Philippines: Rights group demands withdrawal of Bill to jail children

Children in the Philippines

23rd November 2016

THE Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Philippine government to immediately withdraw a Bill that will empower local authorities to jail children as young as nine for a crime, saying approving such a law would be a “direct attack on children’s rights”.

According to the global rights group, Congress filed the Bill in June, just a week after Rodrigo Duterte took office as president. If approved, the age of criminal responsibility in the Philippines would be lowered from 15 to nine years of age.

In a statement, HRW Children’s Rights Division associate director Juliane Kippenberg spoke out against the Bill, and reminded the Duterte administration that the internationally accepted age of criminal responsibility is 12-years-old.

She added that the Bill does not specify what rights children would have when they are in conflict with the law.

“For example, that they are entitled to have access to a lawyer, to be treated humanely and in an age-appropriate way, and that they will be protected from violence.

“The measure’s sponsors in Congress should immediately withdraw this abusive bill, and remember that it is their job to protect the rights of Filipino children,” she said.

SEE ALSO: Body count rises as new Philippines president calls for drug addicts to be killed

Kippenberg also pointed out that the Philippines is a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates that the arrest, detention, or imprisonment of children should only be used as a last resort.

“Instead, rehabilitation should be offered wherever possible,” she said, citing the international treaty.

Back in July, shortly after the Bill was filed, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) issued similar objections to it. In a statement then, the children’s rights organisation said the move would have “long-lasting damaging effects on their (children) cognitive, psycho-social and neurological health; harming their overall development.”

“Reducing the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) goes against the best interests of the child and threatens the well-being of the most vulnerable children.

“If children who have been exploited by criminal syndicates are penalized instead of the adults who had abused them, we fail to uphold the rights and well-being of children. If we fail to understand the underlying reasons why they commit crimes, we fail children,” the group added.

Since coming to power, President Duterte has waged a very public war on drugs, even going on record in the past to invite the public to help his government take up arms and join his government’s fight against the menace.

Months later today, the leader’s anti-drug campaign has claimed the lives of over 4,900 people, according to Rappler, among them both adults and children.

As such, the Bill to reduce the age of criminal responsibility is seen as vital to the president’s war on the narcotics trade, despite the proposed legislation drawing widespread concern. Since it was tabled, however, there has been few media updates on the status of the Bill and whether the Philippine government intends to proceed with it.

SEE ALSO: Philippines: Duterte says he will kill his kids if they do drugs

In an interview with Al Jazeera last month, Duterte called children and adults killed in the ongoing war on drugs collateral damage.

“This is the law of my land…[the policeman] he’s armed with an M16 the gangster only a pistol but when they meet they exchange fire. With the policeman and the M16 its one burst and hits one thousand people and they died that’s not criminal liability, it cannot be negligence, because you have to save your life. It cannot be recklessness because you have to defend yourself,” he said in the exclusive interview with the broadcaster.

Duterte also claimed there is no law in the Philippines against threatening criminals.

“There is no crime at all when you threaten criminals with death. In my country at least, there is no law which says I cannot threaten criminals… We have three million drug addicts… if we do not interdict this problem, the next generation will be having a serious problem. You destroy my country I will kill you.”

Sexist Men Are More Likely To Have Mental Health Problems, Study Finds

New research links masculine norms with psychological problems and an aversion to seeking help. 

Toxic masculinity isn’t just bad for women.

Carolyn Gregoire-11/23/2016

Men who see themselves as having power over women or adhering to “playboy” behavior are significantly more likely to have psychological problems than those who conform less to masculine gender norms ― and they’re also less likely to seek help, according to a new study from the American Psychological Association. 

The large-scale meta-analysis (or review of numerous studies), which was published Monday in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, examined conformity to masculine norms and mental health outcomes in 78 research samples involving nearly 20,000 men. The participants were predominantly white but also included African-American and Asian-American males.  

The researchers evaluated participants using an inventory that measured 11 norms psychologists believe reflect traditional societal expectations of masculinity. Then they looked for links to positive and negative mental health outcomes and help-seeking behaviors. 

