Breakdown in the Rule of Law, Mob Rule and Anarchy

| by Shanie

"We, who seven years ago,

talked of honour and truth,

shriek with pleasure if we show

the weasel’s twist, the weasel’s tooth."

- W B Yeats (1865-1939)

"Hard to restrain, unstable is this mind; it flits. wherever it lists. Good it is to control the mind. A controlled mind brings happiness." (Stanza 35)

"Whatever harm a foe may do to a foe, or a hater to another hater, a wrongly-directed mind may do one harm far exceeding these." (Stanza 41)

- The Dhammapada

( July 28, 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) This week we kept the twenty-ninth anniversary of what has come to be known as Black July. The anniversary, whether by design we do not know, went almost unnoticed by the establishment and the mainstream media. Those who do not have a short memory will remember that it was a week when the there was a breakdown in the rule of law in the country, when mob rule prevailed and the country descended into near anarchy. Each year, we have been celebrating, with much pomp and pageantry, the military defeat of the LTTE. The crushing of an insurgency that lasted at least three decades deserves to be remembered. But the manner in which it is remembered is what raises many questions. We do not remember the crushing of two southern insurgencies by any national event. But the celebration of the LTTE’s defeat takes on an ethno-political significance. In the mind of many, there is a strong element of ethnic and political triumphalism. That is why many leading figures in the government, when confronted by allegations of abuse of power and violations of the basic rights of the people, want the country to believe that the allegations are the result of a conspiracy by the ‘international community’ and the Tamil diaspora in the West. Regular references to the crushing of the Tamil insurgency not only keeps alive ethnic polarization in the country but is also an attempt to divert attention from the breakdown in the rule of law and mismanagement in the governance of this country.

Yeats’ poem is part of a much longer one entitled Nineteen Hundred and Nineteen, the year wh3en the Anglo-Irish War began. In the poem he speaks of mob rule that is not fired by any ideology. They destroy, they murder and they are like animals fighting in a hole. It is a situation that is similar to what prevailed in 1983 and not unsimilar to what prevails in our country today when there is a breakdown in the rule of law.

Anniversary of Black July

It is perhaps for this reason that the remembrance of Black July is ignored. There were individual cases of courage and good will shown by many neighbours and friends of Tamils in many parts of the country. But undoubtedly there has to be collective responsibility for the tragic events of that fateful month in 1983. The government and the security forces of that time certainly failed the country. Nearly two decades after that, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, as Head of State, did make an apology but no national leader before or after has had the courage to make a national apology for that pogrom against a whole community of our people, although this was one of the recommendations of the government-appointed Lessons Learnt and reconciliation Commission.

The LLRC spoke of an unprecedented window of opportunity that presented itself by the crushing of LTTE’s terrorism. The successful defeat of an armed insurgency also means that there are also important challenges. Time and space created by the ending of terrorism and violence must be used for healing of the nation, for peace-building and for bringing about real peace and reconciliation among all the people. To use the words of the LLRC report, the fruits of democracy and citizenship must be equitably enjoyed by all Sri Lankans. Forty months after the ending of the war, how far have we gone in enabling the people of the North and East and indeed people of all parts of the country to enjoy the fruits of democracy and citizenship. Yes, there have been significant improvements in the quality of the roads, there has been a huge increase in the private sector involvement in the economic life of the people, particularly in the opening of a number of branches by the non state banks. Opportunities have also arisen for an increase in economic activity, particularly in fishing and agriculture. But forty months on, why is it that many hundreds in the North and East have to still remain in refugee camps. Why is it that many ‘re-settled’ refugees still have no proper housing or have to live with family and friends. Why is it that only the Northern Province does not have an elected provincial administration. Lame excuses about demining do not hold water because local body elections and even national Presidential and parliamentary elections have been successfully held. Is the reason more that the ruling political alliance lost the elections to the opposition TNA, despite allegations of intimidation and threats by pro-government militant groups?

Continuing threats to the rule of law

The unfortunate lack of law-enforcement is not a phenomenon confined to the North and East. The recent incident in the Mannar Courts is symptomatic of the break-down in rule of law. The government recently announced that some SLFP politicians involved in sexual abuse cases have been sacked from the party. While this is to be welcomed, the credibility of this news item will be strengthened if the names of those sacked are revealed. This is particularly important because it has been alleged that Chairmen of some local bodies against whom there has been credible evidence of involvement in sexual abuse and even murder apparently still hold office as members of the ruling coalition. Apart from involvement by politicians, there has been an alarming increase in violence against women and children throughout the country. Repeated violence against women in Kahawatte, in the first of which allegations were made of the involvement by a local politician, is the latest in this. It was reported that in the first six months of the year, there were seven hundred cases of child abuse in the country. That statistic makes for four reported cases per day. Add to this any unreported cases and you have an alarming picture. Since then, the National Child Protection Authority seems, under pressure or not, reluctant to release statistics. Instead of tackling the problem, we have only denials from the Police that there is a problem. The Police say that their hands are tied. The Defence Secretary says that the Police have full powers of their own to meet any problem of law-enforcement. While this blame game or passing the buck goes on, it is the people who have to endure violence and abuse.

The Mannar Court House incident is a far more serious one that has an impact on the independence of the judiciary. There have been serious law and order issues in the Mannar-Puttalam areas in recent times, including the abduction and murder of the civil rights activist Pattani Razeek, who was abducted and his body found at Ottamavadi in the Batticaloa District. The alleged threat to the Mannar Magistrate and the storming of the court house while the court was in session by politically inspired goons is a totally unacceptable threat to the impartial administration of justice. Unfortunately, we have yet to have a condemnation of this high-handed action from the authorities. It is a pity that the only comment from President Rajapaksa was to refer to the stoning of the residences of three Supreme Court Judges who held against a Police officer who was found guilty of violence against Vivienne Goonewardene. Was his reference to that incident meant to justify the present action. If not, why? We have had innumerable statements that politically motivated incidents like this will be investigated. But the results are always the same. Not a single ruling party politician has ever been charged with violence to the rule of law, though the country is aware that there has been no impartial investigation. The country is aware that the Police are quite capable of apprehending the criminal elements in society if they left free from political interference. In the case of the Mannar incident, it is gratifying to note that the members of the Bar and even the Judiciary are pursuing the case.

Ensuring a free and fair election

We have disturbing reports from the three Provinces where elections are being held to the Provincial Councils. The most disturbing is from the Eastern Province where a former war lord is allegedly involved in widespread violence and intimidation against political opponents. The Election Commissioner has dispatched a special team to oversee the happenings in the Province, particularly in the Batticaloa and Ampara districts. But under the 18th Amendments, many of the powers vested in him have been taken away; and there are serious doubts if there will be a free and fair poll.

We can conclude with a quote for the report of the LLRC: ‘Along with an independent Judiciary and a transparent legal process a strict adherence to the Rule of Law is a sine qua non for peace and stability which is of the essence, if there is to be any meaningful reconciliation. A democracy must assure a fair system of governance under the Rule of Law rather than the rule of men. The Commission reiterates that the lack of governance and non-observance of the Rule of Law would result in the creation of tension between communities. Respect for the rights and freedoms of the citizens of a country is the very essence of the concept of the Rule of Law.’