by Nilantha Ilangamuwa
(The views expressed are his own)
Sri Lanka is under siege after the introduction of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution which dissolved term limits of the President who, by an earlier constitution, is above the law and can now dispense with the independence commissions for free & fair elections, corruption control, police and government services which was introduced by the 17th Amendment.
The current President has abused the mannerly political culture in Sri Lanka far more than any previous leader has done. He has done away with all the norms of basic principles for good governance while taking the country into his custody. Now the country is dancing to the music played by the Rajapakse regime; like a puppy following its tail.
With the end of the of three-decade-old war in Sri Lanka with the killing of the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam the Government of Sri Lanka declared the accomplishment of their mission on May 19. Strong evidence reveals; that some senior leaders of the LTTE surrendered in the final week of the final battle but no one knows what happened to them. And the Rajapakse regime is certainly not talking about the issue. Of special note is the fact that political leaders like Elillan and Balakumaran who surrendered to the Army as civilians but nothing has been heard from the government/military side.
The Sri Lanka Guardian recently released the photograph of Balakumaran and his son after surrendering to the Army. However, a reliable source later updated that he did not come with a white flag but under disguise and the army took him into custody. The Government of Sri Lanka has only one explanation for all the killings that took place during the final phase of the war; “killed in action”.
As we all know the Government issued the image of the semi nude body of the slain LTTE leader. This goes to prove that the brave soldiers lost their way at the end. Could this have been planned by the Defence Secretary Col. (Rtd) Gotabhaya Rajapakse? Apparently so because on the same day in addressing the media he said, "We will do the same thing what we did for dead body of Prabhakaran, if there arises another Prabhakaran in the future of Sri Lanka." No doubt this was a result of an emotion which arose out of the liberation of the Eastern province.
Then the government started the campaign which was an extremely based on promoting Sinhalese racism and again the fact that this was an emotive government folly was proved by the fact that they tried to win everything by military means. It was obvious (to them) that the Tamil Tigers were far from negotiations and so they were assassinated. First they killed their own struggle and as a result of that they faced deadly internal conflicts which were on a basic principle of elimination.
One year and four months after the war there are more than two hundred and fifty thousand internally displaced people were still remaining in the camps. Even there are a few thousand former rebels still under detention. The government side is very optimistic over post-war reconciliation in Sri Lanka despite the heavy criticism from many sides over the Government policy on minorities. However; in recent elections the Government manipulated the votes which were in favour of the opposition parties. President Rajapaksa was still unable to win over the minority but he created a few yes men for conning the neighbor countries and the International Community. Expected economic benefits were slow in coming due to the killing of the basic principles of good governance by Rajapakse; his one family rule, he believes will make the way possible for mega development.
Rajapakse is now at the UN with a contingent of 130 representatives to attend the General Assembly. This is costing the people of Sri Lanka more than 1000 million (1 billion) rupees at a time when government institutions are being shut down and private companies are under fire after the country lost the GSP+. Even the state owned media is suffering losses constantly. According to media reports, in 2006 the state own Rupawahini corporation gained 139 million as its annual revenues which reduced into 4.7 million in 2009.
“In order to achieve the full realization of our potential, we desire a supportive external environment. Towards this end, we will always look for constructive engagement and partnerships. We will, from our side, continue to contribute as we have always done, to the cause of multilateralism and a principled global order,” the President Rajapaksa said at the UN general assembly. Furthermore he said, “Leaders who have been chosen by their people often face difficult decisions. They must be entitled to the goodwill and confidence of the international community with regard to the heavy burdens they are required to shoulder. The results of their decisions must be evaluated objectively and must be allowed to speak for themselves."
But the person who knew basics of political science understood that once you eliminate the all Independent institutions it is impossible to gain the peoples’ trust as any decision made is done so in the name of the people by the person who has all the power. The major decision is simply to con the International Community. Rajapakse has erased every possibility for good governance which was paralyzed under the previous UNP government by passing the 18th amendment. An act which has already been criticised by the USA. The rising one family political outfit in Sri Lanka is a global threat and it is a threat to democracy. This was beginning of impunity and a crime against humanity in Sri Lanka which missed the golden opportunity to build an identity in the World.
It is amusing to learn that people have pointed out that President Barack Obama never mentioned a single word in his address to the General Assembly about the total defeat of terrorism in Sri Lanka. A defeat that Sri Lanka is trumpeting as a model for the world. These people saw it as a personal perspective that the west has never respected the east. But the victory of winning the war was soured by the fact that the Commander who defeated the LTTE was taken into custody for conspiring to overthrow the government while the Tamil Tigers' successor, the LTTE's former arms smuggler and criminal conspirator, has become a new friend of the Government. This man who was part of a conspiracy to overthrow the government has never stood trial as a terrorist under a "principled global order."
We have to keep in mind that the KP who is under the care of the Government has never declared that he is no longer with the LTTE. He has never resigned from the post as the successor of Prabhakaran. This simply proves that the government of Sri Lanka is using terrorists to manipulate it's democratic political opponents in minority dominated areas. Is this winning the war? Is it contributing to the cause of multilateralism and a principled global order? This is what President Barack Obama, in his first speech at the UN general Assembly after he become President of the USA, criticized as a threat
Human rights and freedom. After eliminating the most ruthless terrorist out fit in the world, today Sri Lanka has become the most ruthless violator of the norms of human freedom and dignity under the Rajapakses.
In his speech at the UNGA the President Obama says, “On my first day in office, I prohibited - without exception or equivocation - the use of torture by the United States of America. I ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed, and we are doing the hard work of forging a framework to combat extremism within the rule of law. Every nation must know: America will live its values, and we will lead by example." He was in a presidency for nine months, in this speech he never used the term ‘terrorism’ which the President Rajapakse uses frequently. However Rajapakse might have thought the world will welcome him because he eliminated the LTTE but he ignores the fact that the world is aware of his present drama too. Rajapakse is using the elimination of the LTTE as a cover for messing up the politics of Sri Lanka. Obama indirectly clarified this is as violence against freedom. In this situation in the future Sri Lanka will lose direct aid for reconstruction. Loans will be approved under certain circumstances with higher interest. As it is said, power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely, which is what we are facing in Sri Lanka.
There was no mention that Sri Lanka is a role model of counter-terrorism because it is clear that having eliminated the LTTE the ruling party have now eliminated the basic principles of good governance. Does anyone see the difference between the LTTE’s terrorism and the State’s terrorism? Both of them are targeting civilians and their basic rights?
(The writer is a Sri Lankan journalist based in Singapore City. He can be reached at ilangamuwa@gmail.com)
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