A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Office Of Missing Persons What Is Behind?
by Ashanthi Warunasuirya- Monday, August 22, 2016
The
government passed the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) Bill in
parliament recently. Before and during the process, there were heated
debates about the issue in parliament and amongst society. The
controversy over this the OMP is still at large. While some say that the
OMP is an attempt to take certain politicians and army personnel to the
gallows, some others say that it is a positive step taken towards the
long sought after reconciliation between the Tamils and the Sinhalese in
the country. The opponents of the OMP also say that it has been given
power to surpass the country’s present law and even power to take
autonomous actions in certain circumstances. But the OMP proponents say
that it has no such power but just the power enough to investigate
alleged crimes and persons and submit relevant reports to the superiors.
Amidst this OMP controversy, The Sunday Leader sought the comments of some prominent members of society on the issue.
Brito Fernando – Chairman, Association of the Parents and Family Members of the Disappeared
Accordingly, the government took steps such as signing the UN declaration against disappearance, setting up a task force and obtaining parliament’s approval to set up an Office for Missing Personnel (OMP). These steps can be regarded as positive developments towards keeping its promise. Although the government is not moving fast in this regard, we are optimistic about the future.
Certain extremists in the South including Mahinda Rajapaksa and Vasudeva
Nanayakkara are trying to disrupt these proceedings by claiming that
there are attempts made to take the army to the gallows. But if Mahinda
and Vasu had brought in parliament a bill in 1989 against State
sponsored abductions and executions, it would be the same bill as this
one. As those who backed it then are against it today, people such as
Mangala Samaraweera who backed it then is backing it still. As
representatives of the family members of the disappeared, we are glad
about the government’s decision. There are certain lapses in this Act.
Especially, as to how these findings could be linked to justice and the
steps the government should take with regard to compensation. But at
this instance, we will stand by the government to defeat the agenda of
racists.
It would have been better if the OMP was given some more power. We would
propose for a better mechanism that would make use of the information
received from the people. The government has promised to set up a
separate bureau for this purpose. We urge the government to implement it
soon.
It is a good sign that the government had agreed to look into the
disappearances that had taken place since 1971 instead of 1989. Even the
Geneva report had focused on the years – 2002 – 2009. The office would
also look into the disappearances of military and police officers. This
is a good step towards reconciliation. I see this as a central
institution that could combine all disappearances. But we must keep in
mind that this is going against the will of the racist politicians in
both North and South. So we must try to make the best of it. By finding
out the truth behind disappearances and by punishing those responsible
for them, any future atrocity could be discouraged. It is a progressive
step the government has taken by criminalizing forced disappearances. It
sends a strong message to those who think of protecting these culprits
to retain power. Further, the apologies made by Ranil Wickeremesinghe
and Chandrika Kumaratunga to portray their honesty must be admired. The
promise they have given about preventing such atrocities from taking
place again in the country is good news for everyone.
——————————————————
Pubudu Jayagoda – General Secretary, Frontline Socialist Party
Justice must be done to the disappeared. We are firm on the stance that
the truth must be revealed. But we cannot be satisfied about the recent
Act. The government must justify their decision to bring in new
legislation after failing to execute even the existing laws. They must
show the inadequacy of existing legal remedies. But instead, they have
just brought in a new bill only to show off that they are committed to
the task. At present Sri Lanka’s lack of democracy has been criticised
by other countries. So, to secure foreign investments, the government
has decided to set up this office. We see no genuine intention behind
this measure in finding the truth. However, we will make complaints to
this new office as well.
We have information about disappearances taken place since 1980’s. We
also possess credible information about almost all the cases of
disappearances taken place in Colombo and outstation areas during and
after the war. After the present government assumed power, we have made
hundreds of complaints about these cases. We even made a petition to the
President. The government who kept mum in all those instances cannot be
trusted in setting up a proper mechanism to find the truth about
disappearances. So, we would continue our struggle forward. It is only
by pressurizing the government we could win our demands. On the other
hand, the Joint Opposition (JO) has said that the military would be
betrayed by this measure. This is a joke. If that was the case, then
it’s the politicians who commanded the army that has to be caught first.