11 Norms of Masculinity

• desire to win
• need for emotional control
• risk-taking
• violence
• dominance
• sexual promiscuity (being a “playboy”) 
• self-reliance
• primacy of work (importance placed on one’s job)
• power over women
• disdain for homosexuality
• pursuit of status

Overall conformity to masculine norms was linked with negative mental health outcomes like stress, depression, anxiety, substance abuse issues and poor body image. Three particular norms, however, showed a particularly strong association: self-reliance, power over women, and “playboy” behavior ― the latter two being the most strongly associated with sexist attitudes and behaviors. 

“Our findings on the unfavorable relationship between conformity to masculine norms and power over women is striking,” the study’s lead author, Indiana University Bloomington psychologist Dr. Y. Joel Wong, told The Huffington Post. “Sexism is a social injustice and it might ultimately be harmful to everyone, including the perpetrators of sexism.”  

More troublingly, the men who conformed most to the sexist norms were also the least likely to seek help for their psychological problems. 

Not all masculine traits, however, came with mental health risks. Primacy of work was not associated with either positive or negative mental health, while risk-taking behavior was correlated with both positive and negative outcomes, suggesting that it’s the type of risky behavior that matters. 

Toxic Masculinity In American Culture 

The findings join a growing body of research investigating the complex links between masculinity and mental health. As many psychologists have noted, it’s a complicated story, and factors like race and socioeconomic status have to be included in the equation. 

“When people are feeling put upon by social pressures, by exposures like everyday racism, they may act in a particular way because doing so allows them to recoup that part of themselves that gets chipped away at by those social exposures,” Dr. Wizdom Powell, a psychologist who studies gender and race at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said in an interview with the APA.

The authors of the meta-analysis didn’t explore how things like race, education level, political affiliation and cultural influences might affect a man’s tendency to adhere to masculine norms. But these connections may be worth investigating, particularly in light of the conversation around sexism that has sprung up in response to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. 

This month, America elected a president who has been accused of sexually assaulting 15 women ― and who excused his boasts of being able to assault women with impunity as “locker room talk,” revealing a view of masculinity in sexist terms. Indeed, many commentators have questioned the role of sexist attitudes in Trump’s rise to power. One team of political scientists found that the more hostile voters were toward women, the more likely they were to support Trump.

As Jared Yates Sexton wrote in a New York Times op-ed on toxic masculinity in Trump’s America, mortality rates for middle-aged white men have risen from what psychologists call “despair deaths,” including drug overdoses, suicide and alcohol-related diseases.

“[Trump] is the furthest thing from the working-class men of my childhood, but whatever his motives for demeaning women, these supporters hear in him an echo of their own desperation,” wrote Sexton, a creative writing professor at Georgia Southern University. “Though such masculinity might temporarily shelter men from the pressures of their daily lives, inevitably it robs them of their lives: Disturbing trends show that men, especially the white men who make up a majority of Mr. Trump’s base, are suffering greatly for their posturing.” 

Of course, it’s likely only a small minority of Trump supporters that fit this profile. But as new questions about sexism and misogyny are being raised, it’s an important moment to consider how healthier norms of masculinity could benefit all of us. 

“People can change and norms do change over time,” Wong said. “One way we can help shift these norms is for more people, including men, to express strong disapproval of behaviors that conform to sexist norms. Don’t remain silent.”

Hopes for new Alzheimer's drug dashed

Loss of tissue in a demented brain compared with a healthy one

Fergus Walsh-22 November 2016

A major trial of a drug to treat mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease has ended in failure.

Patients on solanezumab did not show any slowing in cognitive decline compared to those treated with a placebo, or dummy drug.

The results of the trial were much anticipated after promising data was released last year.

The phase 3 trial, called EXPEDITION3, involved more than 2,000 patients with Alzheimer's disease.

The drug targeted the build up of amyloid protein, which forms sticky plaques in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's.

It is thought the formation of these plaques between nerve cells, known as neurons, leads to damage and eventually brain cell death.

Dementia now leading cause of death

How close are we to stopping Alzheimer's?

There are several amyloid-clearance drugs going through trials, but solanezumab was at the most advanced stage of development.

These results were the last major hurdle before Eli Lilly could seek to get the drug licenced, which will not now happen.

