{"id":111390,"date":"2021-02-06T16:24:53","date_gmt":"2021-02-06T23:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=111390"},"modified":"2021-02-06T16:24:53","modified_gmt":"2021-02-06T23:24:53","slug":"its-time-for-the-geneva-circus-replete-with-molehills-and-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/02\/06\/its-time-for-the-geneva-circus-replete-with-molehills-and-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s time for the Geneva Circus replete with molehills and mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by Malinda Seneviratne Courtesy The Island<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Circus Pacifica, Apollo Circus and of course the amazing Chinese Circus \u2014 readers of an earlier generation will no doubt remember these. The Apollo Circus however planted itself on Pedris Park for quite awhile, but the others were rare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the antics of politicians, political parties, activists of various persuasions and of course the NGO rat pack compensated. They have entertained us even as they went about their charades, clowning, sleight of hand, somersaults and such, prompting quite a few oohs and aahs from an audience that wasn\u2019t exactly applauding in unison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We could never look forward to the real circuses. We didn\u2019t have to anticipate with bated breath the political circus. However, there\u2019s one which comes around every year around February. The Geneva Circus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are essentially two scripts: one to be used when a US-friendly or rather servile-to-the-USA government is in power and the other when the regime is not willing to play ball with eyes closed. In the first case, we get co-sponsored anti Sri Lanka resolutions, soft deadlines, much forgiving and forgetting. The run-up to the UNHRC sessions are not marked by Washington-led media outfits badmouthing Sri Lanka. The separatist groups abroad are in \u2018go-easy\u2019 mode. Human rights outfits barely murmur \u2018concerns.\u2019 Their local counterparts go into hibernation and the slumber is so deep that they don\u2019t have the eyes to see any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, we are not in that situation right now. It\u2019s \u2018the other guys\u2019 in power and perforce it\u2019s the second script that\u2019s being played. This is how it goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It begins with the collection\/construction of evidence. There are claims that strangely (and by now predictably) are filed without substantiation. Non-movement on agreements that are no longer valid will be noted. There will be a lot of striving and straining to enumerate \u2018minority grievances,\u2019 and to this end, the local lackeys in political and NGO circles will do their bit. Statements will be issued by the representatives of nations that have clout in Geneva (the U.S. \u2018Cesspool of bias\u2019 description notwithstanding). All \u2018concerns\u2019 raised will be duly documented. Human rights outfits, international and local, silent for months, will suddenly find voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Sri Lanka\u2019s human rights situation has seriously deteriorated under the administration of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2021.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s Human Rights Watch. Absolutely predictable. It comes with \u2018evidence.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HRW claims that security forces have increased intimidation and surveillance of human rights activists, victims of past abuses, lawyers, and journalists.\u2019 If activists and claimants of past abuses, political operatives who conveniently wear the lawyer or journalist hat are upset about outcome preferences that haven\u2019t materialized feel some anxiety and want to call it \u2018intimidation\u2019 or \u2018surveillance\u2019 that\u2019s their right. A state cannot be faulted to be cautious, especially given a 30-year war against terrorism and a jihadist movement that unleashed terror on civilian targets that matched the worst of the LTTE. We don\u2019t even know if there was intimidation or surveillance. We do know that \u2018intimidation\u2019 is frequently fabricated, posted on dubious websites and photo-shopped into newspaper cuttings. We know that such \u2018evidence\u2019 is sent to the right addresses where the relevant householders lap it all up gleefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HRW is upset about Sri Lanka withdrawing from the resolutions co-sponsored by a more than mischievous minister on behalf of a government operating absolutely against popular will on the relevant issues. However, when the wording is regurgitated, it does sound ominous. It\u2019s as though Sri Lanka has decided that truth-seeking, accountability and reconciliation are irrelevant. That\u2019s hardly the case. Well, not \u2018Reconciliation = Eelamist Agenda\u2019 certainly, but those who preferred THAT version were booted out by the voter. HRW has missed the incontrovertible truth that even those who pushed that version, did an about turn, pledging in two major elections to uphold the unitary character of the state. As for the devolution element of reconciliation, not even its most ardent advocates seem interested in provincial councils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it\u2019s natural that the HRW feels a reversal in \u2018gains of the previous government.\u2019 HRW feels that minorities are \u2018more insecure, victims of past abuses fearful, and critics wary of speaking out.