Interview with Rev. Godfrey Yogarajah, general secretary, EFA

Rev. Godfrey Yogarajah, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of Asia (EFA) is a recipient of the international Pro Fide Award 2006 in recognition of his sacrificial service to the persecuted church. In an exclusive interview with Christian Today India, Rev. Yogarajah, who is also the general secretary of National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) expresses hope of seeing God's kingdom being established in the island nation and in Asia amid concerns of the ongoing ethnic conflict that has violated all norms of human rights.

Q. How has the ethnic conflict affected the civilians in Sri Lanka?

The present ethnic conflict has resulted in 800,000 internally displaced people, 75000 war widows and 25000 child soldiers according to conservative estimates. In this conflict, both the government and the opposing militant group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have committed gross violations of human rights. For instance, recently a pastor of our church was shot down, killed by security forces and now there is an attempt to frame him by saying that he was a terrorist. In fact, the violation of human rights has been a big concern for NCEASL because we have even our own staff who are being abducted in northeast Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, in the south, we daily see people being killed, people being abducted or people 'disappearing' without trace. Many of them are from minority communities – those most targeted are the civil and social activists, journalists and businessmen.

Unfortunately, the paramilitary forces in action seem to be operating with some kind of impunity…functioning without being answerable to any authority. Even in trouble–torn Jaffna, during curfew hours, there is looting which is going on. I think the government needs to come down very hard on these elements, otherwise people may lose confidence in the government and suspect that it is giving some kind of support to these paramilitary forces.

Situation now is very tense and people are living under a lot of fear. Human Rights Watch and other human rights groups have marked Sri Lanka as a country where human rights are not being respected at all – both by the government as well as the LTTE.


Q. Is EFA doing anything to end this conflict?

The EFA has always worked closely with NCEASL and is in consultation of what its stand should be in the ongoing ethnic conflict. EFA together with the NCEASL has issued many statements and has been very involved in the relief and rehabilitation process.

One of the things EFA has done together with the NCEASL is to highlight some things that are going on in Sri Lanka which the international community is not aware of. We have briefed embassies, given correct pictures to our international partners and we have called upon the international community to bring pressure on the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to respect human rights of civilians. One of the main things we have been able to do is highlight and bring awareness of the true situation in this country and bring pressure to try and stop this.

Besides this, we are also involved in relief and rehabilitation and developmental work irrespective of caste creed or religion. Wherever there has been relief needed, we have been there to help.


Q. Who is responsible for the abductions and disappearances?

Both groups are responsible for certain actions in their own territories. Both are disregarding the rights of civilians. Both have used humanitarian aid as a bargaining point to hit at each other and finally the civilians are suffering. The new law – Prevention of Terrorism Act – and some other laws are very dangerous and can rob the people of their fundamental, legal and civil rights. Things are really bad in Sri Lanka.


Q. The government is probing aid groups for suspected rebel links after the military recently claimed to have found equipment belonging to Netherlands–based ZOA Refugee Care at a rebel base overrun by the military in the eastern district of Ampara. Is this a witch–hunt or is there something more to it?

I think it is a witch–hunt because the particular group in question is ZOA…and in international papers the government has even accused World Vision (WV). ZOA and WV are reputed international organizations who are known for their non–partial humanitarian work. These groups do not take sides...they are neutral. The truth is that the government, after accusing them publicly and almost causing a backlash, has apologized and even sent letters to them acknowledging their humanitarian work. However, for public consumption, false propaganda are being passed against them...things are being said which are not true. This is very sad. In fact, a NGO consortium has even issued a statement on behalf of ZOA, condemning the false reports.


Q. Why is the government taking a hostile attitude towards the NGOs?

You see, even in most difficult situations and conditions, NGOs are speaking the truth and exposing the atrocities committed on the civilians by forces which may be backed by the government. I feel some people in the government are displeased by this exposure.

For instance, independent observers have claimed that Sri Lankan air forces have bombed civilian establishments like orphanages. However, the government asserts that these were terrorist camps and installations that were bombed. Now, this is a very dangerous trend as anybody – individuals or organizations – who speak on behalf of minority or human rights or anyone who speak for federalism or federal solutions – they are all categorized as LTTE or terrorists. This is a very sad situation that is now prevailing in our country.


Q. Escalation of conflict has resulted in food shortage in several regions in Sri Lanka. Who is to be blamed for this?

I think both the government and the LTTE should be blamed. The LTTE has been named as a terrorist organization for their violations of human rights. They have also been banned in other countries. However, the government of Sri Lanka also continues to do similar things like the LTTE and yet the international community has taken a soft stance.

One of the reasons there has been food shortage in Jaffna is because A–9 road that connects Jaffna to rest of the country is closed. The LTTE wants it to be opened but the government has refused to open it. With the A–9 closed, there is no way to send food to Jaffna except by ship. But huge shipments of food cannot be sent that way. Transporting supplies by air is not an option because of the prohibitive cost. And even if someone wanted to take supplies by air, one have to wait for months to get clearance from the defence ministry, civil affairs ministry, etc. Even organizations like the International Committee of the Rd Cross (ICRC) and others are permitted to take limited amount of supplies. There is almost a siege in Jaffna crippling normal life. Life has come to a standstill. People are trapped in there...confined. People can neither come out nor go in. There is no freedom of movement there. It is like a virtual prison.


