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
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Tuesday, October 25, 2016
JUSTICE MUST ALSO BE SEEN TO BE DONE
by Jehan Perera-October 24, 2016, 8:27 pm
The
common cause -f the National Unity Government to tackle the corruption
of the past and to put an end to it in the present seemed to come apart
at the seams when President Maithripala Sirisena made an angry critique
of the way in which the investigations into corruption was taking place.
The resignation of Director General of the Commission to Investigate
Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) Dilrukshi Dias
Wickramasinghe was prompted by the President’s remarks on CIABOC and on
the police investigative agencies in the wake of former Defence
Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and three retired Navy commanders, being
brought before courts. The President criticized the investigative bodies
of launching politically motivated probes which led to the senior
officials being put behind bars during the proceedings in court.
Ms Wickramasinghe was doing a difficult job with more energy than anyone
in recent history who has held that post. The investigation of those
who held high positions in the former and present government is bound to
be controversial. Choices have to be made in terms of which case to
take up first and which to take up later. After her resignation the
former Director General said that there were as many as 90 cases of
politicians that her office was investigating. Those of different
political persuasions may prefer some cases to be taken up before
others. The choices made can be seen by those who are at the receiving
end to be politically motivated. Anyone in the position of investigator
would come under criticism for taking up one case rather than another.
The resignation of the Ms Wickramasinghe who was generally seen as doing
a difficult job with a sense of mission would be a setback to the fight
against corruption.
After calling a meeting with the members of the eight independent
commissions, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya informed them that neither
President Maithripala Sirisena nor Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
had negative attitudes towards any of the commissions. He had also
informed the commissions that the attitude of the President and the
Prime Minister did not differ. Civil society groups, such as Purawesi
Balaya which was once led by the Ven Maduluwave Sobitha and now by Prof
Sarath Wijesooriya and led the civil society campaign against corruption
came out strongly in support of the independence of the commissions.
This laid to rest the speculations, fears and hopes of different groups
with political motivations of a break up of the National Unity
Government. The hope of those who would wish to see the return of the
old regime is that the working relationship between the President and
Prime Minister is sundered.
COMPETITIVE PARTIES
The National Unity Government is vulnerable to internal fissures for the
reason it is composed of the two major political parties that have
traditionally been rivals and have engaged only in win-lose politics.
With the sole exception of the present period, the UNP and SLFP have
always sought to form governments on their own or in coalition with
other parties but against their main rival. The pressure to break free
of the other and to rule the country alone, and enjoy the power to
decide by themselves without being constrained by the other, continues
to be powerful within the UNP and SLFP. Those who work closely with
either the President or Prime Minister, but lack their vision, would not
be able to see the win-win dimension of their partnership to the two
parties and its contribution to the stability and development of the
country as a whole.
The aspect of governance in which Sri Lanka has historically been least
successful is in terms of power sharing. Where there is power sharing
decisions are taken after consultation, and with the participation of
other parties who have a stake in the outcome. An important area of for
joint decisionmaking is the appointment of key officials who will head
departments that deal with controversial issues. These positions would
include the executive head of the Bribery and Corruption commission. It
is to be hoped that the successor to Ms Wickramasinghe will be the
consensual choice of both the President and Prime Minister. This same
principle of power sharing needs employed in dealing with the most
intractable conflict that Sri Lanka has experienced. The root of the
ethnic conflict and the three decade long war that destroyed over a
hundred thousand lives and denuded the North and East of its
infrastructure and also lost for Sri Lanka its competitive edge in the
global marketplace was due to the absence of inter-ethnic power sharing.
The importance of deciding together rather than unilaterally has
surfaced in the North in a tragic manner following the deaths by
shooting of two university students. They were killed when they failed
to stop at a police checkpoint late at night and the police opened fire
at them. Such tragic incidents have occurred in other parts of the
country as well. The famous actor Nihal Silva, who acted as Sergeant
Nallathambi in days gone by was killed at a military checkpoint when he
did not stop his vehicle. But in the context of the unresolved ethnic
conflict, where a mutually acceptable political solution is yet to be
found, incidents are seen through ethnic lenses. Emotions are presently
at a high in the North and against the police. Students and businesses
in Jaffna have planned public protests. There are suspicions voiced in
the North that this was a planned incident to deliberately create
tensions which would justify a continued strong military presence. In a
context in which the North (and East) of the country continue to remain
militarized, with large contingents of military personnel in the two
provinces, such incidents are also bound to contribute to a spiral of
negative sentiment.
CONSENSUAL GOVERNANCE
President Maithripala Sirisena’s swift order to the police to conduct an
investigation of this incident and to order compensation to the
bereaved families is to be appreciated. However, there is a need for an
impartial investigation that will be seen to be impartial in addition to
being impartial. Justice needs to be seen to be done, in addition to
being done. There is a massive trust deficit at the present time due to
the lack of normalcy in the affairs of the North. The fact that the
initial report filed by the police stated that the deaths were caused by
a traffic accident will do nothing to improve the trust and confidence
of the Northern people in the police or in the government. On the other
hand, the fact that five police personnel have been arrested is a
positive indication of the efficacy of independent commissions
(including the Police Commission) and of the law taking its course.
In the longer term, the need is for the restoration of normalcy to the
lives of the people of the North and East. The government’s emphasis in
terms of post-war peacebuilding is to engage in constitutional reform
with the political parties represented in Parliament and to implement
the pledges it has made in Geneva to the UN Human Rights Council. In
addition, in restoring normalcy to the North and East of the country,
where most of the three decade long war was fought, it is necessary for
the government to work with the elected authorities to ensure that law
and order prevails in a manner so that the people feel confidence.
At the present time the government is engrossed in a constitutional
reform exercise that involves the whole parliament but whose outcome is
not certain. The government has stated that the draft constitution will
be placed before Parliament in the coming month and before the budget.
However, there is still no indication of consensus on the details of the
changes that need to be made. Instead of waiting an indefinite period
for this constitutional reform process to be finalized, the government
can implement the 13th Amendment to the constitution, which exists as
the supreme law of the land, and devolve police powers to the provincial
councils. This type of power sharing can lead to the Northern
Provincial Council working with the government in a spirit of
partnership to develop the province, rather than championing the cause
of Tamil nationalism which rouses the suspicions of the people in the
plans of the government.