transcurrents

Mahinda Rajapakse and human rights in Sri Lanka

June 15th, 2007

…That illusion is now evaporating. It is becoming crystal clear that the Sri Lankan state has war on its agenda and not a just peace. Its score card in the deploying of disproportionate force, promoting state terror, disregard for civilian life and rights, large scale violation of human rights etc has demonstrated that the Rajapakse regime is becoming another Frankensteinian monster. Mahinda’s “Panchabalavegaya” of Gotabhaya Rajapakse as Defence secy, Sarath Fonseka as Army commander , Kotakadeniya as Defence adviser, PTB Kohona as Peace secretariat chief and Rambukwella as Defence spokesperson , is helping to expose the true nature of this regime.

Though state actors abide by “club” rules and stand together there comes a time when a member’s behaviour becomes intolerable. When a fellow member becomes too much of an embarassment. then other members need to take action. A powerful or influential Country like the USA, Britain, Israel or China can get way with anything (As is happening now) but a country on the fast track to becoming a “failed state” cannot do so. No Country that is dependent on external aid for sheer survival can hold its head high. When the chips are down there is nobody to bail it out.

The first cracks are appearing. Several organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, Refugee International and several UN agencies and officials have begun criticising Colombo. UN Secretary – General Kofi Annan, Indian PM Manmohan Singh , AI head Irene Khan etc have conveyed their concern directly to Rajapakse. There is growing pressure on Colombo to accommodate International monitoring of human rights in Sri Lanka.The EU which banned the LTTE has also tabled a resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva. Ironically Sri Lanka is a member of the Council.

All these developments point to the fact that the International Community is realising fast that the human rights situation is rotten in the state of Sri Lanka. Even if some Countries for geo – strategic reasons support Sri Lanka the overwhelming tide of International public opinion can engulf this support in the future. Sri Lanka is not in the international dog house yet. But it may be there soon unless it addresses the problem of human rights urgently, genuinely and constructively.

[June 2007: President Mahinda Rajapaksa meets Norwegian International Development Minister and former special peace envoy Eric Solheim in Geneva Pic by Sudath Silva]

By D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Mahendra Percy Rajapakse now known as Mahinda Rajapakse has been a doughty defender of human rights in the past. Mahinda played a very important role in giving leadership to those who resisted the flagrant violations of human rights by the United National Party (UNP)regimes of Junius Richard Jayewardene and Ranasinghe Premadasa. Many of us recall the harsh experience he underwent while going to Geneva with dossiers to expose the UNP record in Human Rights (HR) at the UN.

Mahinda being a solid Southerner from “Bentara Gangata Egodaha” focussed mainly on the state of human rights in the Southern Province. There was nothing wrong in this as it was the South which suffered the most during the second insurgency years of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). Mahinda and Mangala Samaraweera were instrumental in organizing and backing many mass movements and mass fronts against prevailing tyranny of the state then. Rajapakse established himself firmly in the South as an ardent champion of human rights.

Many years later Mahinda Rajapakse has ascended to the position of executive president. He became President due to a chauvinist Sinhala Buddhist campaign spearheaded by the JVP and Jathika Hela Urumaya(JHU) on the one hand and an enforced boycott in the Tamil areas by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the other .

Mahinda the one – time defender is now chief protector of human rights. He is now required to uphold them. Even after becoming President Mahinda has not forgotten to pay lip service to his progressive past. “Mahinda is a man of human rights” he reminds people.

[Poster in Colombo, during 2005 Presidential Election campaign]

Whenever people ranging from Catholic clergy to Tamil Parliamentarians raise human rights issues with their Executive President a smiling Mahinda puts them at ease reiterating that he is committed to human rights and that action will be taken. Depending upon the audience he would vary his responses. To some he would say there was a UNP conspiracy in the armed forces to denigrate him. To others he would talk of a JVP plot. Some would be told that no witnesses were forthcoming. Others would be told that there was an attempt to make him unpopular with Christians.

Whatever the variety of responses there was an underlying common thread. Mahinda was committed to human rights and would always uphold them. The man of the people with his “kurakkan Sataka” would look intensely into the eyes of his audience and assure them that necessary action would be taken. He would then flash that trademark , broad grin of his and put their minds at rest. As Browning’s Pippa sang “God’s in his heaven; all’s right with the world”.

