{"id":48862,"date":"2015-10-22T19:38:03","date_gmt":"2015-10-23T02:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=48862"},"modified":"2015-10-22T19:38:03","modified_gmt":"2015-10-23T02:38:03","slug":"the-biased-oisl-report-and-the-dangers-of-disinformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2015\/10\/22\/the-biased-oisl-report-and-the-dangers-of-disinformation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Biased OISL Report and the Dangers of Disinformation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lasanda Kurukulasuriya<\/span>
\n<\/em><\/h2>\n
\n

Needless to say, officials circulating this type of clumsy propaganda do a disservice to the country\u2019s leaders, while also undermining public trust. An invitation to address the legislature of any State is generally considered a special honour. Was this embellished story intended to show that the new Government was held in \u2018high regard\u2019 by the world community after Geneva 2015?<\/p>\n

HRC and Sovereignty
\nThe bigger question that arises is whether other disinformation is taking place as well and whether, as a result, the public are being misled on the implications of the US-led resolution co-sponsored by Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council.<\/p>\n

The resolution in its present format has locked the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) into acceptance of the Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL), through Operative Paras 1 and 18. By uncritically accepting this country-specific resolution GoSL has created a precedent that would be detrimental to the interests of other developing countries too. No developing country (Asian, African, Latin American groups) signed on as co-sponsor of this resolution \u2013 except of course Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

With the concerned country itself having acceded to the terms of a resolution which permits interference in the domestic affairs of a member State, its friends in the HRC were compromised in voicing their opposition. Ironically it was India (and not Sri Lanka) that expressed concern over the issue of Sri Lanka\u2019s sovereignty. In comments following talks between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York, the Indian External Affairs spokesman expressed India\u2019s hope that the dual objectives of justice and Sri Lanka\u2019s sovereignty could both be met.<\/p>\n

Biased Report
\nSince the OISL Report is biased, it is difficult to see how a resolution that draws on it can deliver justice, leave alone reconciliation for Sri Lanka.\u00a0 At first glance the Report\u2019s language may appear \u2018sober and balanced.\u2019 Deceptively so. A closer look at its contents, and its gaps and omissions, betrays a serious lack of balance. Here are just a few points to consider:<\/p>\n

\"\"Needless to say, officials circulating this type of clumsy propaganda do a disservice to the country\u2019s leaders, while also undermining public trust\u00a0\u200b<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
  • In the \u2018Overview of Government, LTTE and other armed groups\u2019 (Ch.4) the Report has 10 pages on Government security forces and paramilitary groups allegedly linked to them, replete with charts, diagrams and tables illustrating chain of command and names of officers. On the LTTE, the Report has 3 pages.<\/li>\n
  • On the \u2018Conduct of hostilities\u2019 in the final phase of conflict (Ch.13) the Report has 7 pages on \u00a0allegations of violations leveled against government forces and less than 2 pages on allegations against the LTTE. Detailed testimony given by security forces personnel (to LLRC and MoD) on their knowledge of where civilians were located which they said helped to target fire so as to avoid civilian casualties, is perversely turned around by OISL to conclude that civilian casualties may have been anticipated, known and accepted by the Government and military leaders\u201d \u2013 in other words, deliberate.<\/li>\n
  • On Torture (Ch.9) the Report has 6 pages on allegations against the Government forces and half a page on allegations against the LTTE.<\/li>\n
  • Under \u2018Patterns of unlawful killings\u2019(Ch.6) the Report says over 1000 cases of alleged assassinations were reported to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). It does not mention that the vast majority of Ceasefire Agreement violations documented by the SLMM (over 3000) which were also the most serious, were by the LTTE.<\/li>\n
  • Written submissions to OISL relating to LTTE abuses were among 329 received from within Sri Lanka, while those received from outside Sri Lanka, presumably relating to abuses by Government forces, were almost ten times that number (\u2018Call for submissions\u2019 Ch.2).<\/li>\n
  • OISL says incidents in the section on unlawful killings (Ch. 6) are analyzed within the framework of International Human Rights Law (IHRL). But it fails to mention that IHRL does not apply to non-State actors like the LTTE. The entire section on IHRL (Ch. 5) is on the State party\u2019s responsibilities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    There is clearly an imbalance in the material that has been examined by OISL and in the methodology used. As a result its conclusions, based on a highly subjective \u2018reasonable-grounds-to-believe\u2019 standard, are also skewed. At every turn the Report refers to \u2018information obtained by OISL,\u2019 or \u2018information available to OISL,\u2019 or \u2018cases reported to OISL.\u2019 \u00a0If no information was received, it didn\u2019t happen, as far as OISL was concerned.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

