Ceylon Today Editorial

RTLTP, don’t be money guzzling, lie generating

07 March 2017

There are many who claim that democracy is a failure. As a concept it might seem foolproof but in practical terms it's not so much. Despite its flaws, humanity has no other alternative that has proved somewhat successful compared to other governing systems.

Not every day does, a democratic society rebuild some faith in its citizens but recently something happened that notched the faith levels up in certainly considerable amounts. That is, a group of rehabilitated LTTE cadre members launched a political party with the aim of winning their rights.

A group of more than thirty former military personnel, calling themselves the 'Rehabilitated Tamil Liberation Tiger Party' or the RTLTP, has vowed to stand beside those who have received or are still undergoing rehabilitation, in order to be recognized in a political frame. The political party, which has already garnered the support of over 12,000 rehabilitated ex-militants, have claimed that the idea behind the party is to represent those who had undergone the brutal and crippling war training of the LTTE and have survived it through rehabilitation.

They are, in other words, survivors of a different kind. However, they claim that their rights have been overlooked on more than one occasion. The Chairman of the RTLTP, Kandasamy Inbarasa has said that this party was launched because those who were rehabilitated had not received any assistance from the government or the society itself, to re-enter a normal life as of yet. At the same time, he has said that a large number of members were living with physical injuries and some were still in prison.

This is why the RTLTP has been formed and joined the political stream. Inbarasa has said that through this party they will attempt to obtain their rights.

The Eelam War in Sri Lanka has produced a large number of veterans and other ex-militants with complex physical and psychological traumas over the last three decades. The war trauma has created potent barriers to their lives and these barriers obstruct recovery and personality growth. Combatants with war trauma experience problems in their living, working, learning, and social environments. The psychosocial well-being of these combatants has not been adequately addressed during the war and in the post-war period. The veterans who became the casualties of the Eelam War need effective psychosocial rehabilitation to acquire functionality, recovery and reintegration.

In the aftermath of the Eelam War a large number of combatants sustained physical and psychological wounds. The most common psychological injuries experienced by soldiers were Adjustment Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD) and major depression. Combat related psychological ailments increased over the past three decades in Sri Lanka. According to the 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) report and survey that was conducted with the help of the Ministry of Health it was revealed that there is a high incidence of mental illness in Sri Lanka. The mental health experts suspect a strong correlation between the armed conflict and surge of mental illnesses. A large number of Sri Lankan combatants have experienced the profound effects of war trauma that drastically impacted their mental health and long-term functioning. The four-year study by Drs. Neil J. Fernando and Ruwan Jayatunge on Sri Lankan soldiers who experienced war trauma reveals that PTSD is emerging among the combatants.

Post-war researches of the Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars have also shown that the combat exposure could negatively affect the mental health of the combatants. Research conducted by Dr. Charles W. Hoge et al (2004) indicates that exposure to combat results in considerable risk of mental health problems, including PTSD, major depression, substance abuse, impairment in social functioning, an inability to work, and the increased use of healthcare services.

In such a backdrop, the establishment of the RTLTP is essential. The Government of Sri Lanka as well as several other parties such as the Joint Opposition, who has on numerous occasions cried out in the favour of former military men, could learn to do what is necessary through these actions. Not just the rehabilitated militants who have been deprived of their rights but also a large number of military veterans as well.

It's a wakeup call to all parties in fact, a call that tells them to do what is necessary without boasting of deeds that could have been done. Furthermore, the RTLTP should be commended for taking the path less violent in order to resolve their problems – they could have easily taken up arms, but decided not to do so; a wise decision indeed.

Finally, we would like to suggest to the RTLTP and any other political party who can pay an ounce of attention, to help your people and not just yourself. Don't be a typical money guzzling, lie generating political machine which is useless at the end of the day. If you have a cause, stand by it and work through everything so that it might see the light of day.

Daily News Editorial

Amaraweera’s ultimatum

07 March 2017

Its decision time for the SLFP led UPFA. Alliance General Secretary Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, on Thursday, practically read the riot act to the Joint Opposition, headed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, to either rejoin the SLFP or face the consequences. “A decision will have to be taken soon with regard to the JO which is doing immense damage to the party”, Amaraweera went onto state. It was obvious that the day of reckoning had to come, sooner or later, for the rebels, who had virtually split the SLFP down the middle. The gulf is only beginning to widen, with the JO doing its own thing, holding rallies and staging agitations, relegating the SLFP to the shadows.

