{"id":115749,"date":"2013-11-25T10:30:09","date_gmt":"2013-11-25T05:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=115749"},"modified":"2013-12-01T16:11:51","modified_gmt":"2013-12-01T10:41:51","slug":"post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/","title":{"rendered":"Post-CHOGM Call For Accountability Needs To Be More Balanced"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jehan Perera<\/span><\/a> –\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Jehan<\/a>

Jehan Perera<\/p><\/div>\n

Within Sri Lanka, the government has reason to be satisfied with the\u00a0outcome of CHOGM. \u00a0President Mahinda Rajapaksa obtained the\u00a0Chairmanship of the Commonwealth which is being used politically\u00a0within the country to bolster the President\u2019s image. \u00a0However,\u00a0internationally, the die has been cast and the controversy surrounding\u00a0the end phase of Sri Lanka\u2019s war are going to get worse. \u00a0British\u00a0Prime Minister David Cameron\u2019s assertion that he would push for an\u00a0international investigation into the last phase of Sri Lanka\u2019s war\u00a0means there will be no going back on the issues of accountability.<\/p>\n

Now that CHOGM is over, the payback time has come. \u00a0With the British\u00a0Prime Minister putting his credibility on the line, and that of his\u00a0country, it can be expected that he will do his utmost to obtain the\u00a0support of other like-minded countries including the most powerful in\u00a0the world with whom the British have a special relationship.<\/p>\n

During his visit to Sri Lanka the British Prime Minister repeatedly\u00a0declared that its government must investigate the issue of human\u00a0rights violations in the last phase of the war before the next session\u00a0of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2014. \u00a0 He said that if an\u00a0investigation was not completed by March, he would use the UK’s\u00a0“position on the UN Human Rights Council to work with the UN Human\u00a0Rights Commission and call for a full, credible and independent\u00a0international inquiry”. \u00a0Having made his announcement in Sri Lanka and\u00a0set a deadline, the British Prime Minister will now be under further\u00a0pressure to ensure that he carries out his promise that he would push\u00a0for an international probe if the Sri Lankan government did not do so\u00a0on its own. \u00a0 The government has to consider this as the price it has\u00a0to pay for its own determination to host CHOGM and to obtain the\u00a0highest level of participation from the Mother Country of the\u00a0Commonwealth.<\/p>\n

The inclination of the Sri Lankan government would be to defy\u00a0international pressure in view of the public support it is receiving\u00a0within the country. \u00a0Prime Minister Cameron has come under severe\u00a0criticism within Sri Lanka for issuing this ultimatum to the\u00a0government. \u00a0Indeed, the main opposition party, the UNP, which\u00a0boycotted CHOGM on the grounds of the government\u2019s anti-democratic\u00a0conduct in the run-up to the summit, and the attempted physical\u00a0assault on its leader by government allies, has nevertheless publicly\u00a0declared its own opposition to an international investigation. \u00a0It\u00a0said that human rights violations, or any connected issues, should be\u00a0resolved within the country. \u00a0It also blamed the government for having\u00a0created the background for an international investigation \u201cby turning\u00a0CHOGM into an international human rights conference.\u201d The UNP\u2019s\u00a0position is reflective of the sentiments of the majority of the\u00a0Sinhalese people who have rallied to the side of the government on\u00a0account of Prime Minister Cameron’s threats.<\/p>\n

Double Standards \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

So far the Sri Lankan government\u2019s response has been to counter the\u00a0international calls for accountability with various counter arguments.\u00a0\u00a0They begin with the bland denial that the human rights violations and\u00a0atrocities that are alleged to have occurred, never occurred at all.\u00a0The terribly graphic video presentations of Channel 4 are denounced as\u00a0being fakes and pro-LTTE propaganda. \u00a0 The counter arguments end with\u00a0the denunciation of double standards, in which the failings of those\u00a0who accuse Sri Lanka are eloquently pointed out. \u00a0The drone attacks\u00a0that routinely kill civilians in the international war against terror\u00a0and the suppression of the Chilcott Commission report on the\u00a0antecedents of the Iraq war by the British government erode the moral\u00a0stature of those who call for punitive justice against the Sri Lankan\u00a0leaders who won their own war against terror.<\/p>\n

This is another reason for the rallying round of people within Sri\u00a0Lanka on the issue of what happened during the last phase of the war.\u00a0They see only one side being targeted for punishment. \u00a0But those who\u00a0committed serious human rights violations and war crimes, and who gave\u00a0moral and material support to enable these crimes to take place,\u00a0cannot be restricted to the last phase of the war only. \u00a0The Sri\u00a0Lankan war was characterized as a \u201cno-mercy\u201d war well before its last\u00a0phase. \u00a0Prisoners were seldom taken. \u00a0There was at least one occasion\u00a0in which the fall of an army base led to the death of nearly a\u00a0thousand soldiers, many of whom had single bullet shots to the head.\u00a0In another incident 600 policemen who surrendered to the LTTE were nexecuted.<\/p>\n

