Eastern election - symbol of the new order
Prof Rajiva Wijesinha
Certainly there are areas in which the human rights record can be
improved, and the Government has already taken steps to deal with issues
raised by Special Rapporteurs such as Phillip Alston and Manfred Novak
and Walter Kalin. But there are certain areas in which it could not
agree with certain claims, concerning which it asked for evidence, only
to be met with a deafening silence.
The most ridiculous of the claims was that of Government complicity
in the recruitment of child soldiers. This was not in fact asserted by
the designated Rapporteur Radhika Coomaraswamy, who has refrained from
finger pointing in that respect.
The same was not however true of her colleague, Alan Rock, who
published several unsubstantiated assertions which then had to be toned
down in the report of the Secretary General. He has still not responded
to requests for evidence.
UNICEF however, which also made some claims more circumspectly, did
when asked adduce one case in which they could cite time and place in
which some child soldiers had been waved through a military barrier.
This was promptly inquired into, and it was found that the
authorities had looked into the complaint and given a punishment
transfer to the personnel concerned. UNICEF was asked for details of any
further cases but provided none.
Similarly, the SLMM, when it was reporting on the question of child
soldiers, made it clear that it believed the LTTE was responsible for
the vast majority of such recruitment, and the Karuna faction for a
modicum, while there were allegations that the
Sri Lankan Armed Forces were involved in some of the latter. This was
promptly blown up by the main opposition newspaper in Sri Lanka into the
assertion that the SLMM had said the Government was responsible for
child abductions.
A complaint to the Press Complaints Commission, which is in effect
administered by the head of that newspaper group, was first refused, but
members of the Complaints Commission insisted that the case be heard and
the newspaper finally retracted. Unfortunately the damage had been done.
So too, with the recent Watchlist report which, even though it is
careful to talk only of allegations as far as recruitment of child
soldiers is concerned, has led to reports that suggest the Government is
guilty of this as well as many other crimes.
This is scarcely surprising, for the sensationalist publicity
produced by Watchlist to introduce its report carried the assertion that
'Every day the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Government
Armed Forces, and paramilitary groups, such as the armed wing of the
Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), commit heinous crimes against
children.'
Since Watchlist has to be careful with regard to allegations against
the Government concerning recruitment of children, it weighs in with
others that have nothing to do with children, including the hoary
assertion that 'the Government has committed grave abuses of human
rights.
Watchlist also claims that 'both the Government and the LTTE have
restricted or denied the delivery of vital humanitarian aid to the
Jaffna peninsula and the Vanni area in the North, certain areas in the
East and Government declared high security zones.' This again is
nonsense.
The Government has worked wonders to keep Jaffna well supplied, and
with most foodstuffs not only available but affordable, according to the
last UNHCR report on Welfare Centres.
All but one of the primary level children in those centres were in
school, so were most secondary level children, most had got the free
uniforms the Government supplies. Similarly, there were no shortages of
most goods in the Wanni, and the Government continued to maintain
schools and hospitals, paying all salaries, even in LTTE-controlled
areas.
The Watchlist claim about forced resettlement repeats the earlier HRW
claim, even though HRW also cited in the body of its report the UNHCR
assertion that resettlement satisfied its standards. Indeed the
resettlement programme in the East, which sent back to their homes most
of those displaced by the 2006/2007 hostilities, was a unique
achievement for countries in conflict.
In short, one could go on rebutting almost all the allegations
against the Government, whilst noting that with regard to problems that
it is acknowledged exist the Government has already planned remedial
measures.
The Government must develop confidence as regards the future of
children who suffered earlier, and it has also worked anxiously, in the
light of new more capable personnel at UNICEF, to develop mutual trust.
In this context it was heartening that 11 former combatants were
released for rehabilitation recently, whilst many more will be restored
to the custody of parents. This suggests that LTTE pressures are no
longer feared, but vigilance continues essential.
It is sad then that Watchlist does not recognise the transformation
that has taken place in the former Karuna faction, that the old order
has now changed. Karuna himself deserves credit for having moved away
from the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world, and for then
having left when the movement was transforming itself into a democratic
entity.
Confirmation of this transformation came with the peaceful local
Government elections in Batticaloa in March, the best symbol of the new
order being the lady who topped the poll in Batticaloa and became its
Mayor.
Her commitment to pluralist education is a sign of things to come,
though one of the reasons for her election, the fact that her father was
one of the Eastern politicians killed by the LTTE in 2004, is a reminder
of the grim background to recent developments.
Watchlist may continue to demonise a movement that is trying to
emerge from past darkness. It would be a pity if, by its relentless
criticism of the alternatives to terror, it succeeds in giving new life
to such terror by weakening the proponents of democracy and pluralism.
The writer is Secretary General, Secretariat for Coordinating the
Peace Process. |