Sep 2006: President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the 61st session of the UN General Assembly in New York. AP [Courtesy: DailyNews.lk]

Mahinda was in his element as a “champion of human rights” at the recent UN sessions in New York too. Making his maiden appearance in the UN as Sri Lankan President Mahinda referred to his human rights past in his address.He told the UN 60th General Assembly delegates

“In 1970, when I was first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka, a paragraph in the Preamble of the Charter of the United Nations gave substance and direction to my future political life.

“….to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small”

Having been a human rights campaigner at the grass roots level throughout my political life, it was natural that my new government should be committed to carrying the message of democracy to all corners of our multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious country. Democracy, equity and prosperity is our clarion call. In addition, my country has been influenced by the core Buddhist values of non-violence, loving kindness, compassion, equanimity and mindfulness. ”

President Rajapakse also stated ” Given my personal commitment to the promotion of human rights at both localand international level, the establishment of the Human Rights Council with enhanced status and capacity to promote and protect human rights worldwide, is a cause for delight. I am happy that Sri Lanka was elected to the Council in May this year. In honouring a pledge made at the Presidential election last year, we have already started work on crafting a Human Rights Charter in Sri Lanka. Consistent with our goal of safeguarding human rights, my government will establish an international panel to observe investigations into certain alleged human rights violations which my Government has already condemned.”

If mere words alone were the sole criteria to judge political leaders then most of them would pass with flying colours. In the final analysis it is deed and not word alone that counts. Performance is more important than promises.It was former US Attorney – General John Mitchell of Watergate fame who once said of his political ilk ” Look at what we do and not what we say”. It is against that backdrop of actual performance that Mahinda Rajapakse’s professed commitment towards human rights needs to be examined.

It is public knowledge that the HR situation in Sri Lanka has taken a nosedive during Rajapakse’s tenure. In fairness to the President it must be said that much of this in the initial stages was due to provocative acts by the LTTE. Tiger supremo Velupillai Pirapakaran delivered his Great Heroes Day speech ten days after the Presidential election last year. He praised Mahinda as a “pragmatist” and “realist” and then assured him that a period of time would be given Mahinda to prove his bona fides.. Rajapakse thanked Praba publicly.

Yet within weeks the assurance was honoured in the breach. Unprovoked and unjustified attacks were launched against the Police and armed forces in the North – East. The LTTE disclaimed responsibility for these attacks and said the people were responsible. It was widely reported that the LTTE sponsored Peoples militia was behind these attacks ranging from Claymore ambushes to pistol group assassinations. One reason for the LTTE launching these attacks may have been due to a perception that Rajapakse was going to adopt a hawkish policy. The appointment of people like Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, Gothabhaya Rajapakse, Sarath Fonseka, HMGP Kotakadeniya etc to important posts may have conveyed the impression to the LTTE that Rajapakse was a hardliner.

As attacks increased a beleaguered Rajapakse asked the LTTE publicly not to drive him up against the wall. There was a limit to his patience he warned. The unsaid message in Walasmulla – Weeraketiya fashion was “Mama hondata hondai; narakata narakai”. (I am good to the good and bad to the bad) Elaborate plans to beef up the armed forces were made and rapidly implemented. The USA, China and Pakistan began lending support overtly and covertly.

More importantly the Government of Mahinda Rajapakse shed all inhibitions regarding human rights which earlier regimes had in relation to handling the ethnic crisis. The Sri Lankan state had ruthlessly suppressed two insurgencies in the South in 1971 and 1988 – 89. All laws became silent. In order to suppress the JVP rebellions the state and its agencies conducted a massive and cruel campaign of repression. The state succeeded in doing so but the biggest casualty was human rights.

Though the Sinhala dominated state has engaged in repressive activity vis a vis the Tamil liberation struggle it had never been prior to the Rajapakse regime been as brutal in the North – East as it was in the South. Though most Tamils have certainly been victimised by the state the consequences of the JVP revolt as undergone by deprived sections of Sinhala society were qualitatively worse and terrible.