John Lechleiter, chief executive of Eli Lilly, said: "The results of the solanezumab EXPEDITION3 trial were not what we had hoped for and we are disappointed for the millions of people waiting for a potential disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer's disease."

Lilly estimates it has invested $3bn in dementia research in the past 25 years.

Prof Nick Fox, director of the Dementia Research Centre, UCL said: "This is a setback and it is very disappointing but there are other experimental approaches going through trials which show much greater promise than solanezumab."

Prof Peter Roberts, an expert in pharmacology at University of Bristol, said he was not surprised by the findings.

He said: "The problem, to my mind, is completely fundamental. There is still no convincing evidence that shows a clear relationship between amyloid deposition and deficits in cognition in humans.

"All we really know is that evidence of amyloid deposition begins up to maybe 20 years before the onset of Alzheimer's disease."

Prof Roxana O'Carare, Professor of Clinical Neuroanatomy, University of Southampton, said part of the problem might be that amyloid had to be removed from the brain, not just broken down.

"The brain is not equipped with lymph vessels as other organs have. Instead fluid and waste are eliminated from the brain along very narrow pathways that are embedded within the walls of blood vessels.

"These pathways change in composition and fail in their function with increasing age and with the risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, resulting in the build up of amyloid in the walls of blood vessels.

"When a vaccine such as solanezumab is administered, the sticky plaques of amyloid from the brain break down, but the excess waste and fluid is unable to drain along the already compromised drainage pathways."

Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of Alzheimer's Society, said they had high hopes for the drug, which have been dashed.

"It's extremely disappointing to learn that it hasn't delivered a meaningful change for people living with dementia, when the need is clearly so great.

"Dementia is society's biggest health challenge - and we've seen time and again that developing effective treatments is incredibly difficult."

But he added: "This is only one drug of several in the pipeline and they aim to tackle dementia in different ways, so we should not lose hope.

"Dementia can and will be beaten."

Follow Fergus on Twitter

SRI LANKA: SCRIBES AS SCAPEGOATS

Image (c)Sri Lanka Brief.

22/11/2016

A bad workman’s tools and the media have one thing in common; they get blamed for others’ failures. The Rajapaksa government vilified its critics as ‘traitors’ and the present administration brands all dissenters ‘racists’.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe launched into a tirade against the media the other day in Parliament as usual. He is apparently under the impression that the raison d’être of the media is to devise ways and means of scuttling the government’s efforts to achieve what it described as national reconciliation. He seems to think hell is now empty because all the devils have crept into the local media institutions. He, however, is not alone in bashing the media.

Some lesser politicians, intoxicated with power, also indulge in inveighing against the media, taking as they do cover behind their parliamentary privileges. The question is what those who are so keen to bring about reconciliation did to prevent the 1983 anti-Tamil pogrom backed by the then UNP government of which they were prominent members. They did not utter a word in protest when the majestic Jaffna bibliotheca packed with rare, invaluable, weighty tomes was burnt down, did they? ….

The Rajapaksas who were blamed for goon attacks on the media while they were in power have taken up cudgels for journalists. It was in their heyday that journalists such as Lasantha Wickrematunga were brutally murdered, and MTV, Siyatha TV and the printing facilities of The Sunday Leader and the Udayan came under arson attacks. Adding insult to injury, President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed Mervyn Silva his Media Minister. The media fought quite a battle to knock some sense into Rajapaksa, who reluctantly changed his mind. We pointed out in this space that the Arachchi would have to take the blame for what his ferocious pet dog was doing. Silva also specialised in character assassination and would indulge in vilifying the then key Opposition figures with impunity to please his political bosses. Public resentment welled up and found expression in a massive protest vote which dislodged the Rajapaksa regime last year. Rajapaksa’s pet dog is now snapping at his own feet!

Minister of Law and Order Sagala Ratnayake told Parliament on Saturday that 15 journalists had been killed between 2006 and 2015. This is a damning indictment on the Joint Opposition, which is now championing media freedom and democracy. Similarly, the UNP must explain why it has not ordered a probe into the then Chief Opposition Whip and UNP MP Joseph Michael Perera’s special statement in Parliament in July, 2008 that the attacks on journalists under the Rajapaksa government were carried out by a special army team controlled by the then Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, who is now a minister of the ‘yahapalana’ government!