Today (07) it is holding a women’s rally to commemorate International Women’s Day at the Vihara Maha Devi Park, with Mahinda Rajapaksa as the main speaker. There is also May Day looming, with the JO all out to outdo the SLFP in the numbers. The mainstream SLFP also cannot remain forever in the shadow of the UNP which is the senior partner in the Unity Government and it must someday strike out on its own and form a SLFP government. The current split will in no way help the party in this endeavour, and, in fact, the SLFP’s prospects in this respect is doomed, with the major proportion of the rank and file solidly behind the JO.

What is more, Local Government elections cannot be postponed indefinitely and the Provincial Council elections for Sabaragamuwa, North Central and the East are beckoning. President Sirisena, as the leader of the SLFP, cannot afford to have the JO best his party at the polls (if it contests separately) or for that matter, even allow a victory for the UNP. Such a prospect would only undermine his authority as the party leader. Besides, no Local Government or Provincial Council election have ever been lost by a party whose leader was the country’s President, in the past (D. B. Wijetunga excepting) and the President will not want to be the first in this respect.

On the other hand, the major split in the SLFP, as at present, will virtually give the UNP a walkover at any election and this prospect too would not endear the President to his party supporters who consider the Grand Old Party as their chief enemy. Hence, it all points to a grand showdown, this time around, more so, with elections pending and the need to shore up the party’s fortunes uppermost in the minds of the SLFP seniors. Will the party take disciplinary action against the rebels? Such a prospect too is fraught with risk. Disciplinary action would naturally follow a suspension of party membership and an exit from parliament. What would ensue are court battles by those expelled which would likely drag on, further exacerbating the crisis. But, the matter could not be prolonged indefinitely if the SLFP is to assert itself. Hence, what amounts to an ultimatum of sorts, by the UPFA General Secretary, who no doubt, would have had the nod of the President to go ahead.

The JO accounts for some 50 MPs and should they all be expelled from the party, as well as parliament the grouping no doubt would be dealt a crippling blow. Perhaps, this is why it has formed a proxy political party under Prof. G.L. Peiris in a move to buy insurance if push comes to a shove. It is ironic, though, to observe the SLFP, which, while in power, engineered debilitating splits in the UNP, that ruined its electoral prospects, is today being placed in the same bind. The split in the UNP was occasioned by Mahinda Rajapaksa buying over its MPs to get the 18th Amendment, ensuring a lifetime Presidency for him, passed while the current SLFP split is due to a power struggle within the party, with the rebels wanting to enthrone Rajapaksa in the seats of power once again. In the melee, there are elements in the Maithri faction, such as Dilan Perera and Isura Devapriya, who are taking pot shots at the UNP and its leader to keep up appearance that the SLFP still considers the Greens as its main enemy.

Be that as it may, interesting times are ahead in the country’s political landscape, as onetime buddies fight it out between them while the UNP watches the unfolding drama from the sidelines, waiting to reap the harvest from the fallout. The irony certainly wont be lost on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who, at one time, was forced to see his party virtually disintegrating before his own eyes due to the machinations of the SLFP led governments. Interestingly, the JO wants the SLFP faction in the Unity Government to ditch the UNP as a condition for returning to the fold, while the Blues have gone to the extent of extending the two year cohabitation agreement until the government runs its full course. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike who founded the SLFP, as an alternative to the UNP, certainly would not have visualized such a scenario, where his party, or a faction of it, is today united with the sworn enemy.

The Island Editorial

Sword of Damocles in Geneva

07 March 2017

 

The Rajapaksa government preened itself on saving the country from terrorism and pledged to defend the armed forces against international forces bent on pressing war crimes charges against them. The present administration, some of whose leaders the previous government branded as ‘traitors’, boasts of having saved the ‘saviours’! It says its foreign policy has helped win over the world powers and obviate the need for an international war crimes probe.