There was also the mass expulsion of nearly 100,000 of Muslim people\u00a0from the North by the LTTE. \u00a0 Any serious investigation into human\u00a0rights violations and war crimes would need to include that earlier\u00a0period if is to be seen as even-handed. \u00a0The investigation of war\u00a0crimes and human rights violations cannot be restricted only with\u00a0respect to the last phase of the war or the government only. \u00a0Those\u00a0who live in Sri Lanka, and who have followed the war and its\u00a0atrocities, would know that war crimes and human rights violations\u00a0occurred right throughout the three decade long war. Atrocities took\u00a0place under previous governments, most notoriously the anti Tamil\u00a0pogrom of 1983. \u00a0There were also allegations of foreign connivance in\u00a0some of the atrocities that took place.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Most Worthwhile\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Given the determination of the British Prime Minister, his assertion\u00a0that the problem would not go away, and the recurring nature of the\u00a0international challenge, the problem of accountability is not going to\u00a0go away on its own accord. The absence of balance lies in the\u00a0insistence on an investigation only into the last phase of the thirty\u00a0year war. \u00a0The narrow focus on the last phase of the war is seen by\u00a0many in Sri Lanka, and not only its government, as a partisan\u00a0intervention to punish it for defeating the LTTE. \u00a0At best it seems to\u00a0be a call for punitive justice for its own sake, rather than for\u00a0reconciliation. \u00a0This is a perception that has the potential to\u00a0generate vast sympathy for the government from across the political\u00a0spectrum. \u00a0The South African model of a Truth and Reconciliation\u00a0Commission would be an option that the Sri Lankan government might\u00a0wish to take and propose to the international community as an\u00a0alternative to the investigation sought by the British Prime Minister.<\/p>\n

Taking the bigger picture into account, and looking at what happened\u00a0over the longer period, an investigation with a mandate that is longer\u00a0than the last phase of the war would be necessary. \u00a0Indeed, Prime\u00a0Minister Cameron may also have left a way out for Sri Lanka. \u00a0This was\u00a0by this assertion that an international investigation would only\u00a0follow if the Sri Lankan government did not conduct its own\u00a0independent investigation by March 2014. \u00a0An option for the Sri Lankan\u00a0government to consider would be the offer from South Africa to assist\u00a0in the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission but with\u00a0a mandate to look into the entire phase of violent conflict and with\u00a0the power to grant amnesty. \u00a0President Jacob Zuma of South Africa\u00a0offered his country\u2019s experience in tackling the difficult issues of\u00a0post-conflict accountability to assist Sri Lanka after receiving a\u00a0request for such assistance. \u00a0However, they have maintained the\u00a0position that their experience cannot be replicated in any country but\u00a0that it could be looked at as a best practice and on that\u00a0understanding are ready to share.<\/p>\n

The onus is on the Sri Lankan government to move. The different\u00a0circumstances that obtained in South Africa at the end of the\u00a0apartheid period and Sri Lanka after the defeat of the LTTE need to be\u00a0recognized. \u00a0In South Africa those who fought against the government\u00a0prevailed, in Sri Lanka they lost. \u00a0There the victims suggested the\u00a0establishment of a Commission in the true spirit of reconciliation.<\/p>\n

Here the idea of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission is seen as an\u00a0effort to find a way out from accountability issues. \u00a0 Any\u00a0investigation of the past, either in the form of an international\u00a0inquiry or a national Truth and Reconciliation Commission would need\u00a0to win the acceptance of the different ethnic communities who\u00a0constitute the Sri Lankan people. \u00a0Finding the proper balance and\u00a0achieving truth, justice and reconciliation in Sri Lanka in these\u00a0circumstances is not going to be easy at all. \u00a0But it will be the most\u00a0worthwhile endeavour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":42344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nPost-CHOGM Call For Accountability Needs To Be More Balanced - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Post-CHOGM Call For Accountability Needs To Be More Balanced - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-11-25T05:00:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-12-01T10:41:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"136\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"148\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/\",\"name\":\"Post-CHOGM Call For Accountability Needs To Be More Balanced - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-25T05:00:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-12-01T10:41:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg\",\"width\":\"136\",\"height\":\"148\",\"caption\":\"Jehan Perera\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Post-CHOGM Call For Accountability Needs To Be More Balanced\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\",\"name\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Post-CHOGM Call For Accountability Needs To Be More Balanced - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Post-CHOGM Call For Accountability Needs To Be More Balanced - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2013-11-25T05:00:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-12-01T10:41:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":136,"height":148,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/","name":"Post-CHOGM Call For Accountability Needs To Be More Balanced - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg","datePublished":"2013-11-25T05:00:09+00:00","dateModified":"2013-12-01T10:41:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg","width":"136","height":"148","caption":"Jehan Perera"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/post-chogm-call-for-accountability-needs-to-be-more-balanced\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Post-CHOGM Call For Accountability Needs To Be More Balanced"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3","name":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115749"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116085,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115749\/revisions\/116085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}