The government’s anti media frenzy has taken a turn for the worse. A television station has been closed down and the ground is apparently being prepared for throttling another on some flimsy pretext. Those who have no qualms about justifying the illegal sale of MPs’ duty free vehicle permits and mega bond scams, releasing terrorists and manipulating the judiciary to take ruling party politicians off the hook have made an issue of alleged violations of the terms of licences issued to television stations!

The Rajapaksas’ efforts to justify their undemocratic actions such as the incarceration of the former war winning Army Chief Fonseka and the ‘impeachment’ of the then Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake came a cropper. Likewise, the discerning public won’t buy into claims being made to justify dictatorial actions of the incumbent government on a witch hunt against its critics. The government’s ability to muster a two-thirds majority in Parliament by showering bribes on MPs in the form of ministerial posts, cars, plum jobs for their kith and kin should not be confused with popular support. The Rajapaksa government, too, had a two-thirds majority in the House, but it came crashing down, didn’t it?

The government finds itself in the dock and people will deliver their verdict at a future election. It may postpone local government elections, but it will have to hold them eventually.

  Excerpts for the Editorial, island.lk

Torture (And Empathy)

By Charles Ponnuthurai Sarvan –November 22, 2016

Prof. Charles Sarvan

The following arises from the furore caused by sending one Mr. Sisira Mendis, a senior police officer, to attend an international conference on torture because, it is alleged, Mr Mendis was a torturer himself. As one “Pentheus” (Sorrowful) responded in Colombo Telegraph, if to a conference on banking we send out best bankers, then it’s logical that to a conference on torture we send our best torturers. (There’s also the fear that the in-coming American President, Donald Trump, will condone “enhanced interrogation” – a euphemism for torture – and so encourage the practice elsewhere as well.)

But leaving aside levity and not-funny humour, torture is the intentional inflicting of pain, be it on humans, animals or insects: it’s appropriate that the word “torture” comes from the Latin meaning “twisted“. The impression or knowledge of torture that most of us have comes, fortunately, from a distance. We have neither seen nor heard but only read about torture. What follows is the thought of one who has no special knowledge nor has undertaken any research into the subject. The intention is to elicit response, provoke discussion and so work towards a better understanding of torture. The casual use of the word “torture” is not helpful: “It was a real torture to sit through that film”, etc.

Earliest records lead to the sombre conclusion that torture is as old as human history. Right from the beginning, we have indulged in it. Perhaps the experience centuries ago when we, little creatures with rudimentary tools and weapons, fought for our very survival, implanted in us a streak of cruelty which has persisted. Children are known to trap small creatures, and settle to having fun in torturing them. Is our willingness and wanting to torture natural, that is, from nature? The psychiatrist, R D Laing, wrote that, inhabiting a crazy world we all are, to a greater or lesser degree, maladjusted. Then is torture nurture, rather than nature? Or is it both?

It seems to me that a torturer cannot see himself as evil. (For convenience, I will use the masculine, though women have also participated in torture.) On the contrary, the torturer sees himself as serving a high cause, be it the state, ‘race’, religion or ideology. I suppose his declared intention is to punish; secondly, extract information and, thirdly, act as a deterrent to others. But is it as simple as that? Paedophiles are known to seek work where there is opportunity for them to give vent to their sickness. Similarly, torturers may gravitate to jobs which give them the opportunity, and the power, to vent their sadism. Cruelty becomes duty, the inflicting of pain, a pleasure. It can also be that certain work-environments (for example, the armed forces, the police, prison-guards) inure those employed to brutality. In some situations, crudity and brutality can become the norm, the every-day reality; no longer noted and thought about. It’s a case of nature and nurture coming together.

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Rapp says Govt. delays could be attempt to avoid justice for alleged war crimes

By Dharisha Bastians -Wednesday, 23 November 2016


Reporting from The Hague 

Delaying the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms, including a special court to prosecute alleged war crimes, could be viewed as an attempt by the Government of Sri Lanka to “avoid” delivering on truth and justice for thousands of victims of the country’s civil war, a former top official in the US Government’s Office of Criminal Justice said. 

