The intended target is not Sarath Fonseka but the general population

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

(February 17, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) Even some analysts supporting the president have stated that the arrest of the common candidate for the opposition,Sarath Fonseka, was unwise. They have said that this action will create unfavourable impressions of the president. The glory earned by the president’s electoral majority may be slighted by such actions. Others have gone on to say that the arrest was unbecoming of a victor. It lacks grace and gives the unpleasant view that the victor is engaging in revenge on a defeated opponent. They cite the example of Dutugamunu and Elara; according to legend, Dutugamunu treated the defeated Elara with grace.

Perhaps such analysis fails to understand the basic rationale behind the arrest and detention of Sarath Fonseka. It is meant to give a different impression. It is meant to give the impression of toughness and create the impression of the beginning of a period where there would be no room for mercy. That the coming period is going to be an aggressive one against anyone who dares to oppose, in any shape or form, the government seems to be the impression that the government wants to create at its very inception.

The target in the present arrest and detention is not Sarath Fonseka himself. The general population is the intended target. The message in this arrest and detention and that message is that Sarath Fonseka is merely a symbol for carrying that message forcefully.

He is suitable candidate for conveying that message. He was the former commander of the military, a person who was second only to the president himself. Besides this, he is a military man who enjoys a great popularity. After all, from the point of view of the election he received the largest number of votes apart from the president. The simple message is that however tough you may be and however, popular you may be, you are of very little importance. The government will be tough and it will take whatever steps it thinks necessary and that is the basic message that is being sent to the population as a whole.

Why is such a message necessary at this stage? The repression that is unfolding now is different to the earlier forms of repression witnessed in the country in the recent decades. In both the JVP rebellions the victims were mostly those who were from a rural background and who were mostly poor and unemployed youth. Their social influence, when taken individually, was weak. They were persons who became victims of forced disappearances or long term detainees who had hardly any personal influence of any sort.

In the case of the victims amongst the Tamils it was different. It was a combination of young people from Tamil origin as well as the Tamil population as a whole. While the dead might have been from a similar social background amongst the disappeared from the JVP groups amongst those who otherwise became victims were large sections of the middle class and even the upper class. Many of the middle and upper classes in the north and the east no longer live in those areas. Among the shattered families are not only the poor but also the middle and upper class Tamils. The repression affected the entire community. In the past, such was not the situation regarding the repression of the Sinhalese community.

The target of the repression in the coming period will be primarily the middle and upper classes in Colombo. Amongst those already under arrest is not only the retired commander of the armed forces but also some of the senior officers of the army. Also, a large number of them were dismissed from their posts. Others arrested for supporting Sarath Fonseka are also not from the poorer section of Sri Lankan society but are from various layers of the middle classes. This is the beginning of a different kind of repression.

Repression against the urban sector

Throughout the presidential elections those who engaged in propaganda for the government clearly indicated that they are seeking the support the rural sector of Sri Lankan society and that they do not expect much support from the urban sector in the Sinhalese areas. That much of the open support for Sarath Fonseka came from the middle and upper classes in Sri Lanka is quite well known. That too was not accidental.

There is a feeling of the property systems in the country being threatened by the economic policies and practices pursued by the Rajapakse regime. Many of the perceptions of corruption do not related to individuals benefitting from bribery but of a more fundamental type of corruption which affects the country’s property system as a whole. That the power of the government will be used to acquire influence to affect the very system of property holding is a real fear that is spreading amongst the middle and upper classes.

Undermining the professionals

Another apprehension amongst the professional layers is that a meritocracy of any sort will disappear and that connections with the ruling family will be the basis on which important positions may be obtained within the government. The fate of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution clearly indicates the complete abandonment of any kind of meritocracy in the country. Thus, the impression that in order to gain positions in the country connections will be an important factor also has a disabling influence on professionals that want to maintain the pride that whatever acquisitions they make in their society is on the basis of their professional achievements and merit. Having to demean themselves to seek political favours in order to gain positions is a fundamentally disabling factor within the middle classes. It affects the very pride of the people to place themselves in such a position that they and their children will have to find ways of gaining political influence in order to make advancements in society.

Lawlessness

Thus, there is a perception within society that the very fundamentals of society will undergo changes for the worst. That reliance on the basic law for security has been lost and now the very place of the law in society is doubted. How much reliance can there be in courts in the defense of one’s rights, including property rights, is very much in doubt amongst the larger sections of the educated classes of society. There is hardly any faith in the Sri Lankan police to maintain law and order. The policing institution has created the impression of being the most inefficient and unreliable service within society. The fact that this institution can be manipulated, not only for political purposes but also by criminal elements and others for the achievement of various objectives is one of the most destabilizing that can exist within a society. Such a situation now exists in Sri Lanka.

The principle of equal lawlessness and arbitrariness

To all those who have pressed for the release of General Fonseka, the government replies that all are equal are equal before law and that General Fonseka is no exception. Ironically, what this means is that in Sri Lanka everyone is treated as having no rights before law. In fact, law does not mean much anymore. What the government wants to do, it does; however arbitrary its action may be. The distinction between legality and illegality is no longer significant. There is no distinction also between what is legal and arbitrary. The citizen is told to go to court if they like, but there too you will be told that what the government does is always right. This is the new kind of equality that the executive presidential system has brought about in the country. Big or small, everyone is treated with equal arbitrariness. That’s the way things are done and do not ask anyone to be treated any better. That is the rule of the new order.

Preparing the minds of people to accept a situation where the presidential power is beyond any challenge and the decisions of the regime, of whatever nature, are beyond dispute, is the impression that the government now wants to create for the new period. It is therefore no surprise that it has begun with the most popular political figure next to the president himself being arrested, detained and subjected to a military tribunal depriving him of any kind of due process under the normal law of the country. What the people are being exposed to is an introduction to a new set of perspectives which, they are told, will be better for them.


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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.