Consolidate International Opinion Against Lanka!

Never before in the history of Lankan Tamils, there was such a rise of international opinion as of now against the Sinhala regime of Sri Lanka in its handling of ethnic Tamil minorities in that country. As DMK President and TESO Chairman Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi has said the developments

in the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) Universal Periodic Review  (UPR) session held on November1 in Geneva, in the background of DMK Treasurer Thalapathi M.K.Stalin and Parliamentary Party leader Thiru T.R.Baalu presenting the petition of him based on TESO resolutions, have brightened our hopes, the present context is very crucial for finding immediate relief for the sufferings of Eelam Tamils and a permanent political solution for their problems.

All along the Sri Lankan regime had been successfully thwarting international interference against its genocidal mission under the alibi of fighting against terrorism. Even international forums such as UNO, UNHRC, Amnesty International etc., were hesitant to exert pressure on the regime. Only during the last phase of the civil war and unmindful aerial bombing of civilian areas including hospitals in 2009, the Lankan regime was cautioned against its blind offensives. But after the end of war in May, 2009, with heartrending visuals of the wounded men, women and children, war-ravaged houses, blind-folded men shot down by Lankan armed forces etc., the conscience of the world was stirred up and many nations started voicing concern for the hapless people affected by war, and questioning the human rights record of the regime, conditions of internally displaced persons (IDPs), their resettlement and rehabilitation.

All these culminated in the UNHRC adopting a resolution in March this year against Sri Lanka for its human rights abuses and violation of international law during the final phase of war in 2009. The council’s UPR Working Group began its fourteenth session in Geneva to review the country’s progress (or regress). The working group consisted of a group of 47 countries headed by a ‘troika’. By default, India was a part of the troika, along with Benin and Spain,

For Sri Lanka, it was another battle against the international community’s crusade for human rights. A large group of experts and diplomats were sent to present their progress report before the working group. Sinhalese political parties in Sri Lanka stand united in support of the Rajapaksa regime and even pitched for abolition of the 13th amendment to their Constitution which authorizes the devolution of powers to provinces- considered as the political solution for ethnic Tamils. 

The UNHRC resolution passed in March,2012 against Sri Lanka made two ‘earnest appeals’ to Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to implement the constructive recommendations proposed by their own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation (LLRC) including:

 “the need to credibly investigate widespread allegations of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances, demilitarize the north of Sri Lanka, implement impartial land dispute resolution mechanisms, re-evaluate detention policies, strengthen formerly independent civil institutions, reach a political settlement on the devolution of power to the provinces, promote and protect the right of freedom of expression for all and enact rule of law reforms”; and

 “requests to the GoSL to present, as expeditiously as possible, a comprehensive action plan detailing the steps that the government has taken and will take to implement the recommendations made in the Commission’s report, and also to address alleged violations of international law”.

On ground, the Rajapaksa regime has taken no steps to implement any of these recommendations. The Defence Secretary has even refuted the likelihood of demilitarization of northern Sri Lanka. The ruling coalition parties have recently urged the President to moot a resolution in the Parliament to scrap the 13th amendment. Media freedom is highly restricted and suppressed. Death threats to editors, police raids on websites, abductions and intimidations still exist. Instead of making concrete efforts to rebuild and reconcile with Tamils, the government has built a ‘victory memorial’ in war-ravaged area in northern Lanka where thousands of Tamils shed their blood in valiant battle. Traces of Tamil history and culture have been vandalized. Overall, this gives a strong impression that not only reconciliatory work is not in progress at all but also in regress.

Western countries kept up pressure on Sri Lanka at the UPR session of the UNHRC  on Nov 1 to prosecute killings of civilians and other crimes committed in its 30-year civil war and to investigate continuing grave violations.

Britain and the United States said that accountability must be established for serious breaches in the conflict that ended in 2009 and they voiced concern at the latest attacks on journalists, activists and lawyers.

