UNHRC February-March sessions and price SL pays for 1979 PTA!

Geneva alleges harassment of civil society by CID, TID and State Intelligence

By Former MP, M.M Zuhair PC

On the 24th of this month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Michelle Bachelet is due to present to the UNHRC an updated report on the extent of grave human rights violations in Sri Lanka. The UNHCHR was strengthened last year with the setting up in Geneva of a special mechanism dedicated to monitoring such violations committed exclusively in Sri Lanka. The special mechanism was named ‘Sri Lanka Accountability Project’.

A preliminary report released on 26 Jan2022 by the Office of the High Commissioner states, “Given the demonstrated inability and unwillingness of government to advance accountability at the national level, it is time for international action to ensure justice for international crimes.” Contextually Bachelet is due to urge the member States of the UN once again, more emphatically this time, “to pursue investigations and prosecutions in their national courts – under accepted principles of extra territorial or universal jurisdiction – of international crimes committed by all parties in Sri Lanka.”

Clearly Sri Lanka is floundering not only on the essential food and fuel fronts within the country but also in the international front where Geneva’s benchmark recognition of Sri Lanka’s ‘demonstrated inability and unwillingness’ to advance accountability would possibly become the punch point at the February-March regular sessions of the Geneva headquartered UNHRC.

The possible punishments that may follow the Sri Lanka government’s alleged ‘inability and unwillingness’ might include UN member States considering “targeted sanctions, such as asset freezes and travel bans against credibly alleged perpetrators of grave human rights violations and abuses”. Perpetrators could include a wide range of State officials, members of the Cabinet who failed to prevent human right violations, prosecutors and judges who failed to uphold human rights obligations.

Going by past United States practices in this regard, targeted sanctions could extend to members of the family of the alleged perpetrators as well. Denial of visas may prevent perpetrators of grave violations of human rights in Sri Lanka and members of the families from travelling to sanctioning countries for medical, educational or other purposes.

“Amongst the worrying trends over the past year,” as identified in the forthcoming report of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR), include “increasing militarisation of government functions, ethno-nationalistic rhetoric and intimidation of civil society”. The early warning signals, the report highlights, include “reversal of important constitutional safeguards, political obstruction of accountability, exclusionary rhetoric, intimidation of civil society and the use of anti-terrorism laws”.

None of these accusations appear to have been effectively answered by Sri Lanka, though the UN Human Rights Commissioner’s office had, in preparing this report, sent to the Sri Lanka government detailed questions and the government had furnished written answers. This had been followed by a virtual meeting with government representatives on 7 January, 2022. It is to be noted that the government’s written answers and responses at the 7 January meeting and observations on the draft report of the Office of HCHR have not been released to the public here, possibly because the government has no convincing answers to the UNHCHR.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister told the 48th Session of the UNHRC on 14 September, 2021 that the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA) will be revisited to “bring it in line with international norms and best practices”. There was thus an unequivocal recognition by Sri Lanka at the relevant international forum, the UNHRC, that the PTA was not in line with ‘international norms and best practices’.

Indeed it was well known that the PTA as a whole was inconsistent with international laws and treaty obligations. It is violative of Sri Lanka’s fundamental rights provisions in the Constitution. PTA is basically persecutory, overriding time tested provisions in the Evidence Ordinance, the Penal code and the Criminal Procedure Code operative for nearly 150 years in several of the former British ruled Asian countries.

Forms of terrorism, including State terrorism existed by many names throughout mankind’s known history! Even legitimate resistances to State terrorism were often labelled terrorism. The PTA was enacted in 1979 in preference to dialogue. It played, soon after its enactment, a singularly major role in suppressing dissenting human voice, violating the freedom of expression. It had its own price! Tragically it multiplied terrorism instead of eradicating it! The country was saddled with 30 years of blood stained war. The war cost the country’s economy beyond its sustainable capacity. Our meagre resources ended up in the capitals of countries that exported wars. Today the people are struggling in queues for their daily essentials with no foreign earnings to pay for them.

But have we ended the discriminatory practices? The UN report states that more than 40 civil society organisations have reported harassment at the hands of a range of security services, including the CID, TID and State Intelligence officials and has urged an immediate end to all forms of surveillance. It warns that Tamil and Muslim minorities are being increasingly marginalised. “Divisive and discriminatory rhetoric from the highest State officials risks generating further polarisation and violence. Sri Lanka’s Muslim community was made a scapegoat, both in the context of COVID-19 and in the wake of the Easter attacks of April 2019”. Can these be denied? Arbitrary detention, torture and sexual violence affecting Sri Lankans of all communities have also been adverted to in the report to be presented to UNHRC.

What are we doing now? Sri Lanka is bringing Israel to help the country in defence and counter terror activities. So, the object is to continue targeting the minority Muslims with the help of a country that had for 75 long years ‘successfully’ deprived the Palestinians of their own country. Israel no doubt has expertise, not in eliminating terrorism but in sustaining terrorism, to keep over hundreds of arms manufacturing factories in Israel and the US working.

The very announcement (Sunday Times 06/02/2022) will drive away foreign investment vital for our survival, because the message to the world is that this country has not ended terrorism. Israel might also invite US-controlled ISIS here to justify and sustain its counter terror activities. Sri Lanka is one of the exceptionally few countries in the world that defeated terrorism! Israel is one of the countries that benefited from the 30 year war in Sri Lanka by selling, not gifting, weapons to us. Israel prospered. We ended up in queues for our daily needs! We can continue the folly, similar to the organic fertiliser episode that has ruined the country’s agriculture!

It is important however to note that many believe that some of the human rights violations here are perceived to be orchestrated by foreign elements said to be working for the agents of the Western arms industry. Some of the anti-minority and Islamophobic rhetoric have reportedly originated through non-State foreign actors as well as some from neighbouring countries. Sri Lankan Muslims also believe that the Easter attacks are being exploited by anti-religious foreign elements for various reasons including the Sri Lankan Muslims’ non-support for LTTE’s three decade war to set up a separate State in North-East Sri Lanka.

It is in this background that we need to look at the Foreign Ministry’s floppy attempt to flirt with the PTA instead of repealing it or in the alternative bringing it in line at least with the fundamental rights provisions in the Constitution. It is a pity that international organisations have to compel the Sri Lanka government to update the repressive laws used against Sri Lanka’s own citizens across the board.

The problem is also in the demonstrable unwillingness to apply the draconian PTA to majoritarian violators of the law in Aluthgama, Digana and Minuwangoda, but only to Muslims implicated in the Mawanella Buddha statue incident! The Easter attacks were continuously kept alive by politicians and sections of the media, way beyond any reasonable need, as if to take revenge on the Muslim minority for staying on the side of the majoritarian State during the 30 year war.

The “demonstrated inability and unwillingness” of the government to give dignity to a genuinely patriotic segment of its own citizenry, at one point of time under the previous administration, with arrests exceeding 2000 in number, under the pretence of eliminating terrorism – though the entirety of the real terrorists of 21/04 perished on day one – will haunt the country for years to come. That in short is the plight of the true patriots of mother Sri Lanka!

The role of elements across the Palk Strait were ignored and left untouched, because they were too powerful to be called for justice and accountability. Those criminally faulted for inciting hatred, by a Parliamentary Select Committee and by a Presidential Commission were left unpunished while some amongst them got elevated to positions unworthy of their past record!

Nonetheless, the community will never forget the forbearing leadership given under extremely trying circumstances by the Church full of 21/4 victims and by many notable Buddhist priests. It’s time to bury the PTA instead of the country!