There may be a possibility of punishing those who had obeyed the
commands while those who have given the command are set free. That is a
political issue. However, we also oppose the opinion of the JO on
preventing investigations into disappearances claiming that that they
may affect war heroes.
However, we are strictly against the policy of the government in living
off by selling the slogan that they are committed towards finding the
truth. By doing these meaningless things without taking any progressive
step to establish reconciliation, is only going to create more social
problems in the long run. So far the government has taken no steps to
change the minds of the people. We must now focus on laying down the
foundation to future reconciliation. If the government tries to
aggravate racism, that is going to be disadvantageous. We need a
mechanism that is different from ordinary legislation. We are committed
towards creating a social dialogue on the subject. We see no judicial
powers vested on this entity. It is just another ‘investigative body’.
——————————————————-
Sandya Eknaligoda – Disappeared Journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda’s Wife
But there are several structural weaknesses in this system. Especially
there is no space for the victims in this mechanism. We asked the
government to consider the problems of these victims under this
mechanism. But the entity that has been set up t cannot do anything
helpful for the victims such as family members of the disappeared.
This is the beginning of a new institute. The appointments would be
carried out by the President and duties for the office as well. The
office and its officials would be given adequate authority. But still
there is no judicial action or a compensation mechanism included in this
Act. The only thing this office can do is to summon the witnesses and
carrying out investigations. I have not studied this act thoroughly. But
prima facie I see these lapses.
Still there is no clear idea as to what is going to happen after the
investigation phase. So it is important to include the victims in this
mechanism. In a country where literally nothing was done on this issue
for many years, setting up this office is indeed a progressive step.
What is important is to sustain this momentum.
Unfortunately, we were able to take part in the discussions only once
before it was passed in parliament. Most of our suggestions have not
been considered. We have clearly emphasized that the name should be
changed to ‘forces disappearances’ as there are no voluntary
disappearances in this problem. It is also important to look into cases
that had taken place even before the war.
——————————————————
Ruki Fernando – Human Rights Activist
The main objective of this office for the disappeared is to find out the
truth about these people. Since over a hundred thousand people have
disappeared, finding out the truth and informing their families the
truth is essential. Without doing that, we cannot have good hopes about
the future.
But unfortunately I’m not yet clear about the structural format of this
institute. As parliament has approved, the entity would consist of 7
members. They are to be given equal status of commissioners. Under their
supervision, investigations are to be held into various issues such as
mass graves and protecting the victims. It is also allowed to seek
expert advice on the issue.
Knowing the truth is expected by all family members of these disappeared
people. It is equally important to compensate these victims. In many a
case, bread winner of the family disappeared. So the government has a
responsibility to care for these family members as well.
——————————————————-
Keerthi Tennakoon – Executive Director, CaFFE
The
basic structure and management concept of this mechanism has to be
admired. This is going to execute a task that the people much yearned
for many years. We strongly believe that this would be able to cater
something positive unlike the previous government’s attempts. What we
must not forget is that it is not only the Tamils in the North that have
suffered disappearances. It is common to many Sinhala and Muslim
families as well. It may be true that the most number of complaints
about disappearances have been made by the Tamils. But there have been a
lot of complaints made by other ethnic groups especially in Batticaloa
and Vavuniya Districts. So justice must be equal to all.
Finding out the truth is an important aspect of any civilised society.
People have a right to know the truth. For that, we must have a
mechanism to find out the truth. Those who talk about truth, hardly know
about it. It is only after knowing the truth, we could decide whether
to punish the wrongdoers or not. So, it is clear that the government
has taken the first step towards justice, although it was long overdue.
But we must be patient to see what happens next.