By Dr Donald Chandraratna, Perth, Western Australia

The British High commission has ruled that Dr Kohona and Mr Arjuna Ranatunga are technically and legally not entitled to enter UK. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Likewise the Canadian Embassy has refused the visa for Rev Somananda Nayaka Thero on the grounds that Reverend and Thero do not appear in the passport. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We are not complaining because the rule of law relating to immigration matters in the respective countries has to be respected, if such is the case. The two gentlemen and the monk will have recourse to an appeal if in their perception there has been a miscarriage of justice.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  So by the same standards UK and Canada must respect the rule of law in the case of Mr Tissainayagam, because the dispensation has been given by a legal system which is independent of the State. In fact they should praise the system in Sri Lanka for the expeditious manner in which the gentleman was tried because he had committed a heinous crime of incitement to racial hatred and violence. But some of the Al Qaeda detainees are still to be charged; the Iraq based reporters are still in jail and those who cry foul against us ought to be fairer minded. We do not consider justice to be a game.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In the current context of Sri Lanka, racial hatred and incitement to violence are virtually precursors to crimes against humanity. As Sri Lankans will stand testimony to the enormity of tyranny and danger that such evil acts portend, the law must be stern and swift. If we were swift and circumspect 30 years ago the horrendous debacle may have been nipped in the bud. Therefore the decision of the High Court of Sri Lanka is understandable but yet the avenues for appeal and even a reprieve by the President are still open to Mr Tissainayagam.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Most of us may never be accused of such crimes nor will we dare publish something so shocking to incite racial hatred. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ However, should we ever be arraigned by the state on false evidence, we are confident of a legal system to defend us and moreover, give us a fair chance of victory against the powerful. Our justice system is virtually the same as in UK, Canada ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and USA because the rules will afford the accused ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ a fair chance of fighting the state. The greatness of the system of justice is that it offers the possibility of success for those innocent, regardless of wealth or creed.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ But the nations, who boast of a legal system even better than ours, are not playing by the rules when it comes to Sri Lanka. Because some of these countries asked us to play by a different set of rules when their erstwhile LTTE friends were fighting, the state of Sri Lanka refused to waver.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Hence some state parties are offended and seem still revengeful. That vindictiveness has faulted some countries giving a fair stance towards Sri Lanka. The case against Sri Lanka with regard to the GSP Plus did not get a fair trial. The EU investigators were carried away by the LTTE propagandists who are still scavenging for morsels of evidence to allege war crimes. In the case of the Channel 4 Video allegation the so called professional spokesmen and women did not even ask the accuser to authenticate the charge. Instead they asked the accused to defend an inept and frivolous charge. Though the war has ended some leaders seem to be using justice as a tool for oppressing Sri Lanka when the opportunity is ripe to use it to rehabilitate both terrorists and victims in the name of human rights. Because of the psychological attachment to the enemies of Sri Lankan sovereignty a few Western nations seem to have cut themselves adrift from the objectivity of the system that they describe in such grandiose terms. Hope they will come to their senses sooner than later.