OPPOSITION COOPERATION IS

NECESSARY FOR CREDIBILITY IN

TACKLING INTERNATIONAL PROBE--JEHAN
PERERA
18 August 2014
The government is financing more lobbying companies in the US to change the minds
of the US leadership. t has been the United States that has been most strongly
pushing for an international investigation into the conduct of the last phase of the !ar.
"ut it is not going to be so easy as influencing the #resident of the United States
through lobbying companies. $or the government%s efforts to be successful it has to
sho! progress in t!o areas that convinces the international community. $irst& it has to
come up !ith a superior alternative to the U' investigation that is no! under!ay.
Second& it has to sho! that it is serious about practices of good governance that !ill
support such an alternative mechanism. (o!ever& the government is having setbac)s
in both areas !hich is not a recipe for success& but is one for failure.
The government%s bid to strengthen the national commission appointed by the
#resident to investigate missing persons has induced it to !iden the mandate of that
body very significantly. As a result the priorities of the commission ay have to shift
a!ay from dealing !ith the issue of missing persons to other comple* issues of
international humanitarian la! and !ar crimes that !ere not part of its original
mandate. The +hairman of the +ommission on ,issing #ersons has made it clear that
the +ommission itself did not as) for the international advisors to the commission !ho
have been appointed. n fact they have yet to meet formally& even though a month has
elapsed since the first three members of the international advisory team !ere
appointed.
n addition& the decision to e*pand the international advisory group is li)ely to lead to a
dilution of its effectiveness. -hile the initial three appointments !ere ac)no!ledged to
be international e*perts in the field of !ar related offenses& the subse.uent
appointments appear to be more ad hoc. The international advisor appointed from
ndia is not a high profile figure !ho has dealt !ith issues arising out of !ars& but a
person !hose main involvement has been in rural litigation. The initial challenge is for
the government to be able to sho! its detractors that it is serious about tac)ling the
problems of human rights and accountability that accompanied the !ar& and that the
strengthened mandate of the +ommission on ,issing #ersons and the international
advisors !ill be e.ual to the tas). So far there has been no acceptance of it by the
opposition& let alone the international community.
/0/+T12A0 STA3/S
The decision of senior members of the U'# and T'A to testify at the nvestigation into
!ar crimes launched by the U' (uman 2ights +ommissioner& despite the
government%s empo!erment of its o!n ,issing #ersons +ommission& is an indication
of the polari4ed nature of Sri 0an)an politics. Unfortunately& the government%s inability
and un!illingness to !or) !ith the opposition in solving the problem has e*acerbated
the problem for the government. The polari4ation !ithin the polity can be attributed at
least partly to the e*igencies of electoral politics. /lections to the Uva #rovince are
scheduled to be held ne*t month& and are !idely believed to set the stage for the
vitally important #residential and 5eneral /lections to follo!.
The problem is that sections !ithin the government see its survival in terms of
increasing& rather than decreasing& the polari4ation in society. The results of this
strategy have been seen in the voting patterns after the end of the !ar. Those areas
!here the ,uslim and Tamil people live in have a different pattern of voting as
compared to the areas !here the Sinhalese people live. n recent months the failure to
stop anti6 ,uslim activities and the apparent deference to "uddhist groups that attac)
the ,uslim community have caused a further polari4ation in society. "ut to the e*tent
that this polari4ation sustains the government%s ma7ority vote ban)& it appears to have
considered that the e*istence of polari4ation !ithin the country is a price that is !orth
paying.
The government has repeatedly stated that it !ill not cooperate !ith the U'
investigation as it is detrimental to the country%s sovereignty. (o!ever& the opposition
is doing the opposite of !hat the government has re.uired of Sri 0an)ans. There !as
speculation that the government might even ma)e it a legal offense for any Sri 0an)an
to go and testify before the investigation team. t is li)ely that such an action !ould be
supported by many of Sri 0an)a%s people as they agree strongly !ith the government
that defeating the 0TT/ !as the highest good& and any cost that !as borne !as !orth
it. Therefore& the government%s hardline strategy !ith regard to the international
community is more li)ely to bring it electoral dividends than the opposition%s strategy of
loo)ing to the international community for solutions.
$U2T(/2 #10A2SAT1'
(o!ever& there is also a further cause for the polari4ation !ithin the polity !hich has
nothing to do !ith the issue of !hether or not Sri 0an)ans and political parties !ill
cooperate !ith the international investigation. This is the government%s continuing
practice of deciding on important national issues by itself. The issue of !ar crimes
provides a stri)ing e*ample. The government%s decision to invite international advisors
into Sri 0an)a to advise the +ommission on ,issing #ersons !as not ta)en after a
transparent decision ma)ing process. That decision !as ta)en unilaterally and in a
non6transparent manner !ith even most of the cabinet of ministers being ta)en by
surprise. n this conte*t it is going to be difficult to e*pect the cooperation of the
opposition in addressing important national issues.
#rior to the #resident%s surprise decision to appoint the international advisory panel to
the ,issing #ersons +ommission& there !as considerable interest in the South African
model of dealing !ith the past. At the present time& the South African initiative seems
to have been put into cold storage. "ut it is an offer !orth considering very seriously.
The role of South Africa !ould be to ensure that the highest standards of transparency
and that there !ill be fairplay to all sides in an inclusive process& and not only targeting
the government. Such a partnership !ith South Africa in pursuing the path of truth and
reconciliation can go a considerable part of the !ay to !in over many to support a
nationally driven process of truth and reconciliation but !hich has international
involvement.
The South African e*ample of reconciliation is today entrenched in the consciousness
of the international community as a success story. At the present time it seems that a
properly constituted and mandated Truth and 2econciliation mechanism !ith South
African support is the best option to transform Sri 0an)a%s internal and e*ternal
relationships in a positive direction. t re.uires the participation of all )ey sectors&
including the opposition. "y !ay of contrast& the international advisory group
appointed by the #resident !ithout consultation !ith other )ey sectors has not !on the
acceptance of )ey groups on the ground !hose support !ould be necessary to ma)e
the process a credible one. The "ishop of ,annar& 2ayappu 8oseph& !ho is an
important civil society and religious leader representing the 'orth& has re7ected the
+ommission on ,issing #erson.
The "ishop has !ritten to its +hairman that 9 have decided not to ma)e
representations before your commission. have over the years gro!n to be !eary of
domestic mechanisms in resolving serious in7ustices that Tamil people have faced over
the period of the !ar& prior to it and after its conclusion. 1ver the years many
commissions such as yours have been set up and there is absolutely no shred of
evidence that they have tac)led impunity. ,ost& if not all of these commissions have
provided only to be eye !ashers for the then 5overnments in po!er.:
The opposition%s decision to testify before the international investigators at a time
!hen the government is refusing to do so& !ill mean that the government loses on t!o
counts. $irst& the opposition participation in the U' investigation !ill increase the
credibility of the U' investigation. Second& it !ill mean that the government does not
present its o!n case before the investigators. n this conte*t& the government%s
appointment of international advisors to its strengthened +ommission on ,issing
#ersons !ill not yield the desired results. Unfortunately& the price to be paid for
encouraging polari4ation in society can also prove to be very high. f the government%s
strategies alienate the opposition !hose support is needed& the country can end up
the loser.
Posted by Thavam