Former US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Stephen J. Rapp told Daily FT on the sidelines of the Assembly of State Parties to the International Criminal Court now underway in The Hague, Netherlands, that there was no reason the Government of Sri Lanka could not begin setting up the office of the prosecutor and putting frameworks in place, even if the court would not get off the ground immediately.

“The Government could begin setting up those investigation units, a prosecutor’s office that could determine if there are cases and start putting cases together even if the court does not start work immediately,” said Ambassador Rapp, who also served as Prosecutor in the UN-backed Special Court of Sierra Leone that convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor. 

“Putting off the establishment of justice mechanisms could be an attempt to avoid it entirely,” he added. 

In September 2015, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that his Government would set up a four-tier transitional justice system, including an Office for Missing Persons, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a Special Court to try grave crimes committed by both sides during the war, and a Reparations Office to deliver compensation to victims. The pledges were upheld in a UNHRC resolution adopted in October 2015.

The main reporting date on how far Sri Lanka has implemented the UNHRC 2015 resolution comes up in March 2017 in Geneva. So far, the Government has only managed to establish the Office of Missing Persons, and Minister Samaraweera has pleaded for patience from the international community as Sri Lanka “makes haste slowly” on delivering justice and reconciliation to its people.

Rapp hailed a decision by the Sri Lankan Government to remove a “firewall” of information initially contained in the draft legislation of the Office of Missing Persons that would have prevented information gathered during the search for the disappeared being used for prosecutions in the future.

“Removing that blockade was important because it is from truth-seeking that justice processes begin. The clamour for criminal justice springs from a truth-seeking process. It’s important for Sri Lanka to move from truth-seeking to delivering justice,” Ambassador Rapp told Daily FT. “That kind of block on information would effectively stop justice processes,” he added. 

The former US Ambassador official said that while the incoming Trump administration may have a different focus when it pursues justice around the world, a core group of officials and diplomats within the Washington establishment would remain engaged on issues of accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. 

Rapp is known for having strongly supported the International Criminal Court (ICC) located in The Hague and international criminal tribunals and special courts during his tenure as US Ambassador for War Crimes issues.

In a meeting with journalists in The Hague this week, Ambassador Rapp, who remains a key figure in the international criminal justice system, expressed “regret” that the US was not a state party to the court. 

Defenders of Tamil political prisoners’ rights meet President Sirisena

Nov 23, 2016

After number of demonstrations, protest marches and press conferences activists of National Movement for Release of Political Prisoners will meet President Maitripala Sirisena today (Nov. 23) at Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

“The present government also has given number of promises to Tamil political prisoners. But they did not fulfill their promises,” said convener of National Movement for Release of Political Prisoners Father Marimuttu Sathivel at a press conference held at Center for Society and Religion in Colombo (CSR) on Nov. 21.

“Thirty Tamil political prisoners send a letter to the president and urged him to take prompt action to release them. But they did not receive a response president for their letter.”

According to Father Sathivel they have organized signature campaign in different places in north and south for pressure the government to release of Tamil political prisoners

He added, “We are going to hand over the peoples’ petition on to the president and urge him to release Tamil inmates.”

Tamil inmates organized several hunger strikes during last decade.

Talking to Lanka News Web Lawyer Srinath Perera said that there are some Tamil political prisoners in the jail more than ten years.

“Government should take a necessary action to release them as soon as possible,” said Perera, steering committee member of National Movement for Release of Political Prisoners.

“We have decided to organize a awareness campaign on aware the public on the issue of Tamil political prisoners by distributing hand bills,” said convener of National Movement for Release of Political Prisoners.

By Lawrence Ferdinando -Colombo

Sri Lanka’s position on Palestine has not changed 



November 22, 2016

The Sri Lankan government says that the country’s decision to abstain from voting on a recent UNESCO resolution, ignoring Jewish ties to holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City, is by no means a change of Sri Lanka’s position on Palestine. 

The United Nations cultural agency’s executive board in October approved the Arab-sponsored resolution, which repeatedly refers to only the Islamic name for a hilltop complex which is also the holiest site in Judaism. 

The site is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and Haram al-Sharif to Muslims. Twenty-four countries in the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization backed the document, while six voted against and 26 including Sri Lanka abstained at a meeting in Paris.

