In Retrospect byƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sarath Kumara

Nov.24th 2012

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  International crisis group Alan Keenanon in a special report to the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ CNNƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  says” its time to push back over Sri Lanka Impunity” which is not only high handed on his part but also without conviction andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ doesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ not seem to have the foggiest idea what he is talking about as the issues he has written the report on are way beyond his jurisdiction and authority where he has been bold enough to take on official issues relating to the Sri Lanka Administration and its conduct during a nation threatening, decades long internal armed insurrection by terroristsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ as well asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ speaking on behalf ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ as well as in favour of the nation’s the Chief Justice in a process of impeachment at the present which are internal matters and really none of his business! This said on the basis thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ these aren’t crises he has been appointed for to report on, it is assumed!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ True enough he is the appointedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  director ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ an organization which in all probabilities falls under the category of a Non Governmental Organization tolerated by the Government of Sri Lanka in the hope that it would present accurate fact finding to the world butƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Mr Keenan seems to have confounded these expectations and thrown a curve ball and perhaps a spanner in the works towards progress and development in Sri Lanka and truly deserves to be booted out of his responsibilities in the ICG for a gross misrepresentation of the truth by his own speculative and misguided conclusions and based mainly on hearsay which also appears to be an attempt to side with the adversaries of the Sri Lankan Administration. In addition to this he has attempted to coerce the Commonwealth of Nations citing another misguided stand taken by Canada’s Prime Minister ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ who for no apparently valid reason has also been influenced by the adversaries of the GOSL into saying negative things about Sri Lankan Government policy relevant to the aftermath of theTamil Tiger Insurgency. And it needs no speculation that the influences bearing downƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ upon the anti Government stance is a direct result of the lobbying and false representationsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ made by the global Tamil diaspora and none other.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If as he says, international attention on Sri Lanka has focused recently on a ‘devastating’ report from the United Nations reviewing its own failure to protect civilians during the humanitarian catastrophe of the final months of the island nationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s civil war in 2009 it also needs to be highlighted the the head of the UN Mr. Ban Ki Moon has never been able to draw any firm conclusions about its veracity and has bungled with his rhetoric about what truly was, what might have been and what the world did not know as he simply was unable to draw positive conclusions towwards accusationsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ where huge speculations seem to have swayed the minds of many who weren’t even a thousand milesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ from what transpired in Sri Lanka during the insurgency and are now resorting to finger pointing using doctored videos, distorted news reports and graphically altered presentations of attrocities some ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ whichƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  have been proven to be the responsibility of the Tamil Tiger terrorists themselves where the Armed Forces under the direction of the Government carried out an admirable and magnanimous effort to protect civilians from a humanitarian crisis perpetrated by the terrorists. Wonder where Mr Keenan was at this timeƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and whether it would serve any purpose in quietly ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ taking him aside and suggesting he puts a sock on his report !

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In addition to this affront on the GOSL he next suggests that “Yet as many in the international community have been looking back, a new, quieter crisis is threatening Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s battered democracy ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” and the chances of lasting peace ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” with the Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa moving to impeach the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.” a matter which is indeed the entitlement of a demcratic power and its leadership laid down in the Constitution in the event that there are irregularities and breaches of the code of conduct expected from anyone in public office with no particular impunity even to the head of the judiciary and laughable that Mr. Keenan hardly knowing the facts behind the impeachment is trying to make a mockery of what is a legal and constitutional right of the President where the prima facie evidence corroborates the demands of the Government that there is sufficientƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ cause and informationƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ towards impeachment which once again is not a matter for Keenan to get involved with and furthermore will be investigated into fully, within the provisions of the law before any judgement is made and the need to uphold a principle simply to justify the appointment of the office of the Chief Justice hardly any reason towardsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ rescinding the process given the seriousness of the charges which are varied and complicated but point to gross irresponsibility on the part of someone in the capacity of Chief Justice.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Should the impeachment effort succeed, it will not as suggested by Keenan “ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ complete a constitutional coup begun in September 2010 with the 18th amendment to the constitution, which ended presidential term limits and removed the independence of commissions on the police, human rights, judiciary, bribery and other areas of governance but will be a manifestation of the theme that no one is above the law!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It certainly is not “ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ a battle for power between the judiciary and executive “and hardlyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ” a one-sided assault on an already weakened legal system, which has for decades, but particularly under President Rajapaksa, routinely done the executiveƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s bidding.” cheap rhetoric and borrowed cliches from those who oppose government policy where a two thirds majorityƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ facilitates and dictatesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the laying down of the law with no undesirable interference as opposed to a minority facing a strong armed, arrogant and powerfully motivated ChiefƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Justice! It is in fact ana implementation and execution of the law to its fullest meaning and rightfully so!

OneƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ would assume therefore ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ that this report by the director of the ICG is an overstepping of the metes and bounds which govern the assignments related to the ICG where the term crisisƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  is as inapplicable to Sri LankaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ emerging succesfully from a decades long terroristƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ uprisingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  over the related issues andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ seems to have been distorted towards creating a non existent crisis /crises to serve the agendas of some who would go to great lengths to create one/some.

Shades of another crisis creator by name of Eric Solheim who by his capacity to distort the truth almost succeeded in creating a pathway for the Tamil Tiger terrorists towards their objectives whilst he was assigned the responsibility to mediate towards a resolution in the now infamous terrorist insurgency.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Simply put the only crises that might result in Sri Lanka at the present time appears to be ones which could be created by the likes of Alan Keenan if they persist in dabbling with issues beyondƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ their jurisdiction and the tolerance with impunity of holders of high office where the administration has every right to address related issues within the provisions of the Constitution as well as the Laws of the Land where International Crisis Groups are in all probabilities better needed in parts of the world where there are real crises rather than brainstorms of the likes of Mr.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Alan Keenan into imagined ones!!

EditorƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s note: Alan Keenan is the International Crisis Group’s Sri Lanka project director and senior analyst. The views expressed are his own.