In a dramatic turn of events replete with irony, President Maithripala Sirisena, speaking at the Palali military base the other day, vowed to do everything in his power to defend the armed forces personnel vis-a-vis war crimes allegations. He has also said there won’t be a hybrid war crimes court. The President’s much-publicised pledge to the military must have come as a big disappointment for the pro-LTTE groups which threw in their lot with him at the last presidential election and did their damnedest to ensure his victory. They did so as they expected an international war crimes tribunal to be set up under a new government. They were cock-a-hoop when the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration co-sponsored the US crafted UNHRC resolution calling for a hybrid war crimes court.

It is being speculated in some quarters that the deadline for setting up a war crimes tribunal in keeping with Sri Lanka’s UNHRC commitments may be extended by two more years. UNHRC Chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein refuses to budge on that score, but he has to do as the western powers say. The tail cannot wag the dog. In fact, he has got under the skin of US President Donald Trump with his diatribe against the latter last September, when he called for action to halt ‘demagogues and political fantasists’. He will be lucky if Trump does not retaliate.

The western bloc has let down the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government, which has not received any financial assistance from it. Sri Lanka’s ever worsening economic woes are weighing heavily against the yahapalana regime so much so that it keeps postponing elections on some flimsy pretext, unable to face them. The situation is bound to take a turn for the worse in time to come with the depreciation of the rupee. A turn of the screw in Geneva will spell disaster for the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe regime. This is also a worrisome proposition for the foreign powers which helped engineer the 2015 regime change to prevent Sri Lanka from becoming China’s sphere of influence. Hence, the yahapalana government is not likely to be forced to honour its Geneva commitments at this juncture. The government leaders may have got an assurance from their foreign masters to that effect. Else, President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe would not have made bold public statements that there is no need for foreign judges or a hybrid tribunal.

It may also be argued that what the President and the Prime Minister have said of the UNHRC-recommended hybrid court is for local consumption and the government’s official position on the issue has been articulated by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera recently in Geneva. Samaraweera has said, inter alia: ‘In the face of roadblocks and other obstacles in the day to day world of realpolitik, there may have to be detours from time to time, but the destination will remain the same. Our resolve to see the transitional justice process through has not diminished.’ The question is how the government proposes to ‘see the transitional justice process through’. What kind of mechanism it will put in place to achieve that goal? Samaraweera has left much unsaid for obvious reasons.

The western powers will keep the Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of President Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe in Geneva. That will enable them to leverage their influence at the UNHRC to use Sri Lanka to further their interests in this part of the world. They are already busy scouting out the lie of the land in Trincomalee and Hambantota.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Dignity of Judiciary

06 March 2017

Chief Justice Priyasath Dep has succeeded former Chief Justice Kanagasabapathy Sripavan as 45th Chief Justice of the Republic of Sri Lanka.

The former Chief Justice K. Sripavan's tenure commenced with President Maithripala Sirisena swearing in as the sixth Executive President of Sri Lanka in January 2015.

Sri Lanka has a long history of following British tradition with regard to the Bench and Bar making immense contribution to maintain the independence and integrity of the legal fraternity in the island.

Legal giants of a bygone era not only excelled professionally but even academically upheld the dignity of the legal profession.

The steps and corridors of the Old Hulftsdorp Supreme Court complex will speak volumes of the days of the 'golden era' of the legal fraternity in the island.

The Hulftsdorp Supreme Court complex and its surrounding areas with the Sri Lanka Law College has produced eminent personalities from the time of its inception during the British era.

However, the dignity of the legal profession was in dire straits with the creation of the Executive Presidency in the island.

The judicial system largely turned into a 'puppetry' with political manipulation making inroads into the nerve centre of law and order in the country, paving the way for anarchy to take centre-stage.

Criticism surfacing against former Chief Justices Sarath N. Silva and Mohan Peiris clearly highlighted the sad state of the judicial system in the island.

The manner in which the country's first woman Chief Justice, Dr. Sriyani Bandaranayake was treated by the Rajapaksa regime ridiculed the judicial system of the country.

Elevations and appointments were made depriving judicial servants with vast experience on the bench.

President Maithripala Sirisena's recent revelation of former Chief Justice Mohan Peiris whose appointment was later declared as a de facto appointment and is not considered as a Chief Justice, had pointed out how a top figure in the Judiciary had stooped down to begging for an extension of his position as Chief Justice, with the change of government.