Q. The Government has accused Christians of supporting the LTTE. Is it true?

While not supporting the LTTE, many Christian organizations and churches and many moderate and like–minded Sinhalese groups are supporting the legitimate aspirations and cause of the minority Tamils. They have all renounced seperatism and want a federal solution. However, it has to be negotiated what is 'federal' and how much of power can be devolved. Though they all support devolution of power yet they do not support the means the LTTE is using to obtain it. The LTTE is using violence and we are all opposed to violence whether it is used by the LTTE or the government. We condemn violence of any sort. While not supporting or agreeing to the means the LTTE is using, we are supporting the legitimate aspirations of the minority Tamil community – that power should be devolved to them. We are saying that the legitimate aspirations of the people should be respected.


Q. How did the LTTE come into being? What does it want?

For decades, the Tamil minorities in Sri Lanka have been discriminated against. Their rights have not been recognized and their demands snubbed. In matters of employment, in the education sector, in nearly every field they have been overlooked and ignored. For years, they have been persecutedand harassed – chased and hounded. While many were killed in riots, thousands were rendered without shelter as their houses were destroyed.

As these atrocities continued to take place, the Tamils began to realize that they needed to stand up for their rights. In the beginning they protested peacefully but the government turned a deaf ear to their protests. Hence, over the years, the Tamils felt that they needed to protest in a language the government can understand i.e. using force and violence. Discarding 'Satyagraha' (peaceful mode of protest first started by Mahatma Gandhi of India), the Tamil youth took up arms and the LTTE was born.

In the beginning, the disgruntled Tamils demanded that their rights be recognized and respected. But they felt that again and again that the government made false promises, agreeing to go for negotiated political solutions. Several generations of Tamil leaders have been hoodwinked that way and nothing has moved forward. So finally they felt that nothing less than a separate state would do.

Now the LTTE wants to work on Oslo solution (a framework for federal solution). But this present government has gone back on that demand, saying that Sri Lanka will only be under unitary Constitution. In other words, we have gone back by a decade...and we see little light in the near future.

Successive governments have dilly–dallyed by holding all–party conferences, round table conferences, etc. to pacify the international community but have failed to do anything worthwhile for protecting the interest of the minority community in Sri Lanka – both ethnic minority as well as religious minority like the Christians.

Even now the government has taken a hardline stance towards minority communities as it is being supported by certain fundamentalist political groups like the I do not see any The atrocities are not only against the ethnic minority, even religious minority like Sinhala Buddhist nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) party and the Marxist Jantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). While the actions of the former are contrary to the Buddhist philosophy of non–engagement in political affairs, the latter political party is very much anti–minority in its stance. Likewise, many extremist groups have been vociferous and Christianity has been at the receiving end. In last two years, 146 churches were burnt and thousands of Christian workers were assaulted and beaten up. Meanwhile, the anti–conversion law which has been brought up in the Parliament is all set to be implemented…all it needs is a show of vote.


Q. There are reports that children are being conscripted into the armed forces and are made to take part in this conflict? Is it true?

Very much true. Young people and children are being abducted and conscripted by all the parties who are involved in the conflict. It is a daily occurrence. Killing of people, disposing of bodies without any kind of proper investigation or record is a common thing…life is very cheap here.


Q. Is there any solution to this conflict – short term or long term?

There should be some sort of international mediation or intervention...somebody has to play the role of an umpire right now. There is a lot of untruth being said in the media and the people are believing them. There should be international observers, international mediation. One thing that could solve the problem almost immediately is implementation of a federal solution…a federal framework to this whole problem so that power is devolved to all the regions…not only to Tamil areas but also to Sinhala areas. Actually federalism was first demanded by a group of Sinhala people because they too once felt that they were being discriminated.


Q. To what extent have your social and mission work been affected because of ongoing the conflict?

NCEASL has been carrying on a lot of housing programs in tsunami affected areas…we have been working on shelter, children's work, water sanitation and income generation. In the south, our work is progressing very well. However, work in the northeast has almost come to a standstill. We had a target of building 125 houses, but due to the ongoing conflict, our work has stopped. Out of the 36 houses that were completed, 15 of them have been taken over and occupied by the army. It is also very difficult to procure building materials. Arbitrary arrests and search operations have put a question mark on the safety of our staffs. The income generation projects that we had started in some areas by giving boats have failed as boats have been destroyed in the conflict because of shelling and artillery fire. So sometimes we feel frustrated and feel that we cannot continue the work. All these things have affected our work a lot.

NCEASL has relief and development arm which are separate from mission work. The relief and social work are independent because we do not want to be accused of using unethical means of converting people. We are doing social work for its sake and trying to alleviate the people from poverty and improve their life, etc. In the process we are demonstrating the love of God.

In the present circumstances, doing mission is not very easy. Of course, a lot of training is going on in the churches but evangelism and evangelistic work is getting affected. There is a lot of pressure and a lot of hostility towards the present churches in Sri Lanka. So mission is not very easy.