 UPFA MP Dinesh Gunawardena had raised questions in Parliament over this decision, seeking a response from the government and a clarification on its stance on Palestine.

  “First of all let me assure this house that Sri Lanka has not changed, reversed or abandoned this country’s long-held position to support for Palestine,” foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera told Parliament on Tuesday (22).

 Delivering a statement in reply to Gunawardena, he said that along with Sri Lanka 13 other Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) members in the UNESCO executive board abstained on the said resolution. This includes India and Nepal in our region, he said.  

Samaraweera said that India is a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and is also home to the third largest Muslim population in the world.  

“The decision to abstain on this particular vote in the UNESCO executive board is by no means a change of Sri Lanka’s position on Palestine.”  In fact Sri Lanka wholeheartedly supported Palestine obtaining membership in UNESCO, the foreign minister said. 

Jury appointed for Raviraj murder trial

November 22, 2016 by 

A special Jury of seven was appointed by Colombo High Court today (22nd) to hear former TNA Parliamentarian Nadaraja Raviraj murder case.

The seven members for the special jury were selected by drawing lots from the members named by the defense and the prosecution.
As such, hearing continues daily from tomorrow. The murder committed during Rajapaksa regime created an uproar in the society.

Do Not Fill ‘Grama Rajya’ With The Poison Of Ethnicity

By Dinesh Dodamgoda –November 21, 2016

Dinesh Dodamgoda

The report of the Sub-Committee on Centre-Periphery Relations of the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Assembly has recommended to fill ‘Local Authorities’ and the proposed model of ‘Grama Rajya’ with the poison of ethnicity. Let us, therefore, the nation be warned!

The Report

The Sub-Committee on Centre-Periphery Relations submitted its report to the Constitutional Assembly last Saturday. The report endorsed ‘Local Authorities’ as a third tier of governance and recommended that local authorities should receive public consultation and engagement through a model called ‘Grama Rajya’. Although the Local Authorities as a third tier of government and the proposed model of Grama Rajya are encouraging developments, the Sub-Committee’s aim to utilise the said institutions in a manner that would provide opportunities for ethnic majorities and minorities to claim their control on the basis of ethnicity is discouraging.

The report stated that in some of the Local Authorities such as Mussali, Beruwala, and Akurana, the Muslims are the majority; the Malayaha Tamils in Lahugala and Panwila, there is a Sinhala majority in Pradeshiya Sabha in Pottuvil; a Tamil majority Pradeshiya Sabha in Kalmunai and a Sinhala majority Pradeshiya Sabha in Vavuniya. Therefore, the Committee is in the opinion that smaller units of political authorities should provide opportunities for minority communities living in enclaves to administer their own affairs. Hence the committee’s suggestion is to politically recognise and privilege the concept of ethnicity even in smaller units of political authorities.

The conviction to politically recognise and privilege the most divisive issue in Sri Lanka, ethnicity (and religion), is derived from the belief that ‘empowering the chief troublemakers with a piece of government’ would mitigate threats to the constitutional order if not the state. Therefore, proponents of the power-sharing strategy who believe in such presumptions try to convince others that in managing cultural conflict in independent and ethnically divided countries, one has to identify representatives belong to the most divisive issue and privilege and share political powers with them.

A Failed Approach

In order to strengthen their claim, proponents of the power-sharing strategy come up with empirical evidence! For example, in 2002, Arend Lijphart listed 16 consociational (or power-sharing) regimes (Lijphart claimed them as independent and ethnically divided countries) that managed conflict successfully in the 20th century. However, Philip G. Roeder, the main theorist of an alternative strategy, the power-dividing or the multiple-majorities approach, challenged Lijphart’s claim and stated, “Three of these cases listed by Lijphart (Suriname 1958-1973, Netherlands Antilles 1950-1985, and Northern Ireland 1999-1999) were not independent states. Four more countries (Austria 1945-1966, Netherlands 1917-1967, Luxembourg 1917-1967, and Colombia 1958-1974) were not ethnically divided states. Furthermore, six out of the listed 16 cases failed. Czechoslovakia’s power sharing experiment (1989-1993) ended in partition of the country. Cyprus’s (1960-1963) and Lebanon’s (1945-1975) experiments ended in civil wars. Malaysia’s (1955-1969) experiment with power-sharing saw secession (or expulsion) of one ethnically distinct region (Singapore) and only strong-arm tactics prevented secession of the ethnically distinct Sabah state. Malaysia’s consociational government ended in widespread ethnic violence. Fiji’s one-year experiment (1999-2000) ended in a military coup. And South Africa’s (1994-1996) ended in a peaceful slide into Majoritarianism.”