Mohan Peiris had also told President Sirisena that he would deliver judgments in a manner the President wanted!

Former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva after his retirement, apart from appearing on political platforms of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had also made several comments on how he saved the former President when he faced several legal issues.

The tales of Mohan Peiris and Sarath N. Silva highlight how the Judiciary was taken for a ride by those who were in power.

The appointment of the 44th Chief Justice Kanagasabapathy Sripavan in 2015 paved way to regain the lost dignity of the country's judicial system which was marred by the previous regime.

Former Chief Justice K.Sripavan, an ardent devotee of Nallur Skanda kept his security contingent at a safe distance during the annual festival of the Nallur temple and mingled with thousands of devotees enjoying the spiritual bliss of the Nallur deity.

With an unblemished record in the legal profession, former Chief Justice stepped down from the Supreme Bench at Hulftsdorp, handing over the flame of justice with dignity to his successor Chief Justice Priyasath Dep.

Since the National Unity Government has committed itself to create good governance, credibility in the judicial system should be strengthened from the minor Judiciary itself to the apex body.

Learning from the errors made in upholding the dignity, independence and integrity of the judicial system in the past, the new Chief Justice should be ensured by those in power that he is free of interference in carrying out his noble profession.

Daily News Editorial

A vote of confidence in Judiciary

06 March 2017

There has been a lot of debate and discussion in local and foreign media about the possibility of appointing a “hybrid court” to probe human rights and accountability issues that have arisen following Sri Lanka’s war against terror that ended in 2009. In essence, a hybrid court will have both local and foreign judges who will examine such issues and give appropriate verdicts.

Sri Lanka’s Constitution provides no room for such a mechanism, given that the judiciary is an entirely local apparatus. As far as we know, even the new Constitution that is in the works makes no provision for such a mechanism.

The idea of a mixed or hybrid court took hold internationally during the regime of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, when the independence and the integrity of the judiciary were severely compromised by the action of the Executive. One prime example was the overnight impeachment of the then Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake.

A notion developed among members of the International Community that Sri Lanka's justice system will not have the independence to probe alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations that may have occurred during the conflict period. Hence the call for independent and impartial foreign judges and other personnel. The UN Human Rights Commissioner Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein recently reiterated his call for foreign judges to sit on any such mechanism.

However, things have changed in Sri Lanka during the last two years. Today, the judiciary is truly independent and there is zero interference by the Government in the judicial processes. Several recent court decisions have gone against the Government and its leading figures. Such an act would have been unthinkable during the Mahinda Rajapaksa era. Moreover, fears that the authorities would not act against any bad eggs in the Forces are unfounded – a number of Security Forces members have been arrested over charges of assault and murder.

The final decision with regard to its own internal affairs is taken by Sri Lanka itself. In this context, both President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have categorically stated their opposition to any move to establish hybrid courts. Just last week, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe ruled out the possibility of a ‘hybrid court’, saying it was not politically feasible.

Instead he proposed a ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ (TRC) as the best option to deal with post war issues. A 100 percent home-grown effort, such a Commission could have a bigger mandate than the Rajapaksa-era Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and the newly proposed Office of Missing Persons (OMP), both of them worthy mechanisms in their own right. South Africa established such a TRC mechanism as apartheid ended and its findings went a long way towards bringing South Africans together.

Any attempt to establish a hybrid court will be a political and practical nightmare, as shown by the Prime Minister’s posers: “Can you actually establish a hybrid supreme court? If you bring in an Amendment for that purpose, is the two thirds majority of Parliament sufficient? What if the court decides that it requires a referendum?”

It is true that we have to come to terms with our past, including the conflict period, to lay a course for the future. This self-retrospection is essential for reconciliation and national unity which the Yahapalana Government is promoting with vigour. But this must essentially be a completely local endeavour, though the authorities can study overseas models such as the South African experience.

This is why the Government is now considering a TRC which may be able to resolve many issues. The South African experience and the strengths and weaknesses of that process, will be studied. Generally all political parties are in agreement with a TRC in principle.

