CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS





 .
 .

 .
 .
.
 

Crudities from the Asian Human Rights Commission

Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP)
30th April 2008

Basil Fernando of the Asian Human Rights Commission has finally gone over the top in attacking the Head of the Peace Secretariat in scatological terms, though clothed in impeccable literary references as befits a former scholar.

He is upset that I am amused by much, but doubtless he intends everyone to be amused by this latest effusion, which suggests the direction in which he is taking the poor Asian Human Commission. Certainly I am amused, but there is room for sadness too, in his failure to think, which is unusual in the man and suggests that he is very deeply involved emotionally.

Basically he attacks me for criticizing Sir Nigel Rodley's skepticism about a statement of the Sri Lankan government regarding a letter sent by the Head of the IIGEP, Justice Bhagwathi. Basil's basic argument is that, instead of pointing out the absurdities of Sir Nigel's performance, I should have produced the letter. Surely he should, instead of judging others by himself, have realized that I would not have been so confident about my facts had I not had a copy of the letter in my possession.

I did indeed fax a scan of the letter along with my press release, but this was not reproduced. The letter had however been previously reproduced on the website of the Sri Lankan Mission in Geneva, and it will accompany this release on the Peace Secretariat website, in case there are others like Basil who judge the world by standards they would not dream, I hope, of applying to themselves.

Typically Basil has not addressed the points made in my release, but instead engaged in a long disquisition in scatological terms on what he sees as the failure of the peace process. This is accompanied by personal criticism based on my book, 'Declining Sri Lanka', which he obviously has not read, since it makes clear my very different readings of the situation under J R Jayewardene and what obtained since. He is at liberty to disagree with my interpretation of events, but to assume hypocrisy without addressing my arguments is unworthy of a former scholar. Certainly the existence today of forceful critics of the government who are the beneficiaries of massive amounts of international funding, Basil being in the forefront, in itself shows the difference between now and then, when those of us who spoke out were a tiny lonely minority, with hardly any public forum for our analyses.


Finally, since he seems to understand literature, let me note the relevance to my case of an extract from his poem 'Just Society' -

I who was grieved
at my school mate,
my neighbour, my friend,
my guru and fellow worker,
when he died, when he went into hiding,
when he fled to escape the mob,
suddenly departed to other lands
empty handed - I, who cried holding his hand
at the Harbour bidding him farewell,
am now to bear this insult.

I did not bid farewell to Basil at the Harbour when he fled Sri Lanka, for I did not know him then, but I published him since, and held his hand metaphorically in Phnom Penh, when he was working there. I did more, for in the early nineties I acquiesced in the request of his great friend Oranee Jansz that we purchase multiple copies of his book 'The Village by the Mouth of the River' and prescribe it for students on the pre-University General English Language Training Programme we coordinated nationwide. She thought this would help him, and I could not disagree with the argument that it would be good for young students to read about Basil's youth and the trials and tribulations of caste discrimination which he described so vividly.

I have done my bit for Basil, but of course no gratitude is necessary, for I did it not as a favour but because the poetry was good and the prose instructive. Sadly success has not suited Basil and one can no longer say the same about the prose. I hope the poetry has not suffered, but his crude prosaic rendering of Chaucer worries me. However there is no doubt that Sir Nigel Rodley, if he reads Basil's explosive response, thankfully not a bomb but mere hot air, will be duly grateful.

Prof Rajiva Wijesinha



Disclaimer: The comments contained within this website are personal reflection only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the LankaWeb. LankaWeb.com offers the contents of this website without charge, but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions expressed within. Neither the LankaWeb nor the individual authors of any material on this Web site accept responsibility for any loss or damage, however caused (including through negligence), which you may directly or indirectly suffer arising out of your use of or reliance on information contained on or accessed through this Web site.
All views and opinions presented in this article are solely those of the surfer and do not necessarily represent those of LankaWeb.com. .

BACK TO LATEST NEWS

DISCLAIMER

Copyright © 1997-2004 www.lankaweb.Com Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Reproduction In Whole Or In Part Without Express Permission is Prohibited.