User:Polina Sini/Visaka Dharmadasa

Visaka Dharmadasa (born 1960) - Sri Lankan peace activist.

She is the founder and Chair of Association of War Affected Women and Parents of Servicemen Missing in Action.

Activism
From the establishment of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1976 to their military defeat in 2009, Sri Lanka was engulfed in Asia's longest civil war. The Tamil minority rebel group, feeling persecuted by the Sinhalese-controlled Sri Lankan government, sought to establish an independent Tamil state. Fighting between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers was accompanied by widespread human rights abuses as both groups targeted civilians to advance their political goals (torture, rape, and killing of Tamil civilians, suicide bombings, assassinations, kidnappings).

Visaka's sons joined the military. To stop war and prevent death of her sons Visaka started the Kandy Association for War Affected Families. This Association spread an information about "how we have to do something to stop the war ripping our country apart".

On September 27, 1998 the LTTE attacked the Sri Lankan military base in Kilonochchi. Her son Achintha Senarath went missing as well as 608 other soldiers. After the attack Association of Parents of Servicemen Missing in Action (PSMIA) was found by Visaka Dharmadasa. The members of PSMIA are dedicated to uncovering the fate of soldiers missing in action, advocating for the release of detainees, and promoting peace in Sri Lanka. Association helped solve several issues, including the issue of identification tags to all soldiers and the expedited registration and tracing process of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

As the PSMIA advocated for change within the Sri Lankan military, Dharmadasa took her passion for peace directly to the Tamil rebels. Dharmadasa believes that contact and communication are essential in the peacebuilding process between the rebels and the government. Visaka initiated talks between opposing sides in the conflict and designed the Track II dialogue process that helped broker a ceasefire and ultimate end to the civil war.

As she continued communicating with the Tamil population, Dharmadasa began to understand the deep pains that all women felt about losing their husbands and children in the war. She believed that having a forum for women to mourn their lost loved ones together would encourage communication and reconciliation. The communication with the Tamil population allowed Dharmadasa to understand the deep pain of all women who lost their loved ones. Under Dharmadasa's direction, the PSMIA established the Association of War Affected Wome.

Even after the end of civil war the Association of War Affected Women and the Parents of Servicemen Missing in Action continue to work for peace. They bring communities together, provide conflict resolution trainings for women, and assist those affected by the 2004 tsunami.

In 2009 Association of War Affected Women initiated a campaign to make the promise of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 a reality. As Dharmadasa says, "You can't just say, 'Include women, include women.' You have to show the capacities of women." With this in mind, AWAW prepare women to campaign for government office and become effective leaders. So far, they have trained 500 women and have begun workshops with 750 more women from across Sri Lanka.

Membership :


 * a network member of Women Waging Peace,
 * a founding member of Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL),
 * a member of Women Mediators across Commonwealth,
 * a member of the expert pool of Resolution to Act,
 * a member of Global Network of Women Peacebuilders.

She is also the gender focal point for GPPAC in Sri Lanka, as well as Director of the board of National Peace Council and PAFFREL of Sri Lanka.

Awards
Visaka Dharmadasa was awarded the prestigious Humanitarian award for 2006 by the Inter-Action of Washington DC. Inter-Action is an NGO consortium comprising of 160 non governmental organisations.

In coordination with the “1000 Peace women across the globe” movement, she was nominated for a collective Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

Personal life
Visaka lives in Kandy. She is Buddhist Visaka is married to an Indian. She has two other sons apart from the one missing in action, one of whom still serves with the army.

Education
Visaka Dharmadasa holds a degree in negotiations and mediation skills from the United States Institute for Peace, Washington, and in women and security from Harvard University and Cambridge, USA.


 * Category:Sri Lanka

Category:Activism Category:Island countries of the Indian Ocean Category:Female Category:Civil wars Category:Peace