SL: COLLAPSING OF RULE OF LAW!!!

NOTEBOOK OF A NOBODY

The collapsing rule of law............................................. by Shanie

The killing of a Sinhala medical officer working in the rural hospital of Navatkaadu in the Batticaloa District has raised serious concerns, as did the earlier killing of a Sinhala undergraduate at the Eastern University also in the Batticaloa District. These two were in the Batticaloa District not of their own choice but because they were sent there by the respective state authorities. From all reports, both got on very well in their respective areas. The medical officer was committed and dedicated to his work and very well liked in the community. The undergraduate was similarly well liked by his peers and teachers. What then is the explanation for these killings?

There have been other recent killings of Sinhalese before in the Batticaloa District. So also have many Tamils and Muslims been killed. Ethnicity does not appear to be the primary motive for these killings. Politics involving competing armed groups and the security forces seem the major factor. Palitha Padmakumara was a popular medical officer but he may have been a victim of the internecine warfare going on among the armed groups in the East. Locals say that he treated every person brought to him as a patient to be healed, in keeping with his Hippocratic oath. They speculate that it is possible that one armed group took exception to his having treated an injured from a rival group. They also speculate that the neighbouring civilian killed may have been the only eye-witness who could have identified the killers. While these are mere speculations, we may never learn the truth, as killers in all extra-judicial deaths remain unidentified and un-prosecuted because of "lack of evidence", Commissions of Inquiry notwithstanding.

Violence has become a fact of life in the daily lives of the people in the "liberated" East. The latest report of the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) is absolutely right when it states: "The current political and human rights situation in East Lanka portends a dismal future for democracy and security in Lanka as a whole. The LTTE has regrouped and is carrying out regular attacks and there is a reported upsurge in incidents of abduction, searches and abuse of women by government security forces and allied paramilitaries. In the East where the Government’s public relations men boast of development and the restoration of democracy, there is greater fear, uncertainty and a deliberate cultivation of communal tensions."

The recent killing in Athurugiriya of Nandagopalan, a Personal Secretary to Chief Minister Chandrakanthan (aka Pillayan), falls into the same pattern of extra-judicial killings. As in previous instances, initial reports were quick to place the blame on the LTTE. But Pillayan was equally quick to discount the LTTE as being responsible, though he was diplomatic enough not to name his understanding of the killers. But a report attributed to military intelligence that Nandagopalan was a suspected RAW agent gives us a clue.

All this violence, not only the killings but the abductions and intimidation of journalists and others who dare to dissent, is symptomatic of the collapsing rule of law in our country. Perpetrators of violence get away scot free and seem immune from prosecution. Violence once let loose with the perpetrators enjoying immunity, cannot be controlled. It will in due course consume even the perpetrators. In the process, it will destroy all the institutions of democracy and the very fabric of society.

In the case of the violence against Dr Raja Johnpulle in Anuradhapura (before his assassination), a leading Buddhist monk says he was an eye-witness and has named those who were in the mob that burnt Johnpulle’s house. The Magistrate has been pursuing this lead but he comes up against a brick wall when the investigators say that the suspects will not talk, meaning presumably that they are unable to proceed. This is why we need independent commissions that, free from political interference, will restore professionalism in our public services.


Violation of the 17th Amendment

For good and just governance, our Constitution is based on the separation of the three arms of the government – the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. The 17th Amendment was introduced to ensure that this separation of powers is effective by having independent commissions. By willfully disregarding its constitutional duty, the government stands condemned for politicising the different Commissions. With his past record of being a champion of human rights who brought a sense of pluralism and justice to our public life, much was expected from the Presidency of Mahinda Rajapakse.

One of his predecessors used cunning and chicanery to stifle dissent and divide the opposition. He also politicised all the institutions of government. Police Officers who broke the law in dealing with his political opponents were openly rewarded with promotions. He even declined to hold a parliamentary election, instead manipulating a fraudulent referendum with gun-toting politicians inside election booths. In the end, the violence unleashed by him consumed all his political associates and his own legacy remains discredited with many blaming him for the state of our ethnic conflict today. Surely that is not the legacy that Mahinda Rajapakse wants to leave behind?

The Jayawardene Legacy

We continue from where we left off in our column last week. The Jayawardene era saw many good people remaining silent in the face of the violence and abuses. Indeed, it was not mere silence. Many good people applauded and supported Jayawardene when he deprived his principal political opponent of her civic rights by introducing vague new laws and himself appointing hand-picked judges to hear the case; when striking workers were subject to bicycle chain attacks and dismissed from their jobs; when Supreme Court judges and respected citizens like Professor Sarathchandra were subject to violence when they dared to challenge the regime; when undated letters of resignation were obtained from parliamentarians; when a sham of a referendum was proposed; when political groups were outlawed and left politicians (including some present cabinet ministers) jailed following the July 1983 pogrom in an unsuccessful attempt to show the world that it was the left parties and not his party that was not responsible for the pogrom.

In the Presidential Election of 1982, his principal opponent was Hector Kobbekaduwa. Many good people supported his re-election at that stage. It was only in the Tamil areas of the North and East that a majority of electors voted for Kobbekaduwa, despite there being a powerful Tamil candidate in Kumar Ponnambalam. Jayawardene repaid the Tamils for this ‘act of treachery’ by declaring next year that he did not care what happened to the Tamil people. The July 1983 pogrom occurred soon after.

President Rajapakse will do well to avoid a repetition of the arrogance and abuse of power of the first Executive President. Jayawardene had many hurrah-boys in his time but found himself bereft of support when needed in the end.. Diverting attention from a people’s economic woes by publicising military successes will keep people happy for a time. But in the end, it is only the observance of the rule of law and ensurance of human rights, justice and dignity for all people that will lead to a lasting legacy.

The country is undoubtedly in an economic and political crisis situation. Economically, we are heading towards an increasing debt trap, taking on new debts to repay existing debts. The cost of living is just going through the roof. If the GSP plus privileges are not renewed, our woes will increase dramatically. Politically, the minorities feel alienated – embracing the political agenda of the majoritarian supremacists only alienates the minorities further. On both fronts, it is within the capacity of President Rajapakse and his party to change course and lead the country out of this crisis. But they must have the political will do so.

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