As Philip G. Roeder further argues, the only three consociational regime that survived (Switzerland (1943- ), Belgium (1970- ), and India (1947- ) have been successful to the extent that they have submerged any ethnic power-sharing arrangements within a larger array of power-diving (or multiple-majorities approach) institutions.

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Anti-Muslim hate: ‘Post War Sinhala Buddhist’ and selective truth telling

2016-11-22

The recent fire that broke out at the Fashion Bug store in Pepiliyana has given rise to new questions. For anyone who has been following the ‘post war Sinhala Buddhist’ phenomenon, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Although conclusions are yet to be reached, and investigations into the cause of the fire are yet to be conducted -- the voice of the company speaking to the media that night was telling. “We have suffered in the past, there is reason to believe that there was foul play. There was nothing to indicate an electric short”, was what he said.   
The last time the store caught fire in May 2013, there was no suspicion. It came under attack. The catalyst that was used to further the narrative of course was a personal dispute. A narrative the media and the government played on. I remember visiting the site in order to report the incident. Upon inquiry, the Sinhalese neighbours who lived around the area, kept telling me how the crowd had gathered at the Temple nearby. Within that while the mob had organized themselves and started walking towards the store, the Temple bell (Gantaraya) was rung. It was rung initially to gather the crowd there too. These were all edited out of the narrative. Truth sometimes is selective. Criminal proceedings were not instituted, and the owner of the store was pressurized to come to a settlement, which he did. He had no option but had to, he was to recall later.   
When the anti-Muslim riots broke out in mid June 2014, the then government and the media played the same role. The selective truth narrator. To this day, not a single person has been held responsible for riots which gutted an entire village in flames. No one had been held responsible for the torching of the ‘No Limit’ (garment departmental) store in Panadura. There were 5 deaths. Every source, including the officers of the Special Task Force (STF) who were on duty that evening, when the rally was conducted told me how the riots were in fact ‘organized’. It was no sudden reaction as was made to believe. The intelligence officers on the ground were aware of the plan. The foot soldiers of the STF had also joined the mob and played an integral part of the ensuing carnage. None of them made it to the official narration. The media played dumb. The reason given -- the assault of a Buddhist monk in the town -- was a lie. The government knew it was. It never happened. The Minister of External Affairs G.L Peiris told me that it was a lie they played on. So did the Attorney General at that time. The intelligence officers on the ground and the Police knew no such ‘assault’ took place. But a narrative was fed and was eagerly bought too. The Post War Sinhala Buddhists believed it. Rejoiced in it and blamed the attacked. The media, oh well, how could we forget the role it played! Malinda Senevirathne remained the only editor who was willing to publish the truth, which he did. But it fell on deaf ears.   
But that wasn’t the start of the events. Exactly a month earlier, in May 2014, a Muslim-owned store in Aluthgama was set ablaze by mobs. Again, a beautiful narrative was sold which the post war Sinhala Buddhists bought. The media shunned the story, but when social media took over, we were told how a worker at the store was caught attempting to sexually abuse a child. Another utter lie! It never happened. It didn’t occur to the post-war Sinhala Buddhists, that even if it did happen, torching had to be condemned. The perpetrators had to be brought to book. None was. There was no ‘selectivity’ here though. The media pretended it never happened. Had the real facts been put out of this incident, we may have averted the full blown riot a month late.   
Following the end of the war in 2009, a triumphalist, bigoted, racist and insecure section of the community were emboldened. A phenomenon that I identify as the “Post war Sinhala Buddhist”. This is by no means a brush with which all peace loving, Sinhala Buddhist nationalists should be painted. Nor are all Sinhala Buddhists, nationalist or otherwise, lumped into this genre. In fact, it was the Sinhalese Buddhist who were at the helm of denouncing the hate that was spewed. But there exists a rising tide among the Sinhala Buddhist youth mainly, active on social media, who justify the violence with the warped narrative. The selective ‘truth telling’ is what they believe. They, not only believe it, they justify the reactions too! The justifications also now stretch beyond a ‘small group’.  
Take for example the recent arrest of the head of a fringe fundamentalist movement -- The Sri Lanka Thawheed Jamath (SLTJ). A day before his arrest, another hate-driven social media poster boy-- a ‘post war Sinhala Buddhist’ was arrested. If anyone cares to follow the nature of the hate spewed by him, it would either shock or create awe. The reaction would be extreme, depending on the ideological spectrum with which it was viewed. “ We must all get together and kill them. Just finish the ‘Thambiyo’ off”, is just one part of one of his many speeches. But selective truth telling becomes the order of the day. The SLTJ never had uttered a single word that even remotely compares to what was said. In fact, the poster boy was not reacting to the SLTJ at all. The protest of the SLTJ regarding the Muslim marriage and divorce Act that came much after the poster boy said among many other things “We have the stuff, we will eat the throats of the Muslims” (apigaawa badu thiyenawa, ugurudanda kaala marenne). But the Post war Sinhala Buddhist, doesn’t understand such hypocrisy. Instead they latch on to this being a reaction to the rising ‘fundamentalism’. It wasn’t. There was no “Muslim anthawaadiya” (Muslim extremism) in his rhetoric. It was directed at all Muslims. In fact, the ‘Muslim anthawaadiya’ is now the justification for anything and everything. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera was also quick to jump into the limelight following the arrest of the poster boy. “about 100 or 200 of our people will die, but let’s start from Maligawatte and finish them off”. He is on record saying this, and in the same vein calls for the arrest of the SLTJ. He in fact gives an ultimatum.   
Make no mistake, Muslim fundamentalism has crept into Sri Lankan society. It is an issue that must be addressed. But there is no Muslim fundamentalism that could be remotely compared to the systemic hate either directed or perceived by the Post War Sinhala Buddhist. The fact that it is all a ‘reaction’ is a lie. A lie propounded by the selective truth teller and understood by the bigoted justifier. A justification to attack an entire community. Muslim fundamentalism in Sri Lanka has got nothing to do with the take over of the State or the annihilation of the Sinhala Buddhist. It has got to do with literal interpretations of a text. 