U.S. ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe said Sri Lanka must "end impunity for human rights violations and fulfill legal obligations regarding accountability by initiating independent and transparent investigations...into alleged violations of international law and hold those found culpable to account".

"Former conflict zones remain militarized and the military continues to encroach upon daily civilian and economic affairs," she said, while torture, extra-judicial killings, disappearances, and threats to freedom of expression persist.

British ambassador Karen Pearce said there should be no impunity for attacks on journalists, rights defenders and lawyers "nor reprisals against any individual including for cooperating with U.N. mechanisms".

International investigators, whose findings have been rejected by the Sri Lankan authorities, have said the army committed large-scale abuses and was responsible for many civilian deaths in the final stages of the war against Tamil Tiger rebels.

A Geneva-based body that monitors legal matters, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), said earlier on Thursday that Sri Lanka's government had made it all but impossible for victims of rights abuses to get justice.

President Rajapaksa's ruling party moved a motion in parliament on Nov1 to impeach the chief justice for violating the constitution, signaling a deepening rift between the government and the judiciary.

Sri Lankan Parliament has begun the process to impeach Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake.

Last month, Ms. Bandaranayeke locked horns with the Legislature and the Executive over a Bill that sought to take away some of the powers vested in the Provinces. The Bill places powers to spend about LKR 80 billion on development on a single Ministry controlled by Basil Rajapaksa, a brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Tamil National Alliance challenged the Bill, and the Chief Justice held that the Bill had to be approved by all nine Provincial Councils. This created problems for the government as the Northern Province does not have an elected council. The Northern Province Governor gave his consent to the Bill, which was challenged in court. Supreme Court ruled that certain provisions of the proposed Bill required a two-thirds majority to be passed in Parliament.

Political opponents believe that the stand-off over the draft legislation is the reason behind the impeachment move. Democratic People’s Front leader Mano Ganesan tweeted: “Rajapaksa’s cat is out. Regime is impeaching CJ, for ruling against Divineguma bill which is eating up the power share concept…World is calling Rajapaksa to share power. Instead of sharing, he is taking back what is already shared by law.” Ms. Bandaranayeke, an academic who became a Supreme Court judge with no experience either on the bench or at the bar, was hand-picked to be the first woman Chief Justice in May last year. Though many crucial verdicts went in favour of the government under her watch, her ties with the President nosedived in the last few months: a judicial officer issued a press statement complaining of interference, and the government held that she had over-stepped her authority.

The arrogance exhibited by the Mahinda Rajapaksa government in presenting an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake on the day Sri Lanka was being reviewed at the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on human rights is likely to have adverse repercussions in months to follow.

The impeachment motion came last week after statements were made by members of the government on abolishing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which deals with devolving power to the provinces. Talks of abolishing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution were in clear violation of the commitments undertaken by the Sri Lankan government at the last UPR in 2008. The government had made a voluntary commitment to effectively implement the 13th and 17th Amendments.

In moving towards abolishing the 13th Amendment, the Rajapaksa government would have had to first overcome the obstacle posed by India, the architect of that piece of legislation. Realizing India’s role during the UPR as a member of the troika that would be reviewing Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksa government decided to go slow on the whole idea of abolishing the 13th Amendment.

However, the government managed to outdo the whole abolition of the 13th Amendment drama by starting work on impeaching the Chief Justice. After weeks of speculation, it was on September 30th that the government put in motion the move to impeach the Chief Justice. The decision to sign the motion was made at a party leaders’ meeting of the governing party.

Although questions may rise on the timing of the impeachment motion, it is evident that the Rajapaksa government has now given priority to issues closer to home rather than those that would be raised in Geneva. The government’s immediate priority is to ensure its functioning without any hindrance from an opposition, legislature and now the judiciary.

Impeaching the Chief Justice would ensure judgments in favor of the governing party in cases that are already before the Supreme Court. In the event of objections from the international community, the Rajapaksa government could always pull out the “patriotic” stance and “harassment” by the international community.

