H. L. D. Mahindapala

UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, was warned earlier by Sri Lanka that any interference by foreign agents will exacerbate the delicate political atmosphere prevailing in the immediate and sensitive aftermath of the post-Vadukoddai War. When he met President Mahinda Rajapakse soon after the War ended in May 2009 it was agreed in a Joint Statement (issued on May 23, 2009) that the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) will set up a mechanism to look into what went wrong and how to remedy any past mistakes.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ As stated by Ban in his latest statement the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-objectives (of the Joint Statement) include the further fostering of reconciliation and related issues as well as reflecting the commitment by Sri Lanka to the promotion and protection of human rights and the importance of accountability in order to continue the strengthening of peace and development in that country. The United Nations recognizes that the responsibility in this regard is that of the Government of Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ Accordingly, President Rajapakse fulfilled his part of the agreement by setting up the Commission on Lesson Learnt and Reconciliation (CLLR).

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The operative clause in his latest statement states categorically that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the United Nations recognizes that the responsibility in this regard is that of the Government of Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Nowhere does he or the Joint Statement say that he has the consent of the Sri Lankan government, or the UN, or any other legal, moral or political authority to appoint a panel of his own. So who gave him the authority to appoint a panel of his own? The obligation of Ban was to leave it at that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  i.e. the conditions agreed in the Joint Statement — and allow the people of Sri Lanka to work out their own solutions. Based on his own admission there was neither authority nor necessity for Ban to poke his unwanted fingers in the domestic affairs of Sri Lanka and appoint another panel of his own when GOSL has fulfilled the agreement with him. Perhaps, he thinks that he is the avatar of Lenin who said that promises are like pies ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” they are made to be broken!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ As a signatory to the Joint Statement his duty was to stick to the joint agreement with President Rajapakse and also to Chapter XV of the UN Charter which defines his role precisely as the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Chief Administrative Officer ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ of the UN. Instead of which he went out on his own to be an arbitrary policy-maker, against the expressed wishes of the Security Council and the UNHRC which had duly considered the Sri Lankan issue and refused to intervene in its domestic affairs. Sri Lanka had consistently rejected the UNSG’s efforts to establish a panel to investigate war crimes in Sri Lanka. The Non-Aligned Movement (118 UN members), Russia and China backed Sri Lanka at the UN. Turkey, Uganda and Brazil also backed Sri Lanka.. Susan Rice, US Ambassador to UN, welcomed the CLLR. Subsequently the UNSG was forced to climb down considerably.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Despite all this, the anti-Sri Lankan UN Secretariat, headed by Ban, decided to take the law into their hands and intervene in Sri Lankan affairs, without any authority. Consequently, this led to a predictable backlash in Sri Lanka. In the main, it provoked a section of the Sri Lankan political spectrum to protest against his ill-advised action, leading to increased tensions between Ban and the Sri Lanka. People were burning his effigies in from of the UN office in Colombo.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ As a result of the rising tension he came under more pressure at the UN from the Japanese and President of the General Assembly. His latest statement appealing to the GOSL ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-to normalize conditionsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ is a result of the increasing pressures on him from member states. As pointed out earlier, his statement is a confession that he has no leg to stand on. He has, in fact, cut the ground under his feet and is rapidly falling into the hole he has created. His three unwise men donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t even have the visas to come to Sri Lanka. They are stuck in New York blackhole without a star to guide them. The quarter ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-MoonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ they have is hardly shedding any light to get out of their blackhole. And jointly they can only produce a report cooked up without primary evidence to suit their political agenda.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Their report is predictable. According BanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s statement they are expected to recommend ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-modalities, applicable international standards and comparative experience relevant to an accountability process.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ If this is all what they are expected to do isnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t it an absolute waste of money? Besides, he states that the UN objective of the May 23, 2009 Joint Statement is to take forward the objective of reconciliation and related issues like human rights and accountability.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ As far Sri Lankans are concerned their primary concern is reconciliation. That is the need of the hour. With that everything else falls in place. Reconciliation is the healing process which is already under way without Ban prescribing mantras from New York. For instance, Judge Christopher Weeramantry, former Vice President of International Court of Justice, has successfully experimented with bringing together university students of all communities and building bridges of understanding for reconciliation, peace and progress. His success is phenomenal. He says that the transformation of the students during their live-in camps and sharing their experiences is promising for reconciliation and peace in the future.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What has Ban done in comparison to the people-to-people interactions put in the place and are moving forward the nation from the market place to the highest levels of society? With his sterile thinking, ignoring the ground realities, he is trying to dictate from New York what the Sri Lankans should do to bring about reconciliation. He thinks that his three-man panel will produce the magic formula by recommending international standards and the modalities for accountability.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Dr. Noel Nadesan, a leading Tamil peace activist working strenuously for reconciliation and development and Editor of the Tamil community paper, Uthayam, in Melbourne, Australia told me that foreign formulas have been tried throughout out the Sri Lankan crisis and not worked. He added: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Any action to rake up the past now will be counter-productive particularly to the Tamils who have been the victims of the brutal past. The Tamils right now are aiming get away from the past and look towards the future. They have been the worst victims of the past which they want to forget. Any action by the international community should be to heal the wounds of the Tamil people. The Western concept of raking up the past for reconciliation is not going to work in Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-I have just come back from a tour of Europe and Sri Lanka and I discovered that there is a grass root movement among our peoples to get together without any external meddling in domestic affairs. If the UN decides to step in with its own ideas of reconciliation it will backfire on the UN. The majority in all communities are more in search of finding their own solution than waiting for UN or other foreign solutions. The Secretary-General should allow the various communities to work together at the grass root level instead of imposing their views from the top floors of the UN Secretariat. There is already a Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation. Why is the Secretary -General in such a hurry to appoint his panel without waiting for the results of the CLLR?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ he asked.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Clearly, imposing formulas from a height somewhere in far away New York is not going to solve BanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s problems or the problems of the people of Sri Lanka in the post-Vadukoddai War period. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is BanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s responsibility now to find a way out of the hole he has dug for himself. After agreeing with President Rajapakse to allow the people of Sri Lanka to find a home-grown solution he turns around and imposes a three-man panel which was resisted by all sections of Sri Lanka, except the pro-LTTE groups. It was an unnecessary and provocative move. Those genuinely concerned about peace, reconciliation and rehabilitation should allow the natural process emerging from all corners of Sri Lanka to work out their own solution. Any external interventions ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” however well meaning they may be ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” will backfire and destabilize the nation.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ As predicted BanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s move to poke his sticky beak when things were calming down has raised a hornetƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s nest. In his latest statement, where he is trying to wriggle out of the backlash created by his ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-hastyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ actions, he is asking the Government of Sri Lanka ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-to take urgent action to normalize conditions around the United Nations Offices in Colombo so as to ensure the continuance of the vital work of the Organization to assist the people of Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. In the first place there would have been no necessity for the GOSL ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-to normalizeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ any situation anywhere if Ban stuck to the agreement and accepted CLLR as the legitimate instrument for working out solutions in the post-Vadukoddai War period. He is now facing the backlash of his ill-conceived and counter-productive attempts to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-assist the people of Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ in his ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Ban-kruptƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ ways. With friends like him does Sri Lanka need enemies?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In any case, Sri Lanka has (1) managed the most critical crisis of its post-independence period and won ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the unwinnable warƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ without his assistance and (2) it will continue to manage its affairs with or without the UN. Sooner or later, he must realize that Sri Lankans will be most thankful to him if he keeps his unwanted nose out of their affairs. The agreement was for Sri Lanka to work out their solution and he should stick to that condition without needling Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In fact, he should also be reminded that Sri Lanka has assisted and contributed to the UN more than all those in the present Secretariat ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” including Radhika Coomaraswamy ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” put together. The following quote from the distinguished UN award-winning journalist, Thalif Deen, says the extent of Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s contribution to the UN:

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-When future historians take stock of Sri Lanka’s enduring contributions during its first 50 years at the United Nations, they may realise that our political legacy spanned both the upper and lower limits of the universe: the sky above and the oceans below.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe (who insisted on using “Hamilton” as his first name to assert his gender in a country where “Shirley” was mostly a woman’s name) was not only elected President of the General Assembly back in September 1976, but also chaired the historic Law of the Sea Conference which produced the ultimate treaty governing the ocean sea-bed.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ And both in 1982 and 1999, Nandasiri Jasentuliyana, an international expert on space law, was named Executive Secretary of the second and third UN Conferences on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE II & III) that laid down the laws governing the heavenly skies preventing a possible arms race and a futuristic star wars, Hollywood-style.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Still, between the deep blue sea and the wide open skies, there was plenty of room for Sri Lankan success stories in terra firm: Dr Gamani Corea’s two-term (1974-84) appointment as Secretary-General of the Geneva-based UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Andrew Joseph’s stint as Associate Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989; Judge Christopher Weeramantry’s election as judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague in 1991 who eventually ended up as the Vice-President of the ICJ; and Jayantha Dhanapala’s appointment as Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs in 1998.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ An equally creditable achievement was the appointment in early 2006 of Radhika Coomaraswamy as Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Children and Armed Conflict. She became the fourth Sri Lankan to hold the post of a USG– the third highest ranking position in the UN totem pole– after Corea, Joseph, Weeramantry and Dhanapala. She was also the first Sri Lankan woman to rise to the higher echelons of the male-dominated UN Secretariat. If one is to take account of the genetic factor, she is perhaps a product of designer genes: her father Raju Coomaraswamy retired as an Assistant Secretary-General and head of UNDP’s Asian Bureau in the 1980s.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Besides, H. M. G. S. Palihakkara, was a member of the Nuclear Disarmament Committee, Palitha Kohona, the current Ambassador to UN, was the head of the UN Treaty Section. Dhanapala is also on the board of governors of the UN University. Rohan Perera, was the chairman of the ad hoc Committee on Terrorism, Kariyawasam was the Chairman of the UN Committee on Small Arms and Kohona was also Chairman of the Committee on Marine Resources Beyond National Jurisdiction.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ On top of all this, Sri Lanka provide over 1200 peace keeping troops, police and navel assets.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka will continue to make contributions to the UN in keeping with its obligations long after Ban and his anti-Sri Lankan Secretariat goes home with a fat pension in their pockets. But in the meantime, it is their duty to not to provoke or exacerbate domestic situations of member states in the bogus name of human rights.