 Jan 2011. web 27 Oct 2012. <http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Sri-Lanka-government-ready-to-move-seaplanes-from-Negombo-Lagoon-20445.html>.
“Sri Lanka’s main seaplane landing airport opens.” The Nation. 24 May 2012. Web. 27 Oct 2012. <http://www.nation.lk/edition/biz-news/item/6369-sri-lankas-main-seaplane-landing-airport-opens.html>.