IT’S TIME TO STOP DELUDING OURSELVES

4 March 2014 06:30 pm Views - 2394

It really is time the leadership of this country stopped deluding itself as well as the people as to what awaits us in March this year when we will once again face the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

The sessions in Geneva are not something new. It is a UN process which commenced in   1987 when a draft resolution expressing concern at reports submitted by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture was submitted by Argentina to the now defunct United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

It called upon all parties and groups to renounce the use of force and acts of violence and to pursue a negotiated political solution.

"By refusing the panel permission to enter the country, the panel was not able to see for itself, developments taking place in the north and east. The panelists were also deprived of a chance of speaking to ordinary citizens who could have presented a more balanced picture of the events which occurred during the closing stages of the war"
 

As there was a build up of support for the resolution the Sri Lankan Government eventually agreed to negotiate a consensus resolution.
The resolution of March 12, 1987 called on the government to intensify its cooperation with the ICRC    in the field of dissemination and promotion of international humanitarian law but amended, with criticism on torture and disappearances removed.

In May 2009, 17 countries led by the US attempted to get the 11th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to investigate war crimes in Sri Lanka.  

But Sri Lanka with the support of India, Non Aligned countries, China and Russia was able to defeat  the motion and instead  resolution A/HRC/S-11/L.1/Rev.2 of 27 May 2009 commended the Sri Lankan government’s actions, condemned the Tamil Tigers and ignored allegations of violations of human rights and humanitarian law by government forces. [The resolution was passed by 29 votes to 12 votes with 6 abstentions.
Despite the UNHRC at its sessions on May 2009 commending the Sri Lanka government, on 25 October 2009 the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called for an independent, international investigation of possible war crimes committed during the last few months of the war in Sri Lanka.

"When the Sri Lanka Navy blew up these ships on the high seas in international waters no prisoners were taken…; yet no one cried war crimes, or piracy, no charges of crimes against humanity"

In response in June 2010 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed a three-member panel of experts to advise him on whether war crimes were committed in the final stages of the civil war.
 The panel consisted of Marzuki Darusman, Steven Ratner and Yasmin Sooka.

The panel was charged with looking into “accountability with regard to any alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law” and whether the commitment on “human rights accountability” given by Sri Lanka to Ban Ki-moon had been implemented.
The Government reacted angrily to the panel’s appointment, and refused the panel entry to the country.

With the SLG refusing the panel permission to hold its sittings in-country, the panel conducted sessions outside the country and called for witness.
By refusing the panel permission to enter the country, the panel was not able to see for itself, developments taking place in the north and east. The panelists were also deprived of a chance of speaking to ordinary citizens who could have presented a more balanced picture of the events which occurred during the closing stages of the war.

Instead with the government boycotting, panellists were mainly exposed to ‘facts’ as presented by the Tamil Diaspora.
In April 2011 the panel handed over its report to the Secretary-General who passed on a copy to the Sri Lankan government.
The Government rejected the report.

The UN expert panel report was published in April 2011 recommending the Human Rights Council reconsider resolution A/HRC/S-11/L.1/Rev.2
On March 2012, the UNHRC adopted a resolution promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka.
The resolution welcomed the recommendations contained in the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), but noted with concern that the report did not adequately address serious allegations of violations of international law.

It called upon the government to implement the recommendations made in the LLRC report and requested the government to present an action plan detailing  steps  taken to implement the recommendations made in the commission’s report, and to address alleged violations of international law.
The resolution tasked the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) to provide advice and technical assistance on implementing the above-mentioned steps, and requ ested the OHCHR to present a report on the provision of such assistance to the Human Rights Council at its 22nd session in March 2013

It’s known that both India and the US provided logistical and other help to the government to crush the LTTE.
Crucial to the defeat of the LTTE was the destruction of the LTTE’s floating arms armada which kept the group replenished with arms and ammunition.The Sri Lanka armed forces did not have the capacity to locate ships in mid-ocean and ensure they were unable to move out of these localities. Strangely the LTTE armada of ships stayed put, and were destroyed along with their cargo and crew by the SL navy.
When the Sri Lanka Navy blew up these ships on the high seas in international waters no prisoners were taken…; yet no one cried war crimes, or piracy, no charges of crimes against humanity.

