| by Jehan Perera
It is unfortunate that the government so
dominant within the country should be isolating itself from the
international community. The government appears to believe that opening
embassies in hitherto unknown African countries will make it new
friends and receive the votes at international forums that will
safeguard it from international sanctions. But, the government also
needs to keep its international stature and reputation high within its
own Asian neighborhoods and not be lulled into a sense of complacency
by their diplomatic statements. There was a time when Sri Lanka was the
cynosure of the world on account of the relatively high quality of
life it provided to its people even with limited economic
resources. The governmental leaders of some of these countries may
speak today at international forums in favour of Sri Lanka and expect
the favour to be reciprocated at a future date. However, what they
really think about Sri Lanka’s government and its leadership may be
quite different.
An international conference recently took
place in Singapore that was attended by academics, media professionals
and political analysts from several Asian countries. The theme of
discussion was how the media could contribute to counter terrorism and
violent extremism. The conference was hosted by the National University
of Singapore, which is the premier State-run university in that
country. Singapore is known as a country that is by no means
sympathetic to either terrorism or to violent extremism. On the contrary
it is a country that gives a very high priority to national
security. At the same time it gives a great deal of emphasis to
ensuring that there is inter-ethnic harmony by treating its different
ethnic and religious communities with equal respect and trust. The
off-the-record opinions voiced by participants about the situation in
Sri Lanka were more negative than what appears in the public domain. It
is a serious cause for concern by Sri Lankans who think about the
future.
SERIOUS MISTAKE
It was noteworthy
that none of the participants at the conference regretted the demise of
the LTTE. The issue of how the war ended did not loom large to
them. The war ended over three and a half years ago and is a fading
memory to the world at large, including the vast majority of its
academics, media professionals and political analysts. What they are
concerned about is what is happening today in post-war Sri Lanka. Like
many in Sri Lanka they, too, expected there to be a sharp improvement
in the human rights situation, especially in relation to the political
rights of the Tamil minority. The common opinion that was expressed at
this conference was disappointment that Sri Lanka had not gone forward
to sustainable peace after the end of the war, by finding a solution to
Tamil grievances. Now the impeachment of the Chief Justice makes them
think that lack of democratic practice is at the root of the problem.
The
government’s post-war foreign policy priority appears to be one of
protecting its leadership and the military from international war crimes
charges. The government leadership is rightly concerned, along with
the general population, that the issue of alleged war crimes in the
last phase of the war is a threat to it. International human rights
organizations and those who function as custodians of the international
criminal justice system will continuously exert pressure on Sri Lanka
until these matters are investigated to their satisfaction. This has to
be a matter of concern to all in the country, but most specially those
who can one day be charged for these offenses. However, the issue of
how Sri Lanka ended the war with the LTTE is not the only or even the
main concern of many in the international community.
It can
be believed that the international community as a whole, possibly
including Russia and China, would wish to see Sri Lanka resolve its
ethnic conflict that gave rise to war through a political solution. They
would also stand for the rule of law and respecting the independence
of the judiciary. This was the clear message that came out at the
conference in Singapore. The opinion of those few academics, media
professionals and political analysts interested in Sri Lankan affairs
will go a long way in shaping the thinking of the foreign ministries of
their countries. The government and its leadership will be making a
serious mistake if they believe that they can protect themselves from
this problem by ensuring that Russia and China are there to deliver a
veto to any international move at the UN. Those are also countries that
seek to be respected members of the international community and will
not wish to be identified as supporters of countries that defy
international norms.
UNJUST IMPEACHMENT
In
winning the war against the LTTE the government achieved a victory that
few thought was possible and thereby gained international
recognition. Political and military analysts in all parts of the world
will now study the Sri Lankan model of militarily quelling the
challenge posed by terrorism. However, the government is losing out
where it concerns post-war developments, most notably the provision of
full democratic rights to the Tamil people and now, the respect for the
independence of the judiciary. By not dealing with the roots of the
political problem that gave rise to terrorism and extremist violence
the government is losing the battle for favourable international
opinion.
Most of the participants at the conference in
Singapore had the impression that the government was suppressing the
Tamils after winning the war. The absence of a political solution that
the government can credibly show the world contributes to this negative
impression. This is added to by acts of violence and suppression of
democratic freedoms that occur at regular intervals. The assault by
security forces on university students in Jaffna who were lighting
lamps on Nov. 27, the date formerly commemorated by the LTTE as their
Heroes Day, and the manner in which the security forces handled the
situation has added to this negative impression. Even journalists who
were covering the incident were assaulted. Now, making an even worse
impression, the government is impeaching its own Chief Justice who has
been the country’s first ever woman to hold that position.
The
government is engaging in this act of impeachment in defiance of the
public opinion voiced by the totality of the country’s religious
leadership and also the bar associations in the country. The rapidity
with which the Parliamentary Select Committee, or what is left of it,
has been proceeding with the impeachment cannot impress any objective
outsider as being the actions of a government that respects democratic
procedures. It is necessary to recognize that in the absence of a
political solution these incidents will serve to polarize Sri Lankan
society and convince the international community that the ethnic
minorities cannot expect justice from the government when its own Chief
Justice is being treated unjustly. Tragically, such actions can be
expected to be to the detriment of the country and its political
leadership in the years to come unless the government changes course
even now, as it can.
 The impeachment process launched by the government against ...){kind=link}