KEEPING HOPE OF DEMOCRATIC RESPONSIVENESS ALIVE
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- Created on 10 August 2010
The government headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa would easily be the most decisive one in post independent Sri Lanka. What the government leadership decides is implemented forthwith. The military crushing of the LTTE that had eluded five successive governments is the most outstanding example. Nothing could stand in the way of the government’s decision, neither the fear of failure nor of foreign pressure. This attitude can also be seen in the massive development projects that are taking place one after another. In a few days the spectacular Hambantota Port project will be unveiled. Prior to the government’s decision to go ahead with this project there had been much debate about economic viability and costs, but this was not to deter the Rajapaksa government. An estimated half a million people have been thronging to see the giant inland port before it fills with sea water.
CULTURE OF IMPUNITY TAKES MANY FORMS
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- Created on 02 August 2010
The armed attack on the Siyatha radio and television station which has been latterly supportive of the opposition has highlighted the absence of a return to normal democratic life. It reinforces the realization that the country is still in an early post-war stage. The government’s security measures remain in place and visibly so. It is difficult to travel a few hundred metres without seeing someone in the uniform of the security forces. But the plethora of security checkpoints in the city of Colombo failed to apprehend the attackers. The allegedly lethargic responses of the police and fire brigade to the incident are signs of the continuing impunity that dampen public life and protest in the country.
EXTENDING RECONCILIATON—BEYOND HONOURING THE INDIVIDUAL
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- Created on 26 July 2010
The grand gesture of recognition that President Mahinda Rajapaksa bestowed upon Muttiah Muralitharan for his long career contribution to Sri Lanka cricket has been widely appreciated throughout the country. The President found time to make an unscheduled visit to the Galle Cricket Stadium where Sri Lanka was playing against India, and Muralitharan was playing his final game prior to retirement. The President presented the world famous cricketer with a gift on the occasion and made a speech in which he hailed him as a son of the soil. The President also sent a message to the world at large that what mattered to him was the contribution to the country, and not the contributor’s ethnicity. This is a powerful message of national reconciliation.
GOVERNMENT - UNP TALKS SEND HOPEFUL MESSAGE
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- Created on 19 July 2010
The media images last week of opposition UNP leaders being greeted by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and senior ministers of his government should send a reassuring message to the country and world at large. The message is that the politics of confrontation and acrimony may be coming to an end, and the time for a more liberal spirit of nation building after war is coming to the fore. This was in contrast to the sense of crisis and acrimony that pervaded the media space the previous week when another leader of the government, Minister Wimal Weerawansa, staged a highly publicized fast unto death to protest against the UN Secretary General’s appointment of an advisory panel on Sri Lanka’s human rights situation.
THE VALUE OF FACE SAVING MEASURES
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- Created on 12 July 2010
The events that took place last week outside and inside the UN office complex in Colombo reveal just how much the human rights advisory panel appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has generated agitation within the Sri Lankan government. From the outset itself, no sooner had the intention to appoint the advisory panel been announced, the government protested against it as an unwarranted interference motivated by an anti Sri Lanka agenda. The government’s fear has been that the advisory panel’s mandate to look into human rights violations in the course of Sri Lanka’s war has an ulterior motivation of being a precursor to the establishment of a war crimes tribunal that will target them personally.
UN PROBE PROVIDES GOVERNMENT WITH RALLYING POINT
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- Created on 05 July 2010
The decision of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to proceed with his decision to appoint a three member advisory panel on Sri Lanka has provoked an overwhelmingly negative response in Sri Lanka. The opposition to the UN panel is being led by the government which has already announced that it will not issue visas to the members of the panel. The panel members from Indonesia, South Africa and the United States are distinguished in their commitment to international human rights. But the Sri Lankan government’s position is that it did not ask the UN for assistance in regard to the mandate of the panel, which is to look into the allegations of human rights violations in the closing stages of the war. The government has also pointed to its own Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation which it recently set up with a mandate that includes the UN Secretary General’s concerns.
MOUNTING INTERNATIONAL PRESSURES CALL FOR LESS CONFRONTATIONAL APPROACH
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- Created on 28 June 2010
The international pressures on Sri Lanka have been suddenly ratcheted up with the almost simultaneous announcement of the appointment of a UN panel of experts to advise the UN’s Secretary General on possible alleged violations of humanitarian laws in the last days of the war and the EU setting out a list of 15 conditions for Sri Lanka to retain its GSP Plus concessions. The public response of the government to these threatening developments has been to condemn them, to deny that they will have a major impact on the country’s well being, and to pledge to resist all externally determined conditionalities.
A SUCCESSFUL POLITICAL RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE POSSIBLE
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- Created on 22 June 2010
This month has seen an increase in the level of international activity with regard to Sri Lanka and concerns about its human rights record. Sri Lanka figured once again in the UN’s Human Rights Council with several European countries calling for an investigative mechanism to be set up with regard to human rights violations. The Sri Lankan situation was also debated in the British Parliament. The most recent international interventions have been the visits to Sri Lanka of Japan’s special envoy Yasushi Akashi, the US President’s advisor on multilateral affairs Samantha Powers, and UN Under Secretary General Lynn Pascoe. Instead of declining with the passage of time, the international interest in Sri Lanka’s war time record of human rights appears to be increasing.
LOP SIDED BUDGET NOT REFLECTIVE OF PEACE TIME REQUIREMENTS
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- Created on 14 June 2010
There was an anticipation of the government shedding its military focus after the completion of the war a year ago. The ending of emergency rule and reduction of the military budget became possibilities. However, the government has been keeping the war, and its institutions, at the centre of the people’s attention even a year after the war. The victory celebration on June 18 will be the latest effort in this regard. In addition, the government’s concern with security on the ground remains high. Any vehicle traveling from the North and East is thoroughly checked at major checkpoints along the road. This is to ensure that hidden caches of arms, buried by the LTTE, are not smuggled out to other parts of the country.
A MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS NEEDS OF WAR AFFECTED PEOPLE
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- Created on 06 June 2010
The holding of the Indian International Film Academy awards in Colombo over the past weekend was an important occasion for the government to project its message of peace and normalcy to an international audience. In a world that has become increasingly vulnerable to terrorism of different kinds, the hosting of this international event without any security glitch would strengthen the country’s position of being a safe haven for tourists. With Indian cinema being a worldwide phenomenon, and Bollywood rivaling Hollywood, the hosting of the event could be considered as a major diplomatic and political success for the government in projecting a positive image of the country.
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