Q. How has the anti–conversion law affected the rights and activities of Christians in Sri Lanka?

The anti–conversion law has not been passed yet. It has been tabled in the Parliament and all it needs is a show of votes in order to be implemented. One of the reasons it has not been passed yet is due to international pressure. We have been lobbying a lot with US State Departments, the Canadian government and many international bodies and trying to bring pressure on Sri Lankan government.

NCEASL has also challenged the Bill in court of law and though the court has watered down some of the clauses by making some amendments on the penal clauses, yet, largely it has allowed it in whole. In Sri Lanka, the judiciary, the executive and legislature are very merged and none of the wings of the government has any clear and well defined powers or authorities.

For instance, in the past, the Indo–Lanka Accord had provided for the merger of northeast province that was in interest of Tamil minority community. But now the Marxist JVP has gone to the Supreme Court which has said what the President has done was unconstitutional and illegal and hence northeast should be demerged. But, by demerging the province, it is breaking the Indo–Lanka Accord. In response, India has sent many envoys and emissaries urging the Sri Lankan government to merge the province, saying that it is a violation of the Accord. And, the the Sri Lankan government keeps on promising that a law would be passed in the Parliament to facilitate the merger of the province. But, in reality, while making false promises to the international community, the government has appointed two separate governors to run the two provinces separately.

In other words, the actions of the government are diamentrically opposite to the promises they are making to the international community.


Q. What is purpose of EFA IT Commission that has been set up recently? How will it help in achieving EFA's goals?

We want to exploit the latest technology to the maximum...in preaching the Gospel, in equipping the ministers and sharing and providing the resources. The IT Commission will help make a network amongst the national evangelical alliances. We will be making websites that will be more informative and interactive. We will all be connected through intranet and will be able to communicate with each other and engage in training programs and conferences through live broadcast. Through the IT Commission, the Asian Church will be greatly blessed and it will be easier for us to reach out to the unreached.


Q. What goals have EFA set for itself?

EFA in conjunction with NCEASL believe in not only preaching God's love but also demonstrating it through their work. We have undertaken social welfare projects and we work very closely with the government. Our social development body is autonomous and separate from the church. It is a registered body, recognized and acknowledged by the Social Service and Welfare Ministry of Sri Lanka. In this regard, we are working together with the government and other groups as well on national level.

Meanwhile, our mission work and evangelism are being carried out by our regional clergy fellowships and our churches in different regions. NCEASL's mission is that our nation should be discipled for Christ and through the EFA, all national alliances would be strengthened so that they could disciple their nations for Christ as well. Our final goal is to advance God's kingdom in Asia.


Q. What is the agenda of the EFA Congress that will convene later this year?

Every few years a Congress of evangelicals convenes to discuss particular issues of relevance to the Asian Church. We had one a few years ago in South Korea where 374 delegates attended from all over Asia and addressed the issue of Asian Church renewal and growth. This year we are having discussion on Asian Mission and the implication of Asian Mission on post–modern world. In between these Congressional meetings, we have mini–consultations like the one we had last year on theology of persecution as many of our churches in Asian countries are undergoing persecution. And so it was relevant to bring in practitioners and give them a firm basis of what they are doing. Our next mini–consultation is on child and holistic development.

We formulate our programs by looking at the challenges the churches in Asia are facing and our programs are aimed to meet these challenges. Topics of relevance and topics of need are identified and we address them.


Q. How do you feel receiving International Pro Fide Award 2006?

I accepted this award on behalf of pastors and church workers who are working in very remote areas, who are not being appreciated for their work, who are undergoing a lot of suffering and persecutions. One of the reasons I accepted this award is so that through this I can can be their voice, and in a small way bring awareness and consciousness of the suffering church worldwide. Glory goes to God alone. This is not one person’s effort but a team effort, a collective effort – efforts of people who have responded to the call of God and are working under very difficult situations in remote and dangerous areas.


Q. How is a regional evangelical alliance different from national evangelical alliance?

Each regional evangelical alliance or national evangelical alliance is very autonomous in nature and structure. In each country, evangelical churches and organizations come together and form an evangelical fellowship or alliance. These churches and organizations have complete freedom to work in their respective nation. And, many of these evangelical alliances in the nations come together to form and become a part of the regional alliance like EFA. We have regionally Asian Alliance, European Alliance, African Alliance, etc. and all regional alliances are member bodies of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA).

The rationale behind forming regional alliances is to give a bigger identity, a greater sense of belonging to the national alliances. There may be some national alliances which are small but as a member of the regional alliance and that of WEA, they gain strength knowing that they are not alone, that they are a part of 420 million evangelicals worldwide and have a common forum to express their views.


Q. Do you face any conflict in executing your role as general secretaries of both EFA as well as NCEASL?

My work as general secretaries of the two evangelical bodies is complementary. By nature, regional alliances are not organizations with a lot of resource or capacity. Usually regional alliances are given all the support by national alliances. National alliances nurture the regional alliances and give them a strong and firm base to work from.