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Aid organisations 'force women to work in pornographic films'
Some local and foreign non-governmental organisations carrying out tsunami relief work in eastern Sri Lanka have been accused of forcing local women aid workers to pose for pornographic films, a newspaper said yesterday.
- By Sinha Ratnatunga, Correspondent
- Published: 00:00 April 24, 2006
Colombo: Some local and foreign non-governmental organisations carrying out tsunami relief work in eastern Sri Lanka have been accused of forcing local women aid workers to pose for pornographic films, a newspaper said yesterday.
The crisis has reached such serious proportions that Tamil National Alliance's Batticaloa district MPs have requested District Secretary S. Puniyamoorthy to summon an urgent meeting with heads of both local and international non-governmental organisations (NGO) to investigate the charges and take remedial action, The Sunday Times newspaper said.
Batticaloa and Trincomalee Bishop Kingsley Swamipillai told the newspaper that he believed such abuse had been going on for some time and he welcomed the inquiry.
Batticaloa's Senior Police Superintendent Maxi Proctor said no formal complaints of such sexual abuse had been made but he had read about it in leaflets distributed by an organisation.
These leaflets were issued by an organisation believed to be an LTTE front and they urged women working in NGOs to resign before Tuesday and disclosed details of the abuses.
The Sunday Times said it learns the matter has not been officially reported to the police because the victims are afraid to come forward apparently due to the stigma attached to it and possible reprisals.
Meanwhile, the LTTE's Batticaloa political wing leader Daya Mohan summoned a meeting of NGO representatives on Friday and told them the Tigers had evidence of sexual abuse of women. He warned there would be serious consequences if such abuse was not stopped.
The racket came to light when a lady doctor, who allegedly performed about 75 abortions, confessed. As a preliminary move to stopping the abuse, women workers have been told not to work in the NGOs or INGOs after 5pm and to attend seminars only in the main offices instead of going to distant places.
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