{"id":103099,"date":"2013-09-01T00:05:46","date_gmt":"2013-08-31T18:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=103099"},"modified":"2013-09-05T01:50:26","modified_gmt":"2013-09-04T20:20:26","slug":"taking-stock-of-navi-pillais-worst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/taking-stock-of-navi-pillais-worst\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Stock Of Navi Pillai\u2019s \u2018Worst\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Malinda Seneviratne<\/a><\/span>\u00a0–<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Malinda Seneviratne<\/p><\/div>\n

The lady came. She saw.\u00a0 She was honest enough to say that although this is her longest visit to any country as head of UNHRC<\/a><\/span>, she didn\u2019t see much.\u00a0 That\u2019s her problem though and she can\u2019t complain, having sat on an invite for more than two years.\u00a0 She came, she saw, and she released a statement.\u00a0 What has she said and what should one make of it?<\/p>\n

Well, it depends who is trying to make what of what she has said of course, but let\u2019s take a stab at it anyway.\u00a0 Let\u2019s first state bias (something that \u2018neutrals\u2019 who are ideologically driven contrary to claim do not).\u00a0 I am suspicious of Navi Pillay<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 She is selective in her targeting of countries, plays pussycat to big name nations and acts tiger to nations that big name nations she\u2019s terrified of want to target for censure.<\/p>\n

She is quick to pick up horror stories, slow to check reliability of source.\u00a0 She has the gumption to talk about which department best fits which ministry and about constitutional enactments of her preference, as though she is Viceroy, but is tight-lipped about the US Patriot Act. Tokenism is her \u2018out\u2019 when it comes to Sri Lanka\u2019s detractors, imply that allegation is proven crime her pat-line on Sri Lanka.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t compare and contrast because that would amount to stripping in public.\u00a0 Understandable.<\/p>\n

But what has she said?<\/p>\n

She says Sri Lanka is heading towards authoritarian rule.\u00a0 Correct.\u00a0 Not news.\u00a0 That piece of \u2018news\u2019 is 35 years old (someone should give her a copy of the 1978 Constitution<\/a><\/span>).\u00a0 Can it be changed? Yes.\u00a0 The Government has the numbers.\u00a0 But do politicians have the will?\u00a0 Are we na\u00efve enough to believe that those with power will agree to have wings clipped?\u00a0 Saying and doing are two different things.\u00a0 Criticism is good, political activism is better, but regime-change projects are different from system-change projects.\u00a0 Tougher.<\/p>\n

As for her enumeration of various \u2018disturbing developments\u2019 she is perhaps swayed by inflated versions of interested parties.\u00a0 Inflation serves politicians and detracts from the aggrieved.\u00a0 On the ground, there is disappointment, but is there widespread \u2018horror\u2019?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 That\u2019s unfortunate of course, but Pillay can blame the inflators, for the people are not unaware of their track records during and after the long struggle to rid the country of the terrorist menace.<\/p>\n

She has threatened Sri Lanka in no uncertain terms.\u00a0 She has said that if Sri Lanka doesn\u2019t set up credible (i.e. independent, comprehensive and transparent) processes to investigate allegations, then calls for international inquiry will continue.\u00a0 Leaving aside that the \u2018if\u2019, if complied with, never really resulted in the \u2018then\u2019 of if-then clauses as far as the movers and shakers of the international community are concerned, there\u2019s nothing to stop the Government of taking this as a positive and even friendly suggestion.\u00a0 The downside is that we live in a world where once a country is targeted, nothing done is deemed \u2018enough\u2019.<\/p>\n

The most important part of her missive is the following:<\/p>\n

\u2018The LTTE<\/a><\/span> was a murderous organization that committed numerous crimes and destroyed many lives.\u00a0 Those in the diaspora (sic) who continue to revere the memory of the LTTE must recognize that there should be no place for the glorification of such a ruthless organization.\u2019<\/p>\n

First, she should have mentioned those in Sri Lanka who \u2018revere the memory of the LTTE\u2019 to that note.\u00a0 Secondly, she should understand that the human rights activists and journalists she is concerned about (and whose glorious lies have been repeated enough, expanded, believed and written as fact in reports she has read and which no doubt color her reading) are part of that group.\u00a0 The Government can and must ask her to make the connection, with adequate substantiation of claim of course.\u00a0 Fourth, Messers Suresh Premachandran, R. Sampanthan, M. Sumanthiran and Chief Ministerial aspirant Wigneswaran<\/a><\/span> will now be required to explain their conduct vis-\u00e0-vis this \u2018diaspora\u2019, the diasporic-funds, moral support and so on.<\/p>\n

Whereas Pillay wants the Government to set up mechanisms to investigate allegations (note, \u2018allegation\u2019 is not the same as \u2018proven charge\u2019), she has squarely concluded that the LTTE committed crimes against humanity.\u00a0 Now the Government can insist that she follows up, by taking to task the approvers, beneficiaries and glorifiers of those horrendous crimes.<\/p>\n

The Government can and must take this as the base document for all future engagement with the UNHRC, with a permanent introductory note on all missives quoting Pillay\u2019s LTTE take.\u00a0 The Government can and must work out modalities for proper investigation, not because Pillay wants it, but the people need to know.<\/p>\n

She spoke<\/a><\/span> of \u2018truth, justice and reparations for people\u2019s suffering during the war\u2019. Excellent!\u00a0 Can Pillay please use her friends in high places to get the \u2018Diaspora<\/a><\/span>\u2019 to cough up on behalf of the LTTE?\u00a0 And can Pillay please ask Dr. Manmohan Singh to compensation Sri Lanka for Delhi\u2019s considerable role in causing untold suffering in Sri Lanka?<\/p>\n

As for authoritarian tendencies, Pillay must understand that it is our business and not the business of the international community.\u00a0 Pandering to the regime-change lobby will only give further credence to the general perception that the UN and UNHRC are out of order.\u00a0 That will strengthen regime.\u00a0 That will postpone democratization and put constitutional amendment on the back-burner (without gas).<\/p>\n

Her piece disappoints Eelamists and their tag-along circus of internally displaced politicians and ideologically misplaced ‘human rights activists’ and ‘journalists’ more than it would dismay the Government.\u00a0\u00a0 Pillay has done a poor \u2018worst\u2019, the Government might conclude.<\/p>\n

*Malinda Seneviratne is the Chief Editor of \u2018The Nation\u2019\u00a0and his articles can be found at\u00a0www.malindawords.blogspot.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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