Ceylon Today Editorial

UNHRC kudos for GoSL

15 September 2016

United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) website said that among the several issues being taken at its current sessions which opened in Geneva Tuesday is the issue on Sri Lanka.

That subject will revolve round the report of the 'Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on its mission to Sri Lanka-Note by the Secretariat' and 'comments by the State (Sri Lanka)' on this report.

As reported by this newspaper on its Monday's edition, the period covered will span a little over a year, i.e. from 16 May 2015 to 18 May 2016. The period covered starts just a little over four months after the present Yahapalana Government co-led by United People's Freedom Alliance-Sri Lanka Freedom Party Leader and the President of the country Maithripala Sirisena was elected to power on 8 January 2015, followed by the appointment of United National Party-United National Front (UNP-UNF) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Premier on that same day.

The duo continues to lead the country to date, solidifying their leadership after the UNP-UNF swept the Parliamentary Polls held seven months later, on 17 August 2015.
The UNHRC sessions do not cover the controversial period, i.e. towards the tail end of the Government of Sri Lanka's (GoSL's) war with the Tamil Tiger terrorists, spanning a four month period from January 2009 till the end of that war on 17 May 2009, where much of those alleged disappearances did take place.

And those alleged disappearances took place during previous regime. But this Session is with reference to peacetime disappearances.

Even is such disappearances that took place during the review period, i.e. from 16 May 2015 to 18 May 2016, such disappearances would not have had received sanction from above, i.e. either from Sirisena or from Wickremesinghe.
The new government recently introduced the Office of the Missing Persons (OMP), by statute. This Act was welcomed by the Global Tamil Forum, comprising the country's Tamilian Diaspora (see srilankabrief.org), many of whom were affected during the Tamil terrorist conflict, though not necessarily by the terrorists only, but also due to the activities of the government and its security forces and the Police.

Further, the setting-up of this office has been welcomed by the UK (see adaderana.lk), where a sizeable number of the Tamil Diaspora live and where Whitehall has been advocating justice for the disappeared in this war, which crystallized when former Premier David Cameron visited Sri Lanka in 2013 during the Rajapaksa regime, to participate in the Commonwealth sessions.
Cameron, during that visit took part of the international press corps to Jaffna, much to Rajapaksa's chagrin, so that they would be able to gain a first-hand knowledge on the Jaffna situation and of its citizens who faced the brunt of Sri Lanka's 26-year-old Tamil terrorist war.

Though a copy of the OMP Act was not immediately available, a guide to its draft, in a publication by the Centre for Policy Alternatives showed that some of the salient features of that Bill were: 'Receive complaints relating to missing persons from any relative of a missing person, or any other person or organization.

Initiate an inquiry or investigation into disappearances pursuant to either a complaint or information provided by previous Commissions. Priority will be given to cases that are of public importance, most recent or that have substantial evidence already available. Take necessary steps to investigate cases effectively by procuring and receiving any statements, either written, oral, or through the use of video conferencing facilities or cameras, while maintaining a high level of confidentiality. The recently enacted Right to Information Act does not apply to the OMP (Clause 25).

Power to summon any person to be present before the OMP to provide a statement or produce a document in their possession. Apply to the appropriate Magistrate's Court to carry out an excavation and/or exhumation of suspected grave sites and to be able to act as an observer at such proceedings. Request assistance necessary for the achieving of its mandate from any State, governmental or local authority or agent.

Authorize an OMP officer to enter without a warrant and investigate suspected places of detention or to make an application to the Magistrate for the issuance of a search warrant to enable Police to search suspected premises and procure evidence that is necessary for the investigation conducted by the OMP. Refer cases falling outside the mandate of the OMP to the Police or relevant law enforcement authority. Hand over reports containing information on a missing person if an offence has been committed that warrants an investigation. Provided a witness consents, the OMP may also inform the relevant authority of the details of such witness in order to enable such relevant authority to secure a statement from such witness to be used in the process of investigation.'

Now that an institution has been established to specifically investigate missing persons, GoSL is bound to receive bouquets and accolades at the current UNHRC sessions.

Daily News Editorial

Wimal eats humble pie

15 September 2016

Wimal Weerawansa may have expected a pat on his back when he called on the Most Venerable Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatte Chapter to apprise the prelate of the perils faced by the nation from the proposed new Constitution. Instead what the garrulous MP from the Colombo District got was a rap on the knuckles. Weerawansa was seen on television literally pouring his heart out to the prelate on the prospects of the country being divided, if the new constitution drafted at the whims of the Tamil diaspora and NGOs sees the light of day.

He also spoke of a move by the drafters of the new Constitution to do away with the clause that protects Buddhism - a Constitution he said that was to be put together at the instance of Geneva to appease separatist elements.

Giving an attentive ear to the loquacious MP it was now the turn of the Most Ven. Mahanayake Thera to put things its proper perspective. The new Constitution, said the prelate, was still in the making and in any event it will be placed before the people at a referendum before passage. Hence it was not correct to instill fears in the minds of the people prematurely nor create anxiety among the populous about a threat to the country’s territorial integrity.

The Most Ven. Mahanayake observed that he did not think that both the President and the Prime Minister will under any circumstances allow the country’s territorial integrity to be compromised. Both of them had given this assurance to him. Even the Asgiriya prelate who is generally very sensitive on such matters did not respond to Weerawansa but said he will issue a statement after consulting with the Sanga Karaka Sabha.

Wimal Weerawansa made this pilgrimage to Kandy with the full knowledge that his colleagues in the JO, including Udaya Gammanpila, too were members of the Parliamentary Committee set up to draft the new Constitution. He cannot expect the Mahanayakes to be unaware of this fact. The new Constitution is still on the drawing boards with inputs coming in from across the board. The President and the Prime Minster has time and again said that nothing detrimental to the preeminent place enjoyed by Buddhism would included in the new Constitution nor clauses that threaten the country’s unity and territorial integrity. Besides, the Yahapalanaya government would not survive one day if it acts contrary to the wishes of the majority community by dethroning Buddhism or introducing measures to divide the country. This would be plain to even a child.

