National Co-existence, Dialogue and Official Languages Minister Mano Ganesan, in a Facebook post, contradicted Justice and Buddhasasana Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe’s claim that NGOs and INGOs must be regulated, saying he preferred the term ‘facilitated’, instead.

‘On the subject of regulating the NGOs, Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe must be having his own reasons. But as the Minister for this subject I don’t see any serious reason to regulate NGOs in this country,’ the Minister wrote.

‘I even don’t want to use the word, ‘Regulation’ but ‘Facilitation’ as long as they meet the lawful requirements,’ he said.

‘After I took office and the National Secretariat for NGOs brought under my ministry, I have taken very many steps. I have eased the pressures in them. NGOs were considered as ‘traitors’ and the INGOs were considered as ‘enemies’ then. It was once upon a time. Now I have given strict instructions to the Director-General of the NGO Secretariat and his staff under me to consider NGOs and INGOs as partners in the state building,’ he said.

‘They are the civil society organisations who stood with us during the hey days. I was there all alive with Civil Monitoring Commission, ‘Vipakshaya Virodaya’ and ‘Samagi Peramuna’. In fact I played sizable role in such struggle movement since back as year 2005 with Raviraj, Lasantha, Bahu, Siritunga, Britto, Nimalka, Priyani when even the traditional CSOs and politicians backed due to fear. I can’t drop or ignore them. I call them as Civil Society Organizations (CSO) rather than NGOs,’ he said.

 ‘I have the blessings of the Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe on this. President Sirisena has told us in the cabinet in general to get all the forces to build the country. Taking the clue, I am now establishing nation-wide, district-wide, division-wide CSO councils. Even some CSOs misunderstand this. But it’s an independent network. My ministry is doing the facilitation part. I am going to get them official placements in the district and divisional DCC meetings to have their say in the development and nation building affaires with the elected representatives and state officials,' the Minister said. 

‘We require all actors of the nation including the civil society at every DCC meetings, where decisions are made on the spending of state funds. This will reduce the levels of corruption, wastage, and mismanagement and identify the priorities of the poor masses.'

'Minister Rajapakshe says that some NGOs are detrimental to national reconciliation and religious harmony. Let me have the facts. I note more hindrances to national coexistence from religious and political forces,' he said. 

‘There is possibility of certain civil society organizations acting against the state. Minister Rajapakshe can say that there are NGOs who fiddle funds raised to serve the people. There are such NGOs. My ministry is now conducting two separate investigations on two such NGOs. If I am provided with specific facts I will act according to the factuality on the complaints. But I can’t generalize such a policy and call most NGOs are against the state & reconciliation and close shop.'

There are wrong doers in the parliament. There are violators in the state officialdom, security forces and police. We will identify them and clean the institutions in the best interest of the state. But we can’t generalize such policy and close or dissolve the parliament, police, security forces and dismiss the state officials at random. This country is not a kingdom but a peoples republic. We need these institutions in republican democracy,' he said.