Something amiss with human rights

by Namini Wijedasa

When four criminals ambush a car in broad daylight near the Polhengoda army camp, brutally assault two innocent men with heavy wooden poles - and get away, never to be caught - you know something is amiss with human rights in this country.

When 649 people disappear without a trace between September 1, 2006 and March 15, 2008 - you know something is amiss with human rights in this country. When murder and assassination are as common as they are - and justice as rare as it is - you know something is amiss with human rights in this country.

When it becomes more common than not to be tortured in police stations - you know something is amiss with human rights in this country. When they keep telling you to keep your trap shut about military matters because they are fighting a war - and then expect you to keep your trap shut about everything - you know something is amiss with human rights in this country.

When politicians who rose to power using human rights as a tool start foaming at the mouth when talking about human rights today - you know something is amiss with human rights in this country.

It was before sunset on Monday evening that Namal Perera and Mahendra Ratnaweera were assaulted remorselessly by four men with heavy wooden poles. The four men tailed them in a white van, intercepted them at a busy junction and beat them up. It was that easy. (And to think that, as children, we were made to kneel in the playground for lesser crimes than these).

Namal is the acting manager of media advocacy and media freedom of the Sri Lanka Press Institute while Mahendra is the political officer of the British High Commission. The SLPI and the Newspaper Publishers Society subsequently announced a reward of Rs. 5 million for any information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those who assaulted Namal Perera.

Last month, it was Keith Noyahr, the associate editor of The Nation. This month, it’s Namal. Countless other journalists, mainly Tamil, have been killed - many of them by the LTTE. Numerous others have been assaulted, threatened and intimidated. Some fear for the lives of their families and children. Others have stopped writing.

Law a farce

Heck, do Sri Lankans no longer use legal methods to deal with people they don’t like? Is the law a farce in this peace loving, tolerant, Sinhala Buddhist nation?

New Bridge at Arugam Bay - Funded by US AID - [Pic by Tharique Azeez]

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, as one might have expected, quickly took recourse in the Great Sri Lankan Conspiracy Theory. Speaking at the inauguration of the Arugam Bay bridge on Wednesday, Rajapaksa said the latest attacks were part of a “conspiracy to discredit the government”. Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa parroted him, saying this was “another deliberate act of a well organized group intent on bringing the government and the country into disrepute”.

If this was a deliberate act carried out by a well organised group, surely the Rajapaksa administration can detect the perpetrators? Organised crime is by far the easiest form of crime to detect. Organised gangs that engage in organised misdeeds over a considerable period of time leave tracks. Rajapaksa and his men have been alleging conspiracies against the government for months. If they can’t apprehend a silly, two-bit organised gang that conspicuously thrashes well known people in close proximity to army camps... in broad daylight... they should be given a hiding and sent home.

Set up a ministry

Meanwhile, Rajapaksa might consider setting up a ministry of conspiracy theory - or at least appointing a couple of advisors. He only has 109 ministers and 100 advisors. What’s a few more?

To digress completely, this guy came on state telly the other day (Mahipala Herath, he was called) talking utter garbage. And everyone clapped.

Minutes after filing UPFA nominations for the provincial polls on Friday, the former chief minister of the Sabaragamuwa province stood importantly outside the Kegalle district secretariat, dressed from head to toe in blue. And he blathered: “We are contesting these elections because we have seen the sadness, pain and tears of the Sabaragamuwa people and we want to save their poor, unfortunate souls.” So, everyone around him put their hands together and cheered. In fact, they only just stopped short of dancing. Sigh.

Logically, nobody has any reason to believe a word this Herath says. But nobody is logical around here. They are as mindless as they come. Chances are that Herath will be chief minister again. And he will continue to do nothing. And we will continue to clap. Clap, clap, clap. [lakbimanews.lk]