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Sri Lankan fishermen stop seaplane platform construction in Negombo Lagoon, 2010-2011

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Summary

In 2010-2011, Sri Lankan fishermen and Catholic clergy in Negombo campaigned against a government-backed seaplane platform on the Negombo Lagoon, blocking excavation work with boats and successfully halting construction on the lagoon, though the broader seaplane program continued elsewhere. [source: nv-database]

Background

After his 2005 election, President Mahinda Rajapaksa unveiled the “Mahinda Chinthana” development program, which included a SeaPlane project to build seaplane airports for tourism in secluded areas such as Negombo Lagoon. [source: nv-database] The Negombo Lagoon directly supports an estimated 5,000 fishing families in 35 villages and indirectly supports another 4,000 families in fish selling, equipment, and repair work. [source: nv-database] Fishermen and villagers feared the excavation and seaplane operation would damage lagoon vegetation, fish stocks, and their livelihoods. [source: nv-database]

What happened

On 31 October 2010, at the annual St. Jude Forest Birds festival held in the parish of Kurulu Kele (archdiocese of Colombo), roughly 2,000 fishermen, Catholics, church leaders, trade unionists, and local activists attended a Mass praying that God protect their livelihoods from the disruptions the seaplane project would cause. [source: nv-database] Attending Catholic priests announced their support and sent a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa urging him to halt the development. [source: nv-database]

On 18 November, more than 8,000 fishermen and villagers gathered at the lagoon to protest excavation work for the seaplane platform. [source: nv-database] Hundreds of boats rowed into the lagoon to nonviolently block dredging machines, including a barge carrying dredged dirt. [source: nv-database] Herman Kumara, convener of the Alliance for the Protection of Negombo Lagoon, told reporters the protesters would not leave until the equipment was removed. [source: nv-database]

Defense Minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa blamed the Catholic clergy for “stirring up” the local fishing population and threatened to deploy the Navy to disperse the demonstration. [source: nv-database] After ten hours of protest (from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.), authorities agreed to suspend work on the project, and the demonstration ended, though protesters vowed to continue until the government issued an official cancellation. [source: nv-database]

On 2 December, fishermen and activists met with Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, who agreed to mediate with the government for a permanent end to the SeaPlane project on the lagoon. [source: nv-database] The government refused to abandon the program entirely, but in January 2011, it agreed to relocate the seaplane project away from Negombo Lagoon. [source: nv-database] In May 2012, the government opened its main seaplane airport in Dandugama Oya rather than Negombo. [source: nv-database]

Key people & organizations

  • Sri Lankan fishermen of Negombo [source: nv-database]
  • Catholic priests of the Archdiocese of Colombo [source: nv-database]
  • Herman Kumara (convener, Alliance for the Protection of Negombo Lagoon) [source: nv-database]
  • Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith (mediator) [source: nv-database]
  • President Mahinda Rajapaksa (target of the campaign) [source: nv-database]
  • Defense Minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa (opponent) [source: nv-database]

Tactics used

  • prayer and worship — Catholic Mass at the St. Jude Forest Birds festival launched the public phase of the campaign.
  • sit-in — 8,000 fishermen staged a sustained on-water sit-in for ten hours, blocking excavation work.
  • nonviolent interjection — boaters physically inserted their vessels into the construction site to halt dredging.
  • letters of opposition — Catholic clergy wrote to the president to formally raise the fishermen’s grievances.
  • coalition building — fishermen, clergy, and the Alliance for the Protection of Negombo Lagoon acted in concert, with Cardinal Ranjith joining later as mediator.

Outcome

Verdict: partial. (7/10 on the GNVAD scale; campaigners achieved two of three stated goals.)

The campaigners forced the removal of excavation equipment from the lagoon and a halt to the dredging. They did not win a permanent end to the SeaPlane project itself; the seaplane program continued, but at a different location. [source: nv-database]

Lessons

  • A localized coalition of fishermen and clergy can defeat an infrastructure project backed by the central government, even when the head of state and defense minister publicly oppose them.
  • Sustained, on-site physical presence (the ten-hour boat blockade) was decisive; advance threat of Navy deployment did not deter protesters [source: nv-database]
  • “Defending” an existing way of life against development often wins narrow, site-specific victories even when it cannot stop an entire national program — partial outcomes can be reframed as long-term defenses of specific livelihoods.

Sources

Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.

Sources & verification

  • nv-database — grounding: primary — license: link-only

Last verified: 2026-07-09