How different was the treatment meted out to the two Italian marines languishing in Indian jails for shooting two fishermen whom they misjudged to be pirates!
But in Sri Lanka’s case no one raised the issue or even checked whether those who perished were in fact LTTE personnel.
It was India after all that blocked all resolutions in reference to Sri Lanka’s war against the LTTE and the numerous calls for a cessation of hostilities sponsored by the Tamil Diaspora via various NGOs at the height of the conflict when there were attempts to raise the issue at the UN
So why has the situation changed so drastically?
Was it because our government did not keep its part of the bargain at different times?

Our leaders have gone on record many times promising that the areas in the north and east would be granted more autonomy than was envisaged under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Sadly these pledges have remained mere promises. Yet, government bodies still keep making promises in bad faith to international organisations.
The most recent farce was enacted during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Colombo.
The government was under fire from various countries in the organisation for not living up to promises regarding the devolution of power, the implementation of the LLRC recommendations on issues arising out of alleged war crimes during the final stages of the war. Totally unexpectedly the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) made an appeal to the Human Rights Unit of the Commonwealth Secretariat, seeking help to set up a ‘Commission on Torture’ under the aegis of the SLHRC.

Many Sri Lankans saw the act of the SLHRC as an attempt to divert attention from the issues raised at the CHOGM an attempt to make it appear the government was considering meeting international demands for a credible investigation into crimes of torture, disappearances and so forth.
It is well known that as far back as 1976, a committee appointed by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka made a detailed study on existing laws prohibiting torture, its practice and had made representation to the government to ensure that Sri Lankan law complied with UN Resolution No. 3452 banning torture.
In Sri Lanka therefore we had begun this process over 30 years ago!

When scarcely a month after requesting help to set up the commission, when the SLHRC made an about turn and asked the Commonwealth Secretariat to postpone the setting up of the Commission it had itself requested, everyone’s fears appeared to be well founded.
With the UNHRC meeting staring us in the face and a demand for an international probe on war crimes and violations of international law sponsored by the US looming dark on the horizon, the SLHRC is not doing the country or its people any good through its blatantly barefaced pretences.
The UNHRC will meet and more strictures will be passed against our country.

This time round perhaps a Special Rapporteur may be appointed. This is the UN system and once the system gets moving it moves, slowly perhaps… but it moves forward.
Rather than egging on shrill nationalist cries against women’s activists, ethnic groups or religious groups, which add greater justification to the call to set up an international investigation into charges brought by the UNHRC isn’t there anything the ruling party has on offer which could mitigate on its behalf?
A thought that comes to mind is internal stability.

With the opposition in complete disarray it appears only the present President can even hold a coalition of forces together, India, certainly does not want instability in its backyard. Neither will China or the US.
So in a way perhaps the big powers - the US, India and China - need president Rajapaksa to ensure stability in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka also still possesses two very strategic ports in Trincomalee and Hambantota, with Trincomalee still the gateway to the east or west and Hambantota the nearest port-of-call between the South Pole and anywhere else
Despite its strategic location however, neither  the port at Hambantota nor the international airport at Mattala - constructed on a massive loan - have attracted either ships or flights, making loan repayment impossible…

Normally the UN works through consensus (multilateralism); today we are seeing a shift away from the multilateral system to a unilateral one being enforced via the US and its western partners as seen in the invasion of Libya, the bombing and division of former Yugoslavia.
Could the ports at Hambantota and Trincomalee be the bait to make a reverse unilateral decision in favour of Sri Lanka at the next session of the UNHRC in Geneva in March 2014?
Only time will tell… one way or the other there will be a price to be paid and pay it we will be forced to. Will the two ports be that price???