Hence it is clear that Wimal Weerawansa is flogging a dead horse and his only reason to keep the topic on the boil is to deflect from the numerous charges facing him before the Bribery Commission and other investigation arms (his brother too is now in custody in a misappropriation case). No doubt the proposed new constitution will be a well thought out document that would cater to the demands of the modern age. There are many features in the 1978 Constitution that are obsolete, particularly those which relate to human rights and the prevailing legal system. The JRJ Constitution came in for heavy flak due to certain obnoxious features in it that were passed using the steamroller majority by the late President. The proposed new constitution will now offer an ideal opportunity to redress the situation. 

Books on the war

Hot on the heels of another book written on the 30 year war by a retired Major General comes the news that former Army Commander Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka too is going to put pen to paper. Prior to this, there was the famous book “Gota’s War”, written by a pro Rajapaksa newspaper columnist cum author of a book on the second JVP insurgency, and launched at a five star hotel. That event was graced by all the Who’s Who of the Rajapaksa regime, which raised eyebrows as to who funded the project although the name of a Foundation named after a departed UNP strongman was mentioned. The title was also the cause of hilarity among the then UNP Opposition who contended that the main protagonist in the book was away from the country for the best part of the war. Last week we saw the launch of the book titled “Road to Nandikadal” by retired Major General Kamal Gunaratne who is said to have led the 53 division that killed Prabhakaran. This event too was graced by hardline Bikkhus, JO politicians, columnists and retired members of army, well known for their pro Rajapaksa leanings. Field Marshal Fonseka’s book which is due to come out somewhere next year too no doubt will be a political event more than a book launch. We have not read the latest book but the one before that was extremely biased towards the Rajapaksas, for obvious reasons and the second book, one presumes, will not be far behind. In the end what the public will have to contend with will be a distorted account of the war and the actors involved, with different writers giving different versions, coloured by their political prejudices.

The Island Editorial

Bolt-holes of criminals 

15 September 2016

Many war criminals are reported to have avoided deportation from the UK thanks to some serious lapses on the part of the British authorities, who have taken no further action after blocking their bids for citizenship. A recent article in The Daily Mail tells us that some human rights campaigners have faulted the British officials for not reporting the criminal elements including some Sri Lankans to Scotland Yard’s special war crimes unit.

It was obvious that the UK and other western nations made a very bad mistake by harbouring terrorists from other countries. They may have thought those criminal elements would pose no threat to them, but in so doing, they allowed complex underground networks to be set up for sordid operations such as fund raising for terrorism, gun running, money laundering, drug trafficking and human smuggling. These conduits are now being used by anti-western terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS to carry out attacks.

Meanwhile, powerful nations, unflinchingly, shield war criminals and blood thirsty dictators in a bid to safeguard their economic and strategic interests. The US has a history of defending many dictators such as Shah, Marcos and Pinochet and Saddam Hussein, who finally fell from grace. France and several other European nations cottoned up to Bokassa, the self-crowned ‘Emperor’ of Central Africa. The UK, too, went out of its way to defend Pinochet, whose Caravan of Death left thousands of suspected communists dead in Chile. All the countries that produce electronic goods prolong the suffering of people in countries like Congo, where armed groups, backed by multinationals seeking cheap coltan to manufacture semi-conductors, are unleashing violence to plunder those resources. The Global North gains both ways; it sells its arms to terrorist groups in Africa and obtains raw materials for their products for a song in return. This, the so-called western democracies do while championing human rights in the developing world.

Politicians in all parts of the world are prepared to do anything to retain or capture power. Some diplomatic cables disclosed by Wikileaks have revealed that while the Vanni war was raging the then British Foreign Secretary David Miliband rushed here in a bid to broker a truce because he and his party were eyeing the block votes, which pro-LTTE groups in the UK claimed to be able to deliver to a party of their choice. Lord Naseby, who echoes the views of the vast majority of British people averse to terrorism, revealed in 2013 that the creator, recruiter and organiser of LTTE child soldiers in Sri Lanka, Adele Balasingham, was living comfortably in Southern England. It was a supreme irony that the then British PM Cameron visited this country to attend the CHOGM 2013 in Colombo, and called for a war crimes probe.

The Daily Mail tells us that some human rights groups have slammed the British government and warned that the UK risks becoming a ‘safe haven’ for war criminals. While their concerns should be appreciated the fact remains that Britain has already become a bolt-hole for criminals of all sorts from the four corners of the earth. They have also said it is ‘hard to understand’ how British officials effectively blocked war criminals’ attempts to remain in the country but baulked at deporting them or referring their cases to police. Such hypocrisy on the part of Britain is nothing new. In 2009, Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the only person convicted in connection with the Lockerbie airline bombing that killed 270 people, was released from a British jail purportedly on ‘compassionate ground’. However, the Blair government drew heavy flak for having engineered his release to improve economic ties with Libya. Saif Gaddafi, the second son of the then Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi, according to a Daily Telegraph dispatch we reproduced at that time, thanked the British as well as the Scottish administration for securing Megrahi's release, and implied that lucrative trade deals would follow.

The Dr. Jekyll-and-Mr. Hyde behaviour of the developed world has stood global terrorism in good stead. Having sown the wind the western bloc is now reaping the whirlwind if terror strikes on their soil and the gnawing sense of uncertainty troubling them are any indication. One who harbours venomous snakes under one’s sarong is sure to get the shock of one’s life, as a popular Sri Lankan saying goes.