Now this situation was being reversed and the anti – JVP response was to be adopted.. It was felt in the corridors of power that a hard and harsh response to the LTTE was needed. Incomplete and inaccurate understanding of the nature of the Tamil liberation struggle had made many Sinhala hardliners believe that the Tamil national question could be resolved through force. It was perceived solely as a “terrorist” and not political problem. If and when the LTTE was crushed any kind of settlement could be imposed on the Tamils in particular and the minorities in general it was felt.

This kind of political ideology – if one may call it that – had always existed in Sinhala political discourse but it was usually marginal and seldom entrenched in positions of power. Now for the first time proponents of a dangerous policy were in power. The cutting edge of this policy was militaristic domination.

Those who advocated a military solution to a largely political question had a common complaint. The armed forces were capable of destroying the LTTE but the Governments of the day were not allowing them to do so. Besides undue concern for civilan lives and property, human rights and international opinion was hampering military efforts it was felt.

What was required therefore was a full – fledged military effort to exterminate the LTTE. This meant not only overt but also covert warfare. The ‘war” had to be fought on many fronts. Civilian casualties should not be of any consequence. Aerial bombardment and artillery attacks were to be launched with scant regard for civilans. A dirty war was also necessary. Paramilitary groups aligned to the state had to be used to weed out tigers and perceived fellow travellers. The civilian population had to be terrorised and subjugated.

The LTTE had reached its present position of pre – eminence through terror tactics alone it was believed. So the state had to do the same it was felt. Fire was to be fought with fire.Eggs had to be broken if an omelette was to be made. Such deadly doctrines have been advocated before during the times of Jayewardene, Premadasa, Wijetunga and Kumaratunga. Despite their shortcomings none of these Presidents had been willing to go beyond a certain limit.. But with Mahinda the man of human rights it was different. The green light was given.

For the first time in decades of ethnic conflict the political executive and military hierarchy are of the same mind and perspective. There have a common goal. The President is willing to give a free hand to the security forces to do what they want as long as they complete the task. There is no check or balance by the civil administrationon on the military. There is no ethical dilemma about means and ends. The end justifies the means is the credo. There is a climate of impunity never ever seen before. There is little or no consideration at all for civilians and their human rights. The Country and world are seeing the results of this approach now.

Assassinations, abductions, killings, injuries, disappearances, torture, indiscriminate aerial bombardment and artillery attacks,displacement, curtailment of employment in areas like fishing, massive number of Internally displaced persons, denial of relief and rations to IDP’s, denial of accommodation and sanitary facilities to IDP’s, restriction of transport, diminished food distribution leading to famine like conditions, deprivation of medicine and infant food, disruption in education and employment, massive cordon and search operations, mass arrests and public humilation, harassment of media, systematic persecution of a particular ethnicity amounting to genocide etc is being perpetrated.

The Tamil people are being selectively and ruthlessly targetted. Priests, politicians, journalists, industrialists, businessmen, professionals, student activists, human rights workers, NGO employees etc are either disappearing or being killed. Tamil traders are being abducted, killed or released for ransom in the heart of Colombo itself. Disproportionate use with scant regard for civilian safety was adopted in aerial and artillery attacks. Though it was claimed that specific LTTE positions were targetted it is not entirely so in practice. Foreign NGO’s are not being allowed to go into affected Tamil areas where deaths, destruction and displacement has taken place.

Despite Mahinda’s pious assertions about being committed to human rights and justice no constructive action has been taken in any case brought to his notice. The Trincomalee beach murder of five students, Pungudutheevu rape killing of Dharshini, headless corpses in Avissawela, Uthayan newspaper attack, Nelliaddy murder, Puthur murder, Manthuvil disappearances, TRO employee disappearances in the East, Vankalai murder, Messacre in Peasalai Church, Muthur International aid worker killings, are but some of the instances yet awaiting justice. So too are the unsolved killings of former Amparai district MP Chandranehru Ariyanayagam, National list MP Joseph Pararajasingham, former Parliamentarian Sivamaharajah, disappearance of Catholic Priest Fr. Jim Brown etc. There are also the abductions and disappearances of Tamil businessmen .

