Ceylon Today Editorial

Geneva, new Tamil ethos

03 March 2017

'Economynext,' a website, on its Wednesday's edition, quoting TNA spokesman M.A. Sumanthiran, had said: "We have requested the member countries and the High Commissioner for Human Rights that although the 18 months time has lapsed...Sri Lanka must be encouraged and made to accomplish every one of those undertakings that they agreed to. To that extent, Sri Lanka has to be given further time...."

...."With the help of all...with patience, understanding, and constant and consistent effort and perseverance, we strongly believe that we can make the reconciliation process a success," he added....
TNA heads the Opposition in Parliament. It's their community, the Jaffna Tamils, which suffered in particular during the closing stages of the government's war against the LTTE which ended on 18 May, 2009. TNA has been vociferous about the prosecution of alleged war criminals.

Meanwhile, the '18 months', which Sumanthiran referred to in his speech was the time given for Sri Lanka by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in October 2015 to set-up a mechanism with the participation of foreign jurists to investigate into those alleged war crimes.

Sumanthiran's speech coincides with a statement made by USA's Deputy Assistant State Secretary Erin M. Barclay at the ongoing UNHRC sessions in Geneva on the island where she had said: "Sri Lanka was an example of a country in which the UNHRC had catalyzed progress for reform and provided assistance to improve accountability for past violations....
....When the Council works as it should; its successes are victories for human rights. For example, UNHRC's action catalyzed progress for reform and provided technical assistance to improve accountability for past violations in Sri Lanka....'(Yesterday's Daily FT)

It was the USA, which, together with Sri Lanka, co-sponsored the seemingly controversial October resolution which allowed foreign jurists to meddle in the internal affairs of the country. Nonetheless, despite Sri Lanka not keeping to its full part of its pledge; that is for the allowing of foreign jurists to stand in judgment over the island's affairs, what is of significance in Barclay's speech was that UNHRC's actions had helped the island to improve accountability for past violations.

She has also not castigated Colombo for not inveigling in foreign jurists, into the bargain, as promised by it, 18 months ago at Geneva. It's however left to be seen whether the USA would be satisfied with a domestic mechanism only to investigate alleged war crimes. USA is a current member of the UNHRC.

Post October 2015, both President Maithripala Sirisena and Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, at one time or the other, had been saying that there is no need for foreign jurists to be involved in Sri Lanka's affairs, though, at the beginning, i.e. post October 2015, the Premier had said that foreign jurists involved in Sri Lanka's affairs was not something new.

It's however seemingly obvious that the October resolution would have had the blessings of both Wickremesinghe and Sirisena, though, now, for political reasons, they are having second thoughts, particularly in regard to the clause of having foreign jurists being involved in the local investigative process.

If Sumanthiran's and Barclay's conciliatory statements were not enough, the third, similar complementary statement was made by no less than Sri Lanka's former colonial power the UK, which is also a member country of the current UNHRC.

UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Asia and Pacific Minister Alok Sharma speaking at the ongoing Geneva sessions had said: "I welcome the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister's constructive engagement here,....We must give Sri Lanka time to fully implement the October 2015 resolution and post conflict measures required to embed stability, reconciliation and justice."(yesterday's 'Ceylon Today')

However, neither Sumanthiran nor Sharma have spelt out the additional timeframe that would be required for Sri Lanka to fulfil its UNHRC obligations, though there are alleged reports to say that Sri Lanka will be asking for a further 24 months.

'Further 24 months' i.e. in 2019, is on the eve of the parliamentary election set for 2020 according to the 19th Amendment (19A) which limited the life of Parliament from six to five years in April 2015, i.e. on the eve of the August 2015 parliamentary election.

19A also limited the presidential term from six to five years, though from a legalistic pointof view, whether this new term limit is applicable to the current incumbent is contentious as he was elected to power pre-19A.

Nonetheless, if Sri Lanka will, in fact, ask time till 2019, it is however, doubtful that it will fufil its international obligations by then, in particular of allowing for foreign jurists to investigate alleged war crimes,especially on the eve of at least one crucial general election, which fulfillment of such obligations, may go against the incumbent government, vis-à-vis the island's 70% Sinhala Buddhist majority vote.

What, however, is of significance is the conciliatory term adopted by the TNA and the international community led by the USA and the UK within Geneva 2017 and without, giving time, as yet unspecified to settle the war crimes issue, even at the possibility of the TNA's vote base in the North being eroded and the rise of a new branch of Jaffna Tamil extremist force once more.