{"id":105017,"date":"2013-09-12T08:45:35","date_gmt":"2013-09-12T03:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=105017"},"modified":"2013-09-16T02:16:59","modified_gmt":"2013-09-15T20:46:59","slug":"a-reply-to-prof-carlo-fonseka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-reply-to-prof-carlo-fonseka\/","title":{"rendered":"A Reply To Prof Carlo Fonseka"},"content":{"rendered":"

By R.M.B Senanayake<\/a><\/span> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

R.M.B. Senanayake<\/p><\/div>\n

Prof Carlo<\/a><\/span> ( hereinafter called CF) has returned to the original issue\u00a0now dragging various other personalities to the debate, In his first\u00a0criticism of my article he stated that ethical and moral values are\u00a0only for individuals and not for governments. He also argued that\u00a0human behavior , moral or otherwise ( not moral values) are the\u00a0product of evolutionary biology. These are the issues particularly the\u00a0latter.<\/p>\n

I pointed out that whatever the origins of human behavior there is a\u00a0<\/span>case for moral judgments on the behavior of individuals. He argued\u00a0that the State is not bound by any moral code. Now he drags Dr\u00a0Jayantha Dhanapala citing his argument elsewhere that foreign policy\u00a0must be pragmatic. He has never justified the violation of the moral\u00a0code and obviously his pragmatism criterion assumes that whatever\u00a0actions are taken in the pursuit of pragmatic foreign policy must be\u00a0ethical as well.CF seems to be a moral nihilist who thinks there are\u00a0no moral values.<\/p>\n

Lord Devlin, in an essay “Morals and the Criminal Law” in The\u00a0<\/span>Philosophy of Law (ed R M Dworkin) Oxford (1977) at p 74 said: If men\u00a0and women try to create a society in which there is no fundamental
\nagreement about good and evil they will fail; if having based it on\u00a0common agreement, the agreement goes, the society will disintegrate.\u00a0For society is not something that is kept together physically; it is
\nheld by the invisible bonds of common thought. If the bonds were too\u00a0far relaxed the members would drift apart. A common morality is part\u00a0of the bondage. The bondage is part of the price of society; and
\nmankind, which needs society, must pay its price.”<\/p>\n

There are various UN rights Declarations and the Laws of War and\u00a0<\/span>Humanitarian Law which are the bedrock of International Law which is\u00a0binding at least on those countries that have signed up to as members\u00a0of the UN and \u00a0accepted its Declarations. Of course the UNO is not a\u00a0strong organization \u2013 not a form of world government or a body that\u00a0can hold States to account for the violation of International law or\u00a0UN Declarations. \u00a0But to argue that each Sate can pursue its own\u00a0interest untrammeled by any moral principles is not a position that\u00a0the majority of States or people will uphold. So the UN has not been\u00a0inhibited in criticizing the human rights records of some States. It
\ndoes criticize those States which engage in atrocities against their\u00a0own people particularly ethnic and religious minorities. CF says there\u00a0is no reason for the State to accept my moral code. \u00a0I have not
\nauthored any such moral code but may have passed judgments on the\u00a0basis of a commonly accepted moral code binding human beings. States\u00a0are a collection of human beings who wield power. They may do so for\u00a0their own selfish purposes \u00a0to exercise and strengthen their power. I\u00a0hope CF doesn\u2019t call into question the UN moral code regarding the\u00a0unjust treatment of its people or some of its people by the state.<\/p>\n

Machiavelli and Kautlya are two philosophers who argued that the ruler\u00a0should enhance and consolidate his power by any means- by hook or by\u00a0crook. So Hitler who came to power through a free election and\u00a0consolidated his power by suppressing all those who would criticize or
\noppose his actions. The Lutheran Church originally supported him but\u00a0when they saw his ruthless killing of the Jews and the suppression of\u00a0those against \u00a0Bishop Bonheoffer opposed him and \u00a0was executed on\u00a0trumped up charges of a conspiracy \u2013 a favorite ploy of dictators.\u00a0Hitler thought the German race should be kept pure and believed in a\u00a0Jewish conspiracy to undermine the German race. So he inaugurated the\u00a0holocaust and killed 6 million Jews. The world considers this genocide\u00a0and a crime based on the moral commandment that no human being should\u00a0be killed..<\/p>\n

Although CF thinks that a state is free to pursue its national\u00a0<\/span>interests violating the human rights of its subjects the UN will not\u00a0accept such an attitude. The world does not recognize that a ruler can\u00a0resort to any action in the national interest as perceived by him. CF\u00a0thinks that a State is free to pursue its national interest such as to\u00a0maintain the territorial integrity. Serbia thought so and massacred\u00a0thousands of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica. Such action is considered\u00a0a war crime and the Serbian ruler Milosevic was tried before the\u00a0International War Crimes Tribunal. \u00a0Milosevic was charged for war\u00a0crimes as were several rulers of countries like Somalia, Kenya, and\u00a0the Congo etc. As I keep pointing out the positive aspect of ethics is\u00a0distinct from the normative aspect. CF can keep saying that there is\u00a0no moral code binding on States but the world\u2019s people don\u2019t seem to\u00a0agree<\/p>\n

CF says \u201cit is not ethics but the anti-thesis of it namely economic\u00a0<\/span>self interest that governs relations between nations\u201d. May be so but\u00a0the distinction between the positive and the normative cannot be\u00a0ignored. International Law and the UN Declarations don\u2019t permit a\u00a0State to violate the accepted moral code among States in such pursuit\u00a0of national interest.<\/p>\n

Whether there is still a need to resort to force to counteract the\u00a0<\/span>Tamil separatists or not is a matter for the Defense authorities and I\u00a0certainly don\u2019t consider myself a judge of such a situation. But the
\nlaws of war and humanitarian laws cannot be violated in any such\u00a0exercise of force in the past, the present or the future. Those waging\u00a0such war cannot say they are free to do anything in the national\u00a0interest which is to preserve the territorial integrity of the\u00a0country.<\/p>\n

CF also draws out another argument against a moral code. He says moral\u00a0<\/span>values are relative. Bu many believe accept certain core moral values\u00a0as contained in the Ten Commandments. The UN Declarations on Human\u00a0Rights are based on such core values. So is International Law. Today\u00a0there is discussion of the use of chemical weapons. Yes most people\u00a0and even States would agree that chemical weapons should not be used\u00a0in war. It is said that in the war of Rama and Ravana Lakshmanan\u00a0prohibited the use of poisoned arrows. Here lies the core moral\u00a0values. Of course animal rights are not accorded the same status in\u00a0this core value system. Buddhism equates animals with human beings and\u00a0opposes animal slaughter for human consumption. But this seems to be a\u00a0relative moral value for mankind as a whole does not accept such a\u00a0moral value however noble it may be.<\/p>\n

CF \u00a0raises another very fundamental question: What is the basis of\u00a0<\/span>authority in ethics? \u00a0To somebody who thinks ethics is only relative\u00a0the source of ethics may well be the society. So in certain African
\nsocieties in the past cannibalism was practiced. I would say it is a\u00a0violation of the core moral values. But if there is no such core moral\u00a0values and all moral values are relative to each society then\u00a0cannibalism would be justified. Many people hold certain values such\u00a0as are contained in the Ten Commandments as part of the core of\u00a0permanent moral values and all other religions also have such values\u00a0in their dogmas. If moral values are relative then the authority may\u00a0be the society. But speaking for myself my authority for the core of\u00a0moral values is God himself who gave Moses the Ten Commandment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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