    Though it is invisible in this Report, the heavy toll of civilian life taken by the LTTE throughout the country during 30 years of conflict\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n
    Human shields<\/div>\n

    For example, OISL says it \u2018received no information\u2019 that hospitals were used by the LTTE for military purposes. \u00a0There were no LTTE military installations placed inside hospitals; According to information received by the OISL,\u201d (p.153). OISL says the LTTE by placing military positions in densely populated areas contributed to civilian casualties by drawing fire. But it does not acknowledge that this was a deliberatestrategy used by the LTTE, especially during the latter stages of the war when they used \u00a0civilians as a human shield. This episode represents one of the LTTE\u2019s worst crimes against Tamils, whose cause they claimed to be fighting for.<\/p>\n

    A book titled \u2018Narrative III \u2013 the last stages of the war in Sri Lanka\u2019 giving a detailed account of how the last stage of the war was fought was submitted to the OHCHR. Its authors Dr. Godfrey Gunatilleke and Jeevan Thiagarajah, heads of two of Colombo\u2019s most respected NGOs, met the OISL team leader in Geneva. Their study said the majority of the LTTE\u2019s war crimes during the last phase were a result of this strategy.<\/p>\n

    So in this instance OISL\u2019s omission cannot be on account of \u2018information not being received.\u2019 OISL merely raises an eyebrow in relation to LTTE behaviour, saying it raised \u2018serious questions as to the intentions behind such acts.\u2019 It does not use the words \u2018systematic\u2019 and \u2018widespread.\u2019 Is this because to do so would have undermined the OISL\u2019s project of laying the groundwork for war crimes prosecutions against the Sri Lankan forces?<\/p>\n

    Invisibility of Sinhalese and Muslims<\/p>\n

    The High Commissioner for Human Rights when presenting the OISL Report to the Human Rights Council placed much emphasis on its \u2018victim focus.\u2019 There seems to be an assumption here that victims of the Sri Lankan conflict were only Tamils. Sinhalese and Muslim civilians targeted in LTTE attacks remain invisible in the Report. Under \u2018Unlawful killings\u2019 the Report says the LTTE killed individuals they believed to be cooperating with security forces and the Karuna Group as well as politicians, public officials, academics and other Tamils perceived as being moderates\u201d (p.49).\u00a0 Curiously there is no mention of civilians murdered in cold blood by the LTTE for no other purpose than to instill terror. There is no mention of the Sinhalese victims of massacres at Dollar and Kent Farms, at Anuradhapura bus stop and the Sri Maha Bodhi, Arantalawa, Temple of the Tooth (Dalada Maligawa) in Kandy, the villagers massacred at Kallarawa and Gongala, the Muslim worshippers gunned down in Kattankudy mosque etc, to name but a few.<\/p>\n

    Among the very few incidents relating to targeting of civilians by the LTTE, that the OISL Report mentions is the landmine attack on a busload of Sinhalese civilians at Kebithigollewa. But this is explained as retaliation for killings in LTTE controlled areas in the North and East. OISL mentions the LTTE\u2019s use of roadside claymore mines and suicide bombers, but suggests their main targets were security forces. Were \u2018security forces\u2019 the intended targets in the bomb attacks on the Central Bank, CTO, Pettah bus stop, Galadari Hotel, Dehiwela train and countless other public places too numerous to list? Civilians of all ethnicity perished in such attacks. They were targets and not collateral damage.<\/p>\n

