The Path To Accountability And Reconciliation In Sri Lanka
Dr. G.K. Nathan
Recently concluded General Debate at the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Sri Lanka External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said that “The noticeable recent tendency to selectively and arbitrarily intervene in the internal affairs of states flies in the face of this principle and dilutes the confidence so carefully nurtured in the UN system.” During the same session United Nation Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has highlighted the need to find a political solution immediately to the underlying factors of the conflict in Sri Lanka and drew the attention of Prof G.L. Peiris that a political solution should be found “without further delay.” Contrary to the above assertion by Prof. G.L. Peiris at the UN, International community did not intervene in Sri Lanka, as they did in countries in the Middle East; but their appeal to stop the war, to respect human rights and seek reconciliation fell on deaf ears of President Rajapaksa. Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) conducted a ferocious war without any respect to international humanitarian and international human rights laws in the guise to “get rid of terrorism” at the end death was put at 40,000 and that figure has been upped to 75,000 at the book launch of “Still Counting the Dead” by Frances Harrison. During the war and thereafter, evidence has emerged from independent sources, more are still coming to light that war crimes and crimes against humanity have occurred during the prolonged military conflict which ended on 18 May 2009.
Western countries and human rights organizations have called for an Independent International Inquiry to determine the truth; only recognizing that Sri Lanka is made up of multilingual, multiethnic and multireligious people will help to move towards reconciliation suitable for a country with a mixed and complex social set up. Unfortunately, the end of “war against terrorists” neither brought real peace nor protection of human rights in the country; on the contrary, the human and political rights of people of Sri Lanka have deteriorated, further. Hundreds of thousands of people, Tamils and Muslims were victims of the conflict, have not returned to their original places of residence because those areas are either declared as High Security Zone (HSZ) or occupied by the armed forces. A recent media report revealed sixteen of the nineteen divisions of Sri Lanka military are in the North and East of the Island. GSL’s economic activities mostly focus on building roads and bridges with borrowed money contributing to inflationary pressure on the economy, while the working conditions are worsening and employees’ unrest is spreading and demanding equitable and fair working conditions. At the same, time political power and wealth is accumulating in the hands of a few. Disappearances and murders are happening with full impunity and being used as a way of silencing dissent. Deterioration of social and economic conditions of the people is driving them to suicide which is one of the highest in the world and the people have become the victims of forces unleashed by the current regime. Will this sew the seed of dissent and uprising of the people?
The forthcoming 14th session of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in November 2012, Sri Lanka is one of the sixteen countries whose human rights record will be reviewed. This gives an opportunity to critically look at Sri Lanka’s human rights record and assess what GSL has done, since the review in 2008. Also, at the 22nd session of United Nation Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March 2013, Sri Lanka’s progress with respect to the resolution A/HRC/19/L.2 which was passed at 19th Session proposed by USA and supported by countries from Europe, South America, a few from Africa and India was the only one from Asia will be scrutinized. The scrutiny at UPR and UNHRC sessions should define a new path to follow, to determine the accountability followed by reconciliation among multilingual, multiethnic and multireligious people of Sri Lanka.
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