UPALI COORAY

The  Sri Lankan President in his recent interview with the BBC emphatically stated that any type of foreign participation in respect of the oncoming human rights violations inquiry is not permissible by way of external judges. investigators or in any other form.He elaborated his statement by saying Sri Lanka has enough qualified and internationally renowned human resources in the relevant fields and he sees no role for foreign personnel. This statement. as many would know, is quite contrary to the  resolution passed at the UNHCR at the behest of US, co-sponsored by Sri Lanka. Those who listened to this interview which went viral in the social media would have noted that the president was very emphatic in his statement.

The media  subsequently reported an interview given by the Prime minister to channel 4,  probably in a damage control effort, stating that the President has not ruled out foreign participation.

The President  appearing again in an interview with Al Jazeera on the 30th of Jan. reiterates that there is no necessity to have foreign participation in the inquiries or as Judges except for technical assistance. He went on to say that allegations are for violation of human rights and not for committing war crimes. He emphasized that Sri Lankan forces did neither commit  war crimes nor human rights violations. However he qualified this statement by saying that if such offences by the forces or individuals are to be proved , such offenders have to be dealt with. When questioned why the Paranagama commission’s report was  not  given any consideration by the new government, the answer was that it was only a fact finding report.

Article 6 of the UNHRC resolution among other things reads as follows…….”That a credible justice process should include independent judicial and prosecutorial institutions led by individuals known for their integrity and impartiality; and also affirms in this regard the importance of participation in a Sri Lankan judicial mechanism,including the special counsel’s office of Commonwealth and other foreign judges,defence lawyers and authorised prosecutors and investigators……”

The President cannot now take a contrastive stand about the UNHRC resolution because he is expected to know beforehand such vital decisions being taken by his government.  One has to conclude that the President was either not aware of the contents of the resolution or he is playing a   dual role just like his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa. One would recollect MR vowed to the Indians that 13 plus amendment would be implemented but did nothing about it  in order to avoid a backlash from the local majority Sinhalese. President Sirisena too is facing the same dilemma.

In the meantime UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon has reiterated the need for international participation in accountability probes into alleged human rights abuses and war crimes during Sri Lanka’s brutal civil war.Ban’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric has said that the Secretary General had reaffirmed the importance of a credible justice process and international participation in the judicial mechanism. President Sirisena is now being accused of backtracking the commitment given by Sri Lanka as a co-sponsor of the resolution.

The Prime minister and the foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera were the co- architects behind the resolution which locked and sealed Sri Lanka as a co-sponsor of 2015 UNHRC resolution. They were willing partners with the west to ensure Sri Lanka’s geopolitical balance tilt heavily towards the west. They have put Sri lanka on a catch twenty two situation. The strategy behind is to ensure war winning forces and the key figures in conducting the war to be tried for war crimes. Why didn’t they produce the two commission reports by eminent local judges Udalagama and Paranagama before the Human rights council ? It amounts to a betrayal of the majority community and giving a chance to pro-LTTE diaspora and their NGO partners to further their cessation ambitions

Ranil Wickramasinghe is not new to taking vital decisions affecting the nation in an adverse manner such as the infamous Ceasefire agreement he signed with the LTTE in 2002 facilitated by the Norwegians even without cabinet approval. What he and his foreign minister has done now is also not with the best interest of the country but appeasement of the west. Why was there a necessity to co-sponsor a resolution which has left Sri lanka subjugated. This was totally against the people’s mandate given at the Presidential election and the subsequent general election.

Dr.Mahathir Mohamad, former P.M of Malaysia who was responsible for the vast development it has achieved today through his”Look East Policy”, had this to say  before the ASEAN meeting in 1997 about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  ‘It is an oppressive instrument by which the United States and other countries try to impose their values on Asians. Asians need stability and economic growth more than civil liberties”. These remarks did not endear him to US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who was a guest at the meeting. This type of statement can be made only by a statesman like Mahathir Mohamed and not by the likes of local footmen of the US . Mahathir’s vision was to make his country a prosperous nation. He did not consider west as suitable for guidence. He did not hesitate to limit civil liberties of the people and victmise opponents such as Anwar Ibrahim by imprisoning him  and bringing an Internal security act to detain opponents. As an advocate of third world development his relations with US.UK and Australia were difficult but he ensured that his country develops to a modern prosperous nation that is on the threshold of becoming a developed nation,.Such a leader with the commitment to guide the country to prosperity without making the country a satellite of the west or any other power is the requirement of the hour..

