Sri Lankas dangerously isolationist corner

Sunday, March 16, 2014 As we head towards the debating of yet another and progressively sterner draft resolution against the Government of this country at the United Nations this month, a besieged mentality appears to be reflecting in some quarters of public opinion. Predictably, this is used by government politicians from President Mahinda a!apa"sa downwards to drum up local support electorally. #isregard of basic fundamentals of state and government $ence the President%s bravado pronouncement this wee" at a provincial council election rally of the government in atnapura that he will not &dance to anyone%s tune.% 'uch defiance has become a farce if not a comedy. President a!apa"sa%s frequent boast that he will go to the gallows for &the people% ignores the fact that international law does not sanction the death penalty in any event. (hese are however, inconvenient truths that are irrelevant in the larger picture of a Government that does not hesitate to utter the most diabolical lies for its own advantage and moreover, of an )pposition that is so pathetically ineffective that it constitutes as equal if not more a disaster for 'ri *an"a. +ndeed, very little shoc"s us now. (he abandonment of basic fundamentals dividing 'tate and Government has become routine. 'o the propriety of the $ead of 'tate addressing election rallies of a political party appears not to raise eyebrows. And the 'ecretary to the Ministry of #efence and the President%s brother who is a public servant regularly spea"s, acts and behaves as if he is in political command. ,hich in fact, he is. -eing satisfied with less (his wee", a .abinet Minister, ishard -athiudeen &apologi/ed% 0reportedly, he later denied this1 to court in respect of threatening the Mannar Magistrate in 2344. (his same Minister had later attempted to pressuri/e the 5udicial 'ervice .ommission into transferring the Magistrate and his henchmen were 0&allegedly%1 implicated in the

stoning of the Magistrate%s .ourt when part of the court premises were set on fire. 6rom one perspective, it is nothing short of a veritable miracle that a Minister in the a!apa"sa .abinet &apologi/ed% to court. )n the other hand, a Minister in another administration had to spend time in !ail not so long ago, !ust for a chance remar" disparaging court !udgments. ,hat happened in Mannar was infinitely more serious. -ut an &apology% 0and that too, only purported1 solved the matter to all intents and purposes. 'hould we then rest happy that the independence of the !udiciary has been secured7 (he Government%s disregarding of duties +n this scenario where many of us seem resigned to our unhappy fate, certain truths need to be e8tracted. (his Government%s frequent complaint is that 'ri *an"a%s human rights record is being singled out for disproportionate attention by countries with vested agendas. (his is, by no means, an original argument. +ndeed, there is nothing very s"illed or clever about this lament. +t is the common defence of authoritarian rulers. At a basic level, this Government refused to deflect international attention away from 'ri *an"a by adopting measured and substantial reforms based on the minimum of the ule of *aw as recommended by the *essons *earnt and econciliation .ommission 0** .1. (he Government%s adherence to the ** .%s report has been perfunctory. +ts contempt of the ule of *aw continues even at this present day. And the reach of this shadowy arm of e8tra!udicial summary !ustice e8tends beyond the former war theatre of the ,anni. ,eliweriya, 0for which no real accountability has yet been secured1, taught the 'inhala people !ust that. 5ust a month ago, an activist demanding equitable treatment for the slum dwellers of ,anathamulla was abducted and released only after considerable pressure was e8erted. (his wee", a war widow 0who had been a rallying point of family members of the Northern &disappeared%1, and her thirteen year old child living in 9ilinochchi was arrested under the Prevention of (errorism Act 04:;:, P(A1 after her house was surrounded by several army and police in the dead of the night. (he question as to whether such a show of awful military might was required to handle a woman and a child7 And why is the ordinary law not utili/ed rather than the draconian antiterrorism statute7 <et these antics continue locally even as this administration pretends wide eyed innocence abroad while its hodes scholar=turned grossly e8pedient politician, 'ri *an"a%s Minister of >8ternal Affairs ta"es refuge in blandly unconvincing reassurances. Not only small countries are singled out Meanwhile, it is amusing to see some in Government getting enthused over recent findings by the United Nations $uman ights .ommittee 0the .ommittee1, castigating the United 'tates for its human rights record on Guantanamo, target "illings and clandestine surveillance operations. (he eighteen members of the .ommittee

established under the +nternational .ovenant on .ivil and Political ights 0+..P 1, function independently and include some of the world%s most respected !urists. (he .ommittee had, in the previous decade, repeatedly requested 'ri *an"a to enforce several ule of *aw protections which this Government has refused to do. +t is different from the United Nations $uman ights .ouncil which is a political body and before which, the resolutions on 'ri *an"a have been tabled. (he .ommittee%s strictures against the U' this wee" only reiterate previous findings by the 'pecial apporteurs of the United Nations and indeed, the )ffice of the $igh .ommissioner for $uman ights. Not only the U' but +ndia itself has been critiqued for overstepping the line. #espite routine government propaganda, not only small nations are singled out by the !uristic world order. 'ri *an"a edging closer to the old -urma -ut the difference is that to their credit, these countries do not trac", hunt down, abduct or "ill dissenters. 5udicial systems function within those countries. (he courts are respected. (he difference is that democracy wor"s for those citi/ens ? even in a flawed manner. ,e confront a different reality. ight now, all signs indicate that 'ri *an"a will be pushed into a dangerously isolationist corner within the coming wee"s. A decade ago, grouping 'ri *an"a with the old -urma would have sounded incredulous. Now, this possibility loo"s increasingly believable, to our own e8ceedingly profound detriment.