Wigneswaran on his meeting with Ramaphosa
by Sulochana Ramiah Mohan- July 13, 2014
Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran, who recently met and was impressed by the quiet diplomatic approach of Deputy President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, said "There can be no reconciliation without acknowledgement of truth; there can be no reconciliation that is foisted by the force of military might and that is not reconciliation but bondage."
In an interview with Ceylon Today, Wigneswaran recounts the meeting with the South African Deputy Leader and the issues that were discussed.
Q: The South African delegation was here last week to see what assistance SA could make available to the Sri Lankan Government. Did Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa convey how they would like to assist Sri Lanka on the national issue?
A: They are carefully studying our problem. They are letting us know how they brought about a change in their country transforming people with different languages (many, many more than the two we have here), religions, communities, backgrounds, colour and even gender based differences to fit them into the idea of a Composite South African Nation – a pluralist rainbow nation. H
e did not specify his inputs to the solution to our national issue. But said he would be glad to be of help if needed.
Q: What is their concern about the whole issue between the minorities and the government?
A: First, let me state that the categorization as 'minorities' is sometimes misleading. Yes, the Tamil speaking people are numerically less than the Sinhalese, if you take the whole island, but in their areas of historical habitation, where they were living for centuries and are even now despite all the government sponsored colonization by the majority they are not the minority. As to your question, they have indicated simply they are studying the situation.
Q: Did they suggest a common ground to work on?
A: Nothing of the sort. We were impressed by their quiet diplomatic approach. They gave preference to listening rather than talking.
Q: In your opinion can the South African Model of reconciliation work for Sri Lanka?
A: In as much as there are always lessons to be learnt from the experiences of others, one must yet realize that different factual scenarios require differentiated approaches. However, I note that in your question you only refer to reconciliation and not 'truth', which was an essential part of the 'South African Model'. There can be no reconciliation without acknowledgement of truth. There can be no reconciliation that is foisted by the force of military might. That is not reconciliation but bondage. In my view, the prerequisites for reconciliation are truth, respect and common ground. I do not see these prerequisites existing at present.
Q: Also, while the UN probe is on, will the South African intervention be of any use?
A: The delegation has assured us that their involvement is complementary to the UN efforts and not an alternative. A complementary approach would no doubt have its uses.
Q: Is South Africa ready to be a facilitator or a mediator in the reconciliation process?
A: Their role is yet to be defined. These are very early stages. We will have to wait and see.
Q: You had told Ramaphosa about the 18th Amendment. President Rajapaksa has powers over the judicial system. So do you mean it would be a useless attempt to even go to the Courts to challenge the government and you never will?
A: There are certain stark facts that one has to face. The 18th Amendment made the already subservient Judiciary a mere handmaiden to the Executive. The impeachment of Justice Bandaranayake made a mockery of the law and due process.As you know the impeachment was termed illegal by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The decision stood for nearly a year and was overturned by a Bench, which was constituted by the person who succeeded the Chief Justice in her post. The fact that the Supreme Court waited for nearly a year, despite judgments declaring that the impeachment was illegal, demonstrates that the Court did not consider it improper to recognize a person who had been appointed Chief Justice through an illegal process. The Supreme Court could always have retained a semblance of propriety if it had first heard and disposed of the case or overturned the judgment before recognizing the new entrant. We appear to have gone beyond even worrying about maintaining a semblance of propriety and fairplay.
You may also recall the Supreme Court's inaction in relation to the 300,000 people who were kept in open prisons at the conclusion of the war for months on end. You may recall that nothing has happened in relation to the cases filed relating to the land grabs by the military. In these circumstances, do you think that it is worthwhile challenging decisions of the Executive before the Supreme Court? However, we will continue to file cases so that history will record the institutional failures in this country. Respected lawyers Dr. Almeida Guneratne and Kishali Pinto Jayawardena have recorded the failings of the Judiciary since independence in relation to minorities in their new book. I shudder to think the verdict that will be passed by history on those who hold hallowed posts in the Judiciary today.
Q: Do you think the South African delegation left the island without any outcome of their visit or is there hope that they would assist Sri Lanka in some manner?
A: They have come and studied. They have heard both sides. It depends on what the three parties desire to do – they, the Sri Lankan Government and the Tamils.
Q: What did Ramaphosa tell you before he left?