    Collective memory<\/h3>\n

    Though it is invisible in this Report, the heavy toll of civilian life taken by the LTTE throughout the country during 30 years of conflict, often in a most inhuman and brutal manner is indelibly etched in the collective memory of the Sri Lankan people. It is part of their lived experience. Graphic and detailed accounts (with \u2018photographic evidence\u2019) of these incidents have been recorded in local media reports throughout the period. All the media could not have lied uniformly about these incidents. It remains a mystery as to why the OISL has left this huge gap in the material it chose to survey.<\/p>\n

    The Human Rights chief calls for the disbanding of the Paranagama Commission (with no reasons given) and for the setting up of some other independent institution to deliver justice in consultation with victims\u2019 families.\u00a0 It would be interesting to know if he envisages consulting families of victims\/victims\/survivors of LTTE attacks in such a mechanism (seeing that the resolution expressed concern for \u2018both sides\u2019).<\/p>\n

    Focus on Karuna<\/h3>\n

    From its treatment of the subject of LTTE killings, it is clear the OISL has great difficulty acknowledging that the LTTE is a terrorist group, and has failed to understand the true nature of this organization. In describing how the LTTE gained dominance over other Tamil militant groups it says it gradually asserted its authority as the so-called sole and legitimate representative\u201d of the Tamil people\u201d (p.33). The reader is given no inkling of the kind of internecine warfare that took place where the LTTE engaged in a process of ruthless elimination of its rivals, some of whom were burned alive in the streets of Jaffna.<\/p>\n

    There is a disproportionate focus on the Karuna Group and its alleged violations after breaking away from the LTTE. The references to crimes by the LTTE are on many occasions quickly deflected away from the LTTE and towards the Karuna Group. The reason for this particular imbalance could be that OISL\u2019s information in these instances came from the LTTE or LTTE-linked sources. Pages upon pages of the Report\u2019s text are based on unidentified witness\u2019 statements (footnoted as \u2018WS on file\u2019). The identities of these witnesses will never be known owing to the OISL\u2019s policy of secrecy in this regard. This leads to a further injustice, as those making grave allegations against not only Karuna Group but also against Sri Lanka\u2019s armed forces and political leadership, can never be cross examined.<\/p>\n

    Cover of anonymity<\/p>\n

    While many OISL\u2019s findings would be from authentic sources, the likelihood that false and distorted accounts would have been submitted under cover of anonymity by the LTTE, bent on revenge, does not seem to be factored in by the investigative team. \u00a0considering that the organization still operates a sophisticated propaganda machine and fundraising network overseas.<\/p>\n

    While its language may sound neutral, the OISL Report is actually biased in its content and prejudiced in its approach. Its conclusions seem to have been pre-judged and it works towards establishing them by using data selectively.\u00a0 The tragedy is that the main casualty in the process, the Sri Lankan State, has caved in and accepted it instead of mounting a spirited defence, for which it could have easily rallied the support of representatives of the \u2018majority world\u2019 in the UN.t the end of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe\u2019s recent visit to Japan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Mass Media and the Official Government News Portal announced that on 6th Oct the PM addressed the Parliament of Japan, known as the National Diet.\u00a0 In fact he did not. According to Japan\u2019s Yomiuri Shimbun he delivered a \u2018lecture session at an office building of House of the Representatives\u2019 lawmakers.\u2019 The Mass Media ministry and \u2018News.lk\u2019 further claimed that Wickremesinghe was the third world leader after Barack Obama and Narendra Modi to address Japan\u2019s Parliament. This too was a piece of fiction. Obama and Modi have never addressed the Diet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \u2013 See more at:\u00a0The Biased OISL Report and the Dangers of Disinformation<\/a><\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Lasanda Kurukulasuriya Needless to say, officials circulating this type of clumsy propaganda do a disservice to the country\u2019s leaders, while also undermining public trust. An invitation to address the legislature of any State is generally considered a special honour. Was this embellished story intended to show that the new Government was held in \u2018high regard\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48862","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=48862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48862\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}