[A goat wandering near the office of ACF, Muthur]

A relevant example illustrating the anti – people approach of the Rajapakse regime and its callous disregard for civilian life is the conduct of its Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols or deep penetration squads. When these licensed assassins sanctioned by the state infiltrated tiger territory and laid out their claymores during Kumaratunga’s tenure only leaders of the LTTE like Shankar, Nizam, Gangai Amaran etc were targetted. But after these operations were revived by Defence secretary Gotabhaiya Rajapakse Tamil civilians have been indisciminately victimised.

Rajapakse may wax eloquent about his human rights background but the existential reality is that the human rights situation is on the wane in Sri Lanka. Rajapakse may have appointed a minister to be in charge of human rights and Sri Lanka may be a member of the UN human rights council but Tamils in the Island are being deprived of their rights in a manner unsurpassed. Rajapakse may boast of a human rights charter in the making but when existing structures are not being utilised to uphold human rights it is a foregone conclusion that the envisaged charter would only be a worthless document.

It is an incontrovertible fact that unbridled state terror has escalated during Mahinda Rajapakse’s reign. A virtual carte blanche seems to have been given to the state’s security forces and allied elements to engage in human rights violations to protect the so called unity and territorial integrity of the Country. There is a climate of impunity prevailing that has not existed before. No act of omission or commission by the Police, security forces or their mercenary running dogs has been punished. On the other hand people who came forward to seek justice like Dr. Manoharan in Trincomalee have been harassed and intimidated.

One reason for the complex nature of the ethnic crisis today is the fact that its consequences have gone far beyond the original causes. Likewise whatever the rationale for Mahinda Rajapakse’s hawkish approach towards the Tamils the consequences on ground have gone far beyond any mitigating rationalisation. In trying to combat the terror tactics of the LTTE the state and its minions have resorted to counter – measures amounting to unadulterated state terror. Sadly the Tamil civilians due to no fault of their own are caught between two terrors.

The LTTE has to bear much of the blame for this deteriorating situation. The original “sin” of the LTTE was helping Rajapakse gain power through its enforced boycott. It then launched its peoples war.An attempt was made on the army commander’s life.The LTTE refused to stay the course in remaining at the negotiating table. Its conduct in Oslo was unpardonable.The tigers also aggravated the war situation by incidents like the Maavilaaru blockade, Muthur raid, Mandaitheevu raid, Muhamaalai offensive etc. By their actions the LTTE has provided Rajapakse an excuse to engage in repressive action.

The reality however is that the Tamil people and not the tigers are bearing the brunt of state terror. It is the people and not the LTTE who are suffering greatly.Besides the LTTE has received international condemnation for its conduct. Punitive measures have been enforced. 25 European Countries, the USA, Canada, India etc have banned them as a terrorist organization. The LTTE has been exposed internationally.

But the Rajapakse regime is yet to be exposed as an exponent of state terror. The dice is loaded in Colombo’s favour because most state actors have not been averse in using terror tactics at times. The established states will stick together and go lenient on a fellow state as opposed to a non – state actor. This “fraternal feeling” was to Rajapakse’s advantage. Also the LTTE was regarded as a notorious outfit. The International Community was pissed off at its behavious. It was also seen as an impediment to peace.

The Colombo government exploited the situation well. Its request that the international community should ban the LTTE for example was justified on the grounds that only such sanctions could make the tigers come to the negotiating table. Military actions were supposedly against LTTE targets only it was claimed. Initially many Countries and organizations remained inactive in the face of mounting state terror. This may have been due to a feeling that the tigers needed a hard knock to be made to see sense.This enabled Rajapakse to get away so far with what he was doing.

[President Mahinda Rajapaksa, speaking Al Jazeera, May 2007]

That illusion is now evaporating. It is becoming crystal clear that the Sri Lankan state has war on its agenda and not a just peace. Its score card in the deploying of disproportionate force, promoting state terror, disregard for civilian life and rights, large scale violation of human rights etc has demonstrated that the Rajapakse regime is becoming another Frankensteinian monster. Mahinda’s “Panchabalavegaya” of Gotabhaya Rajapakse as Defence secy, Sarath Fonseka as Army commander , Kotakadeniya as Defence adviser, PTB Kohona as Peace secretariat chief and Rambukwella as Defence spokesperson , is helping to expose the true nature of this regime.