"Make no mistake, Muslim fundamentalism has crept into 
Sri Lankan society. It is an issue that must be addressed."

These interpretations have got to do with finding individual salvation, not materialistic possession. These are warped interpretations, true, but they aren’t directed at the world: wearing a Nikhab doesn’t indicate the desire to kill Sinhalese or take over land. If there are individuals who believe in a creator of the universe -- and such creator -- mind you the creator of Galaxies, the stars the sun and the planet earth, the trees, their leaves and the ocean, and that same creator is actually concerned about the day-to-day affairs of a few people and insists on a Law which has no place in modern society, that is delusional thinking. The delusion has to be fought ideologically, yes! But the Post War Sinhala Buddhist isn’t altruistic. The garb is ‘Fundamentalism’ and the attack is on all Muslims as detailed.   
Throughout the last 7 years, the Muslims have been systemically targeted. Each time a different narrative is put forth. First it was the Halal issue. Again a lie. There were no “billions” (or even millions) gained from the certification process. No money was directed to the mosques, nor were the finances used for anything but the certification process and charity. Second came the issue of “Wilpattu”. The post war Sinhala Buddhist latched on to it, and hammered an entire community again. There was no reason for that. But this issue was a good cover- ‘protecting the environment’ always is. 
Media reports pre-1983 would indicate such selective truth telling too. We know what ensued. The pre-1957 riots justifications may draw parallels, with today’s selective truth telling. I wouldn’t know. But suspect, I can. We could continue to be selective truth tellers, and selective truth seekers or we could take on hate in any form and condemn it. We could continue to use the selective justifications, based on lies and fabrication, or we could stop justifying any kind of hate. We could stop the call to kill and burn Muslims, or justify such actions, like we have in the past. The decisions would define the path this country could take in the not-so-distant future.