President Sirisena’s yielding trait was quite evident from many events that occurred subsequent to his becoming the head of state. One glaring example is when he went public by claiming that he suggested to the Prime minister Wickramasinghe to remove the controversial Central Bank Governor Arjun Mahendran.  The removal never happened.

Maithripala Sirisena is still the President of Sri Lanka with executive powers. Therefore there cannot be any ambiguity in what his government has committed to the UNHRC. The global Tamil forum has already given a warning about the issue. There is no going back on the resolution co-sponsored by the SL government.

Sri Lanka has now passed the point of no return.The western superpowers and India have ensured that we are  locked and sealed.  The total failure of Sri Lankan governments past and present  in countering the relentless campaign of pro LTTE cessation propaganda has put us in this inescapable muddle.We have won the war locally but it goes on internationally where Sri Lanka has been cornered without escape. Those who point out this possibility are branded as nationalist against reconciliation.

The previous government had a totally lopsided foreign policy that jeopardised whatever the chances of keeping a neutral and balanced foreign relations with the west. The foreign service was filled with cronies who were totally incompetent in putting across the government’s  side of the account. Then foreign minister though an intellect was a good example of lack of ability, succumbing to the whims and fancies of the former President who did not show that he had  much  knowledge in diplomacy.Sajin Vas Gunawardana the monitoring foreign minister was was the trouble shooter in the ministry of external affairs.   Billions  of dollars were paid to US public relations companies to lobby and win over the the Obama administration with no avail. No tangible result was  seen.Mahinda Rajapaksa after winning the war had a golden chance of taking this country on the path of rapid development but he did not show any qualities of  statesman with a vision.. Mahinda the politician  overshadowed his charismatic ability to become a statesman with a vision for his country.

While Sri Lankan government was muddling up the national question, the pro – cessation Tamil Diaspora lobby gained grounds with the governments of the west and ensured that a regime change occurred in Sri Lanka. There is undoubtedly a Geopolitical requirement for the west and India to keep Sri Lanka tilted towards them. The view that there is no threat of cessation in Sri lanka because the war has been won does not hold ground at all because there is no one to guarantee it would not happen. Geo-political reasons can at any time see that it happens..South Sudan, Kosovo,East timor comes to one’s mind

The January 8th 2015 could be considered the culmination of a process subtly worked out by the local and international perpetrators of the regime change course for Sri Lanka. Having  achieved the objective, it is now necessary to stabilize what has been achieved. The hybrid war crimes investigations  proposed by the UNHRC resolution is compelling.. The outcome of this kind of inquiry is a foregone conclusion.

President Sirisena’s sudden backtracking is due to the realisation that majority of this country, specially the rural population does not want to see those who contributed to winning the war penalised in any manner. The repercussions could be devastating to the president himself and the government he heads.

The west  lead by the U.S and ably supported by the UK and EU practiced their new found theory of regime change in west Asia with disastrous results and they needed to show at least one country in which the theory has been successful. Sri Lanka is the ideal candidate for this.With Ranil wickramasinghe, Mangala Samaraweera, Chandrika Kumaratunga trio hell bent on appeasing the west, President Sirisena now has no alternative to resort to than towing their line though he is showing a brave face.. Else the claimed goodwill  the government is supposed to have received from the west will eventually wither away.

The government has now realised that pre-election rhetoric against China  and keeping that country at arm’s length after coming to power is costing the country dearly. It is now attempting to mend the fence realizing that neither the IMF nor the world Bank can rescue the country from the economic downturn and it is China which can mostly assist us in economic development.

The secretary General of the UNHRC Prince Said Ra’ad Al Hussein is expected to visit Sri Lanka this week. He is sure stress Sri lanka adhere to the resolution it co-sponsored.

Sri Lanka has been checkmated..

UPALI COORAY

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