\u2019 That\u2019s what Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director of the outfit says. It\u2019s cut-and-paste stuff, nothing more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If \u2018security\u2019 is about a separatist agenda moving in the \u2018right direction,\u2019 sure, that\u2019s not happening. \u2018Victims of past abuses,\u2019 she says \u2014 well, such as? Critics? Does she mean those who were unofficial adjuncts of the political camp that lost? They are wary, are they? \u2018Wary\u2019 is certainly a politically more useful descriptive than, say, \u2018devastated by political defeats.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is certainly a more military presence in government. Systemic flaw and woeful incompetence by officials haven\u2019t really helped the President get things done, especially in a pandemic context. It\u2019s no secret that it is the security forces and the State Intelligence Service that have sacrificed the most, working tirelessly around the clock, to support the efforts of the medical teams fighting Covid-19. The retired officers (they are civilians now, let us not forget) haven\u2019t done worse than those they replaced as heads of certain key institutions. In fact, in certain cases, they\u2019ve managed to streamline operations, cut costs and get things done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HRW says \u2018they were, like the President, implicated in war crimes.\u2019 Here we go again! Accusation treated as established fact in a political project which is not described as such, naturally. HRW makes much of the USA announcing that General Shavendra Silva was ineligible to enter that country. Oh dear! The USA passes judgment and that\u2019s the last word? This is the point where the clowns do their turn. Loud applause and much laughter follow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HRW talks of a \u2018false accusation on social media that Muslims were deliberately spreading the virus.\u2019 Lots happen on social media. Some take it seriously, some don\u2019t. HRW seems to have done some surveillance and cherry-picked. Good for HRW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HRW does better on the issue of burials\/cremation. The Government has not sanctioned burial. Yet. The issue has been politicized by multiple parties, Muslim politicians included. Maybe HRW is not interested in delving into the details and the complexities, but the Government could (still) act in ways that alleviate the apprehensions of the Muslim community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The High Commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet has also made the expected noises, flagging \u2018freedom of expression\u2019 issues related to what she calls \u2018criticism of the government\u2019s handling of the Covid-19 situation.\u2019 This is not the time to be mischievous and some certainly were, and that, Bachelet and HRW will not agree, can have serious impact on the entire population. The nice thing about it is that neither HRW nor UNHRC has to do the cleaning up when the smelly stuff hits the fan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ganguly ends with some poetry. Nice. \u2018Concerned governments should do all they can to prevent Sri Lanka from returning to the \u2018bad old days\u2019 of rampant human rights violations. Governments need to speak out against abuses and press for a UN Human Rights Council resolution that addresses accountability and the collection and preservation of evidence.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerned governments, she says. Does she mean the USA, UK and those in the EU? Laugh, ladies and gentlemen. That\u2019s what you do when the circus comes to town!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, the EU too. The EU has, as expected when the Geneva Circus is around the corner, \u2018raised concerns\u2019 on human rights. The wording is identical, almost: inclusiveness, reconciliation and fair treatment of minorities.\u2019 The EU office has also tweeted that it is \u2018saddened by the destruction of the monument at the Jaffna University.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the story there? Students cannot put up structures at will on state property. If the monument was sanctioned, the person who gave permission was the first culprit. However, having allowed it or turned a blind eye to it (as the case may be), it is wrong to arbitrarily raze it to the ground. The Vice Chancellor opined that it was an obstacle to reconciliation. The students\u2019 response (\u2018we tell the Sinhala Government\u201d that we don\u2019t want to fight a war, we just want to honor our dead\u2019) seems to justify his position, but that\u2019s a different matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If students want to celebrate brutes, that says a lot about the students. However, if it\u2019s about remembering kith and kin, that\u2019s another matter altogether. If that\u2019s the case, though, why make a political fuss about it? Why turn it into a circus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VC has since done a U-Turn and even laid the foundation for a replacement monument. The government missed a trick here. It could have engaged the students. It could have discussed the possibility of a monument before which anyone could grieve, especially the near and dear for the temperature of their tears are the same and truer than those shed by the politically motivated. Could have, should have, still can do. Never too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are circuses and circuses. Some International, some local. We had the US Ambassador finding her voice after a long silence to express dismay over the assault on the Capitol Building in Washington DC. \u2018We will continue to try to be more perfect,\u2019 she pledged. So, the USA and everything in that country including racism, police brutality and a foreign policy that\u2019s only about securing markets, plundering resources and bombing countries to the middle ages if that\u2019s what pursuing strategic interests entails, is \u2018perfect.