Be that as it may, the Rajapaksa government will have to stand by its actions and respond before many international fora, which commenced from last week’s UPR in Geneva. While Sri Lanka’s report for this year’s UPR was presented to the Council by India, Spain and Benin, on Nov.5  and adopted the same day, it would be taken up at the next session in March 2013 along with the review of the US backed Resolution on Sri Lanka this year. It could very well be the Ides of March for the Rajapaksa government during the 22nd session of the UNHRC in Geneva next year.

The US, which sponsored a Resolution on Sri Lanka at the 19th session of the UNHRC in March this year, made a firm statement at Sri Lanka’s UPR. US Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe while commending certain steps taken by the government expressed serious concerns over the continued violation of human rights taking place in Sri Lanka. Donahoe also referred to the move to impeach the Chief Justice and said, “Especially in light of today’s news of the efforts to impeach the Chief Justice, strengthen judicial independence by ending government interference with the judicial process, protecting members of the judiciary from attacks, and restoring a fair, independent, and transparent mechanism to oversee judicial appointments”.

The US focus on Sri Lanka’s judiciary became more evident with the statement made by the US State Department on Nov.2. US State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland has said that the US also noted with concern recent threats to Sri Lankan judicial officials, including the assault last month on a judge who had publicly criticized government pressure on members of the judiciary.

“We urge the Government of Sri Lanka to avoid any action that would impede the efficacy and independence of Sri Lanka’s judiciary. The United States along with our partners in the international community continues to urge Sri Lanka to address outstanding issues of the Rule of Law, democratic governance, accountability and reconciliation,” Nuland said.

The statements made by Donahoe and Nuland last week were warning signs to the Rajapaksa government that the focus of the international community was once again on Sri Lanka. The US that has remained somewhat silent in relation to Sri Lanka since last March, made a firm statement during Sri Lanka’s UPR. Donahoe’s statement: “We note steps taken by the government of Sri Lanka to resettle IDPs, foster economic growth, improve infrastructure, and develop a National Action Plan for implementing a number of recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC)”.

However, the US stated that it remained concerned by the consolidation of executive power, including the passage of the 18th Amendment, and that no agreement has been reached on political devolution.

“Former conflict zones remain militarized, and the military continues to encroach upon daily civilian and economic affairs. The Ministry of Defense has controlled the NGO Secretariat since 2010,” Donahoe noted. However, the most serious comment by the US was to say that serious human rights violations continue, including disappearances, torture, extra-judicial killings, and threats to freedom of expression.

“Opposition figures have been harassed, detained, and prosecuted.  There have been no credible investigations or prosecutions for attacks on journalists and media outlets.  In the past 30 days, a judge who questioned executive interference in the judiciary was severely beaten in broad daylight by multiple assailants and derogatory posters appeared in\ Colombo threatening the director of an NGO challenging a government bill that would weaken provincial councils. No arrests have been made,” Donahoe stated.

The US made several recommendations that include the implementation of the constructive recommendations of the LLRC, including the removal of the military from civilian functions; creation of mechanisms to address cases of the missing and detained; issuance of death certificates; land reform; devolution of power; and disarming paramilitaries. The US also observed: “Transfer NGO oversight to a civilian institution and protect freedom of expression and space for civil society to operate, by inter alia investigating and prosecuting attacks on media personnel and human rights defenders. End impunity for human rights violations and fulfill legal obligations regarding accountability by initiating independent and transparent investigations, which meet international best practices, into alleged violations of international law and hold those found culpable to account”.

Concerns raised by India at the UPR were of more concern to the Rajapaksa government. The fact that India has been closely monitoring developments in Sri Lanka has made the Rajapaksa government cautious in responding to the issues raised by the Indians.

India, in its brief statement after commending the government’s resettlement and related efforts dedicated more of its statement to the concerns it had over Sri Lanka. New Delhi has once again firmly stated its stance on the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

India last week called on Sri Lanka to honor its commitment made to the international community at the last UPR in 2008 where it was said that the 13th Amendment would be implemented and built upon to create a meaningful devolution package.