Obviously, there are extremist elements on both sides who seek to derail any attempts to resolve the problems and achieve reconciliation. These elements thrive on ethnic discord and rancor, without which they apparently cannot sustain themselves. If the authorities try to pander to their whims and fancies, the country will get nowhere.

The people in the North are tired of the long-drawn out war. The South is not any different. The people yearn to live together in peace. They do not have a war mentality anymore, although the extremists are trying to relight the ambers of ethnic disharmony. Reconciliation cannot be achieved overnight and there are many challenges to overcome as well.

This is why Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has called for more time to be given to Sri Lanka to fulfill its accountability obligations. This is the correct path to choose, because these measures cannot be half-baked. This may seem to be slow progress, but the conduct of a 30-year conflict cannot be examined in a matter of months. Several countries including the UK have supported this stance. There are countries whose conflicts ended more than 40 years ago which are still searching for peace - and answers. Thus an unnecessarily hurried process will not result in lasting peace and reconciliation.

The Island Editorial

Hordes at courts

06 March 2017

 

All it takes to destroy a democracy is a chronic erosion of public confidence in vital state institutions. Worryingly, not even the self-proclaimed messiahs on a mission to salvage the Sri Lankan democracy have cared to remove the canker of public distrust, which is eating into the vitals of the three branches of government mercilessly. The less said about the legislature and the executive, the better. They are beyond redemption. Only the judiciary has shown some resilience in the face of attacks on its dignity and credibility and everything possible needs to be done to protect it lest rising public resentment should pave the way for anarchy.

The law does not permit even the tooting of horns near courts in session. There have been instances where people were thrown behind bars for letting out ostentatious yawns while court proceedings were on. But, strangely, this law does not seem to apply to everybody equally.

Members of the black-coated fraternity go berserk with impunity in court houses, where ordinary people dare not even make small talk in hushed tones. Last year, lawyers clashed with police while the Meethotamulla garbage dump case was being heard, causing the court concerned to adjourn. All of them should have been thrown behind bars en masse for causing an affront to the dignity of court. But, sadly, nothing of the sort happened. Some lawyers heaped abuse on the High Court judges who found Sarath Fonseka guilty in the White Flag case in 2011 and smashed up court furniture in protest. They got away with that serious offence which would have caused an ordinary person to be sentenced to prison for years. A supporter of Joint Opposition firebrand Wimal Weerawansa has been jailed for shouting in a court. The JRJ government had the houses of Supreme Court judges who refused to toe its line stoned. Some of the ministers who defended the attack at that time are currently in power, championing judicial independence. (Telephones of independent judges are tapped by the ‘Gestapo’.)

As if growing indiscipline among lawyers and sinister attempts by politicians to reduce judges to mere puppets on strings were not enough, the kith and kin of suspects have begun to invade court premises in protest. The despicable practice of mobs surrounding police stations when lawbreakers are arrested has apparently come to be taken for granted. Police are, therefore, wary of taking some suspects into custody. Emboldened by their success, the backers of lawbreakers are apparently employing the same modus operandi in a bid to intimidate the judiciary as well.

Last Thursday, when 20 suspects, arrested in connection with two small firearms and ammunition found in the Mt. Lavinia court premises, were remanded, all hell broke loose. Their family members and relatives staged a protest near the court, claiming that they were innocent and blaming police for not taking action against a powerful underworld figure. Most of the protesters were women. Emotions easily get the better of mothers, sisters and wives and it is only natural that they do everything in their power to protect their loved ones. If they believe police are at fault their complaints must be looked into and justice done. But, on no grounds, must noisy protests near courts be countenanced. Police who unflinching descend on Opposition politicians and students engaged in protests were seen persuading instead of ordering the protesters to disperse on Thursday!

The problem of mobs invading court premises would not have arisen if stern action had been taken against those who started the bad practice of smashing coconuts at Hulftsdorp purportedly to seek justice through divine intervention. There have also been silent protests on either side of roads leading to courts in recent times. Innocent as such actions may seem they are, in fact, aimed at bringing pressure to bear on the judiciary.

It is imperative that action be taken to prevent protests in the vicinity of courts in all parts of the country. Anyone who does not agree with a judicial decision can make use of the appellate procedure.