\u2019 That\u2019s the claim. Laugh ladies and gentlemen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week also saw an incarceration drama. Ranjan Ramanayake was sentenced to a four year prison term for contempt of court. Naturally, the opposition cried \u2018foul.\u2019 Ranjan\u2019s ethics are obviously of the kind that makes \u2018foul\u2019 a weak descriptive. He did rant and rave in ways that others did not. He did insult the judiciary. He demanded an independent judiciary but was caught on tape (his own) promising to intercede on behalf of a judge, taking her case to the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (yes, under whose watch HRW and the UNHRC says \u2018there was progress\u2019!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was there political motivation at work in the court decision? We don\u2019t know. We can speculate though. Speculation on this count was fueled by the acquittal of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan allies Pilleyan, former Chief Minister, Eastern Provincial Council and leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ranjan in, Pilleyan out! How horrendous! That\u2019s the line the Opposition took.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, Pilleyan belonged to a terrorist organization. That\u2019s bad. He was accused of murder. That\u2019s not good. However, on that particular charge, his innocence has to be presumed until and unless proven guilty. He was held for five years without trial. Five years! That\u2019s when the government which HRW and Bachelet believes \u2018made some progress.\u2019 Those making a song and dance about Ranjan\u2019s sentence and about \u2018the lawyer\u2019 Hejaaz Hizbullah being held without trial over suspected involvement in the Easter Sunday attacks, weren\u2019t upset over Pilleyan\u2019s incarceration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five years was long enough to find the evidence, but apparently the Attorney General couldn\u2019t make a case. That, or he bowed to political pressure. The former indicates that his predecessor was playing politics with justice. The latter, if that\u2019s the case, doesn\u2019t cover the current Attorney General in glory. However, all this is speculation. We really don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe investigations regarding Hizbullah are incomplete. He\u2019s been under custody for many months. Not yet \u2018years.\u2019 Years, however, is the time-slice in the case of LTTE cadres currently in detention. Neither the previous regime nor this has moved to bring matters to a close. It would be a horrible travesty of justice if they are finally released \u2018due to lack of evidence\u2019 or an unwillingness to continue with the prosecution (either of which could be the case with respect to Pilleyan). Not a laughing matter, ladies and gentlemen .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had the President slipping in Ampara over the last weekend. To be fair by him, the President has been badgered endlessly by Harin Fernando from day one. The President responded in jest, but what he said was not really funny. He alluded to Prabhakaran and how that terrorist\u2019s life ended. Unnecessary. Unbecoming. Harin is, relatively, small fry and his political track record is so sketchy that responding to him constitutes a salute, an undeserved one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harin claimed he knew about the Easter Sunday attack AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT! Gotabaya Rajapaksa, during the election campaign, conducted himself well. He didn\u2019t utter one word about his fellow candidates. He focused on his program. He slipped. That\u2019s no laughing matter either, even though people are making a mountain out of a molehill here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was noise over the East Terminal of the Colombo Port. The unions and several political parties objected. They met with the President. The talks were disappointing, they said. The President said it will not be sold. He said it\u2019s a joint venture with a minority control for the Indian port development company. He didn\u2019t say that the same company is building a competitor-port in Kerala. Obviously there\u2019s \u2018understanding\u2019 that\u2019s not been put into words and made public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously the (virtual) sale of the Hambantota Port by the previous regime has constrained the President vis-a-vis Indian \u2018concerns\u2019. The President has gone on record to say that India\u2019s national security concerns will not be compromised by Sri Lanka. There\u2019s a cheque being cashed by India but we don\u2019t know what we got in return. The vaccine? That\u2019s a laugh \u2014 in any case 99.5% of the infected recover, the vaccine is still an unknown quantity and there are alternatives out there in the vaccine market. A (nominal) buffer in Geneva? Possible but again, we do not know. Such things are not said. Arms are not twisted in public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A government besieged (as this one is) has few options. Geneva is a circus but not one where the Sri Lankan delegation will get to laugh. The Government has one trump. Not Donald. The people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 by Malinda Seneviratne Courtesy The Island Circus Pacifica, Apollo Circus and of course the amazing Chinese Circus \u2014 readers of an earlier generation will no doubt remember these. The Apollo Circus however planted itself on Pedris Park for quite awhile, but the others were rare. Perhaps the antics of politicians, political parties, activists of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-malinda-seneviratne"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111390\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}