Rule of Law!!??

by Dr. Pakiyasothy Saravanamuttu

(October 08, Cololmbo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Integral to state sovereignty and to the state’s ability to meet threats to national security must surely be the Rule of Law and respect for it. Without this the very fabric of society will be irreparably torn and citizens will either have to look elsewhere for protection or take the law into their own hands. Compounding this is the perception, fast becoming widespread, that impunity in respect of human rights violations in the context of the ethnic conflict is a cancer that has spread to every other area of governance as well.

A number of incidents in the past weeks have highlighted this. Each one constitutes a challenge to the regime in demonstrating both its willingness and ability to restore even a semblance of respect for the Rule of Law. The incidents are namely;

The horrendous carnage in Anuradhapura on October6, which killed the UNP Opposition Leader of the North Central Province General Janaka Perera and some 39 others, including prominent UNP politicians from the area. This was a suicide bomber attack and therefore widely attributed to the LTTE, thus begging the question of how this organisation could inflict such bloodshed in these, security conscious times and when it is on the verge of military defeat.

Were it to be clearly established that it was the LTTE, it is an atrocity to be roundly condemned and one, which will no doubt and deservedly so, reinforce public support for their military and political defeat.

The horrific brutality of the LTTE aside, the attack raises key questions as to the General’s security and the security provided for the event. Here the regime has a lot of answering to do. It cannot and should not be allowed to escape from accountability on this score.

· The chilling, grenade attack of September 27 on the house of leading human rights lawyer and Executive Director of the Sri Lanka Chapter of Transparency International, J.C. Weliamuna. Weliamuna has been dealing with a number of cases involving senior members of the defence and political establishment in addition to his anti-corruption work for Transparency.

On 30 September, an individual attempted to forcibly enter the Transparency office, located in a high security zone. Office staff prevented the individual from entering and he escaped with someone on a motorcycle. Weliamuna and his young family have now had to relocate.

This columnist understands that there are a number of investigations into this case. It is of the utmost importance that these are not allowed to proceed at snail’s pace and interminably, and that the perpetrators of this crime are not given sanctuary under the general dispensation of the widespread culture of impunity.

· The dastardly murder of Dr. W.D.L. Indunil in the Hambantota District on September 29, allegedly by an army officer against whom she had made a complaint of physical assault.

A case was subsequently filed against this officer and as a consequence, Dr. Indunil received a number of death threats from him, which she in turn had reported to the police. The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) threatened an islandwide strike over the failure of the police to make an arrest in this case of the doctor’s murder. It appears that the threat of this strike galvanised the police into action and the army officer was arrested.

· The shocking murder of Sugath Nishantha Fernando in broad daylight on a public street in Negombo on September 20.

Fernando was a complainant in a bribery case and a torture case against the police and had received death threats demanding that he withdraw the cases. He reported this to the authorities and requested protection.

International organisations also made representations on his behalf. Two of his lawyers also received threatening phone calls demanding that they abandon the case.

The action of the GMOA is heartening and to be commended. They stood up when one of their members paid the ultimate sacrifice, demonstrating that professional associations do have clout.

It is unfortunate that the Bar Association did not act in the fullest measure and demonstrate the considerable potential they embody for civil society advocacy on respect for the Rule of Law – an issue on which their profession is grounded.

It is surely beyond contestation that the objective of those who perpetrate these crimes is to silence decent citizens who want a society free of threat, fear, insecurity and corruption. The failure of the state to do something about this lends credence to the charge of its primary responsibility for the culture of impunity and to the charge of complicity and collusion.

Were it to be a case of inability and incompetence as opposed to unwillingness and commitment, there can be no shying away from the conclusion that we are living in a failing, if not failed state.

And then of course to cap this all is the entry of ‘Colonel’ Karuna to parliament. What happened to all the right and righteous indignation about the horrendous atrocities he committed?

The desire to pay back seems to have silenced the virtuous patriots.

Ordinary citizens may well ask as to whether they can get to parliament too, after having gone to London on a false passport and after having killed and forcibly conscripted many?

And they may well answer that what is certain though, is that if they stand up against all of this, they will have to deal with grenades over their balcony, threats and intimidation, character assassination and the assassin’s bullet. - Sri Lanka Guardian