A: It was a fruitful meeting. And they were all quite happy being with us!
by Sulochana Ramiah Mohan- July 13, 2014 Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran, who recently met and was impressed by the quiet diplomatic approach of Deputy President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, said "There can be no reconciliation without acknowledgement of truth; there can be no reconciliation that is foisted by the force of military might and that is not reconciliation but bondage."
In an interview with Ceylon Today, Wigneswaran recounts the meeting with the South African Deputy Leader and the issues that were discussed.
Q: The South African delegation was here last week to see what assistance SA could make available to the Sri Lankan Government. Did Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa convey how they would like to assist Sri Lanka on the national issue?
A: They are carefully studying our problem. They are letting us know how they brought about a change in their country transforming people with different languages (many, many more than the two we have here), religions, communities, backgrounds, colour and even gender based differences to fit them into the idea of a Composite South African Nation – a pluralist rainbow nation. H
e did not specify his inputs to the solution to our national issue. But said he would be glad to be of help if needed.
Q: What is their concern about the whole issue between the minorities and the government?
A: First, let me state that the categorization as 'minorities' is sometimes misleading. Yes, the Tamil speaking people are numerically less than the Sinhalese, if you take the whole island, but in their areas of historical habitation, where they were living for centuries and are even now despite all the government sponsored colonization by the majority they are not the minority. As to your question, they have indicated simply they are studying the situation.
Q: Did they suggest a common ground to work on?
A: Nothing of the sort. We were impressed by their quiet diplomatic approach. They gave preference to listening rather than talking.
Q: In your opinion can the South African Model of reconciliation work for Sri Lanka?
A: In as much as there are always lessons to be learnt from the experiences of others, one must yet realize that different factual scenarios require differentiated approaches. However, I note that in your question you only refer to reconciliation and not 'truth', which was an essential part of the 'South African Model'. There can be no reconciliation without acknowledgement of truth. There can be no reconciliation that is foisted by the force of military might. That is not reconciliation but bondage. In my view, the prerequisites for reconciliation are truth, respect and common ground. I do not see these prerequisites existing at present.
Q: Also, while the UN probe is on, will the South African intervention be of any use?
A: The delegation has assured us that their involvement is complementary to the UN efforts and not an alternative. A complementary approach would no doubt have its uses.
Q: Is South Africa ready to be a facilitator or a mediator in the reconciliation process?
A: Their role is yet to be defined. These are very early stages. We will have to wait and see.
Q: You had told Ramaphosa about the 18th Amendment. President Rajapaksa has powers over the judicial system. So do you mean it would be a useless attempt to even go to the Courts to challenge the government and you never will?
A: There are certain stark facts that one has to face. The 18th Amendment made the already subservient Judiciary a mere handmaiden to the Executive. The impeachment of Justice Bandaranayake made a mockery of the law and due process.As you know the impeachment was termed illegal by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The decision stood for nearly a year and was overturned by a Bench, which was constituted by the person who succeeded the Chief Justice in her post. The fact that the Supreme Court waited for nearly a year, despite judgments declaring that the impeachment was illegal, demonstrates that the Court did not consider it improper to recognize a person who had been appointed Chief Justice through an illegal process. The Supreme Court could always have retained a semblance of propriety if it had first heard and disposed of the case or overturned the judgment before recognizing the new entrant. We appear to have gone beyond even worrying about maintaining a semblance of propriety and fairplay.
You may also recall the Supreme Court's inaction in relation to the 300,000 people who were kept in open prisons at the conclusion of the war for months on end. You may recall that nothing has happened in relation to the cases filed relating to the land grabs by the military. In these circumstances, do you think that it is worthwhile challenging decisions of the Executive before the Supreme Court? However, we will continue to file cases so that history will record the institutional failures in this country. Respected lawyers Dr. Almeida Guneratne and Kishali Pinto Jayawardena have recorded the failings of the Judiciary since independence in relation to minorities in their new book. I shudder to think the verdict that will be passed by history on those who hold hallowed posts in the Judiciary today.
Q: Do you think the South African delegation left the island without any outcome of their visit or is there hope that they would assist Sri Lanka in some manner?
A: They have come and studied. They have heard both sides. It depends on what the three parties desire to do – they, the Sri Lankan Government and the Tamils.
Q: What did Ramaphosa tell you before he left?
A: It was a fruitful meeting. And they were all quite happy being with us!
