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| Accountability is not something related to war. Every form of stewardship warrants accountability. National leaders must be accountable for public funds, good governance, state property and national development in addition to the mechanisms to ensure law and order. If rulers panic when they hear the term accountability they must have skeletons in their closet. World wide calls for accountability are a good opportunity to push for more transparency and accountability in governance. |
by Thomas Johnpulle
(June 25, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The government flatly and blindly denies anything and everything about war crimes and connected allegations. Blind denials have now become a bad joke. It seems to be the government is of the headstrong opinion that none of its soldiers could possibly misuse power, position and weapons. It is such an irrational assumption. By continuing to hold that assumption, the government ridicules law abiding Tamils who want answers and bestows honour on criminal elements within the military. Although very few in number, there is a possibility of criminal elements within the military. It is said that a nation’s police and the military reflect its society. The society is made up of a certain percentage of criminals and as a result the armed forces should also have a certain percentage of them. This possibility holds true in the case of the Sri Lanka army too. Ethnic composition of the military is not a consideration.
A significant number of Tamil intellectuals supported the war effort because war was the only means by which a world renowned terror group can be tamed. It worked well. However, none of them want to be part of possibly a dirty war. As Gordon Weiss stated, it is not the right of the government to go to war to defend the nation that is at fault, but the way it was fought. The way the war was fought may or may not be so which can be unearthed by an investigation. It is up to the government to factually disapprove the allegations by investigating the allegations. Refusing to investigate is not an option. The world community does not believe the soldiers of the Sri Lanka army, or any army for that matter, to be infallible human beings. Current regime becomes a national burden if they continue to avoid investigations.
More than two years went by since the war but the government is yet to unveil a genuine ethnic integration model. Ethnic integration is the only reconciliation method in a multicultural nation. Ethnic integration happens when people of all ethnicities live in cosmopolitan societies throughout the country. Military to civilian relationships don’t come under ethnic integration. Especially when the military is accused of excesses and the government fails to clear the name of its armed forces. Development alone cannot ensure ethnic integration although it is a passive enabler. Without any attempt to integrate the divided nation, the government claims war crimes allegations hurt its reconciliation program! Where is the reconciliation program? There appears to be none.
Political solutions to satisfy the west and India or any other external party don’t sit well with locals. People need practical solutions that can bridge the ethnic divide that is sadly expanding once again. While one group rallies around Tamil communal politics with increasing numbers, another group aligns with the camp that blindly denies allegations. Meanwhile yet another group tries to fit into the middle ground by reacting to the two groups. Disintegration is what is happening today. Tamil communal parties make good use of war crimes allegations to amass wide public support in the north and the east while the government uses its vehement denials to whip the opposition.
Accountability is not something related to war. Every form of stewardship warrants accountability. National leaders must be accountable for public funds, good governance, state property and national development in addition to the mechanisms to ensure law and order. If rulers panic when they hear the term accountability they must have skeletons in their closet. World wide calls for accountability are a good opportunity to push for more transparency and accountability in governance.
Accountability benefits not just the victims of war and their loved ones but also the entire nation. Financial irregularities, wastage, corruption and bad governance were forgiven to an extent by the people during the war. However, there is no excuse today to postpone good governance. Transparency ensures that there will not be excesses in the military, the public service and generally in the society.
Quality increases in governance lead to a proportionate quantity decrease. For instance an army half the size of the current force will be sufficient to achieve the same deliverables if there is transparency. Public sector can also be scaled down with better governance and accountability. In other words, it means less tax and more money in people’s pockets.
All this starts with a critical look at its own operations by the government. As long as the government denies everything alleged against it there will be no improvement.
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