“We recall the commitments made by Sri Lanka to the international community during the UPR 2008 and on subsequent occasions for the implementation of the 13th Amendment and building on it so as to build a meaningful devolution package. We urge expeditious action to take forward the political process for an early political solution,” the Indian statement said.

India also noted, “We have noted the announcement by the Sri Lankan government on holding Provincial Council elections to the Northern Province in 2013. We urge that the people of the Province should be able to exercise their democratic rights as guaranteed to them by the Sri Lankan Constitution as early as feasible.

“We look forward to the effective and timely implementation of the constructive recommendations contained in the LLRC report. These include those pertaining to early progress towards reconciliation, promotion of a trilingual policy, reduction of high security zones, return of private land by the military and phasing out of the involvement of the security forces in civilian activities in the Northern Province. We have noted the Action Plan proposed by the Sri Lankan government for time bound implementation of these recommendations. We believe that early and visible progress in this regard will foster genuine reconciliation. We call for credible investigations to be conducted in respect of allegations of Human Rights violations and incidents involving loss of civilian life brought out in the LLRC report.”

Sri Lanka’s promises on human rights should no longer be accepted by the international community, Amnesty International said in London on Nov.1.

The statement came in the wake of UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Nov.1, which highlighted Colombo’s, “continued denial of the human rights crisis in the country and the need for independent investigations into new alleged human rights violations and past war crimes.”

Amnesty said the UN examines the human rights situation in each member state every four and a half years, and Sri Lanka has yet to follow up on important commitments made during its first UPR in 2008, when the government was engaged in armed conflict with the Tamil Tigers (LTTE).

“Sri Lanka has been making empty promises about human rights for decades. This was made clear by a number of countries which questioned Sri Lanka’s lack of progress in ending human rights violations during the review,” said Yolanda Foster, Amnesty International’s expert on Sri Lanka.

“Three years after the end of the civil war, the government continues to stifle dissent through threats and harassment, and has failed to take steps to end enforced disappearances and extra judicial executions,” Foster added

Human rights defenders have told Amnesty International about a climate of fear in Sri Lanka in which the state does nothing to protect them from threats.

Following a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution in March 2012 calling on Sri Lanka to address violations of international law during the civil war, government officials and state-run media lashed out at human rights activists.

They were called “traitors” and threatened with physical harm by the Public Relations Minister, prompting the UN to denounce the threats and call for an investigation.

The Rajapaksa regime of Sri Lanka can afford to ignore its growing isolation and condemnation against it in  the international arena only at its peril.

In the present context of successfully mobilizing international opinion on the plight of Eelam Tamils and world forums like the UNO and UNHRC seized of contemplating action to get the Lankan regime commit itself to find solution for ending the sufferings of them and accord them rightful living with equal rights, justice and dignity, Tamils in Tamil Nadu and Tamil diaspora have a responsible duty cast upon them to be more united than ever before. This is not a time when their political and social organizations to dwell on past bickering whatsoever and play one-up manship. Kalaignar, the seasoned statesman, showed the way when he reacted to the observation of Prof.Suba.Veerapandian regretting that those who claim to be fighting for Eelam Tamils were more vociferous against the DMK and Kalaignar than the enemies of Tamils. Kalaignar said he was not perturbed over their attacks because those who attacked him now had hailed him in the past and they would again praise him tomorrow. Similarly, the Lankan Tamil diaspora, who are settled in many countries of the world in better conditions than their brothers, sisters and children hard pressed for existence even now in the island nation, should think and act according to the perspective and needs of these hapless people than their (dispora’s) own perspective.

Let us all, Tamils in Tamil Nadu and Tamil diaspora all over the world, work together for the consolidation of the unprecedented international opinion against the Sinhala regime led by Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka in favour of the Eelam Tamils to find a political solution for their decades-old problems. If we fail to utilize this golden opportunity due to any internal bickering and fritter it away, the posterity will not willingly forgive us!