Though state actors abide by “club” rules and stand together there comes a time when a member’s behaviour becomes intolerable. When a fellow member becomes too much of an embarassment. then other members need to take action. A powerful or influential Country like the USA, Britain, Israel or China can get way with anything (As is happening now) but a country on the fast track to becoming a “failed state” cannot do so. No Country that is dependent on external aid for sheer survival can hold its head high. When the chips are down there is nobody to bail it out.

The first cracks are appearing. Several organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, Refugee International and several UN agencies and officials have begun criticising Colombo. UN Secretary – General Kofi Annan, Indian PM Manmohan Singh , AI head Irene Khan etc have conveyed their concern directly to Rajapakse. There is growing pressure on Colombo to accommodate International monitoring of human rights in Sri Lanka.The EU which banned the LTTE has also tabled a resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva. Ironically Sri Lanka is a member of the Council.

All these developments point to the fact that the International Community is realising fast that the human rights situation is rotten in the state of Sri Lanka. Even if some Countries for geo – strategic reasons support Sri Lanka the overwhelming tide of International public opinion can engulf this support in the future. Sri Lanka is not in the international dog house yet. But it may be there soon unless it addresses the problem of human rights urgently, genuinely and constructively.

This criticism of Colombo by the International Community does not mean that the LTTE will be let off the hook. The mere fact that the Tamils are suffering will not automatically translate into support for the LTTE. For the tigers to redeem themselves in the eyes of the International Community a thorough overhauling is needed in the politico – diplomatic sphere. The LTTE has to take heed of the advice and suggestions proffered by the International community and transform itself. That is the only way for tiger redemption as far as the IC is concerned.

Given the Rajapakse regimes commitment to a unitary state and its policy of escalating war under the pretext of “defensive” measures there seems little use in the tigers going to the negotiating table. But the LTTE cannot afford to do that. If the LTTE wants to expose the true nature of the Rajapakse regime it has to go in for talks and stay the course . It is only at the table that the LTTE can pull down the Government’s fig leaf. The inability of the tigers and their supporters to realise this simple truth and act accordingly is affecting the Tamil people drastically.

The fact that the LTTE was banned by the EU on the request of Sri Lanka was perceived by Colombo as being a windfall. It was true to some extent. But this is now proving to be counter productive. After having banned the LTTE in the interests of peace the EU is seeing all hopes of peace being shattered due to the Rajapakse regime’s gung ho attitude. Tamils are undergoing human rights violations on a massive scale due to state terror. The IC is belatedly recognizing that the Rajapakse regime cannot be treated on par with earlier governments.The International Community therefore is constrained to rein in Mahinda and ease the burden on the Tamil civilians.

Any resolution or statement on Sri Lanka are not likely to single out the Government alone. Both sides would be blamed or criticised and a sense of balance would prevail. Such is the art of diplomacy and international relations. Advice will be tendered and appeals made to both sides. Yet the fact that the sovereign, democratically elected Government of Mahinda Rajapakse is being equated with the tigers of Velupillai Pirapakaran could be an embarassing erosion of the regimes image. Democratic Governments have a greater obligation to abide by human rights standards than organizations branded as terrorist.

History records the cases of many leaders and statespersons who were at one time respected as freedom fighters, patriots and nation builders and who led their people to independence from Colonial rule. Yet after years of self – rule the image of these leaders become tarnished. They lose the respect and support of their people as well as the world. Kwame Nkhruma, Bung Soekarno, Robert Mugabe are but a few names that come to mind. Very often they try to rest on laurels attained during independence struggle to stave off rising discontent.

Mahinda Rajapakse is like that when speaking of his past as a champion of human rights. He is the President today and is required to uphold the human rights of all Sri Lankan citizens including Tamils. This is a responsibility he cannot shirk. The reality today is that the Tamils are undergoing human rights violations and violence on an unprecedented, massive scale. Much of this is due to state terror. Mahinda cannot talk about his past as a HR defender in the present situation. His duty is to uphold human rights for all of Sri Lanka. [This article first appeared on Oct 6th 2006]

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