{"id":126030,"date":"2014-06-16T11:35:49","date_gmt":"2014-06-16T06:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=126030"},"modified":"2014-06-22T00:01:45","modified_gmt":"2014-06-21T18:31:45","slug":"sri-lanka-can-learn-from-british-government-in-facing-up-to-war-crimes-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-can-learn-from-british-government-in-facing-up-to-war-crimes-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka Can Learn From British Government In Facing Up To War Crimes Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"Jehan<\/a>

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

The international human rights community\u2019s determination to pursue with its probe into alleged war crimes in the last phase of Sri Lanka\u2019s civil war is widely seen within Sri Lanka as evidence of prejudice against the country.\u00a0 However, what has happened to the Sri Lankan government must not be seen in isolation from international developments.\u00a0 Some of Britain\u2019s most senior military and political figures now face a war crimes inquiry as the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced it would make a \u201cpreliminary examination\u201d into claims of \u201csystemic\u201d abuse by British forces in Iraq.\u00a0 More than 400 individual cases are cited, representing \u201cthousands of allegations of mistreatment amounting to war crimes of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.” \u00a0In a statement on its website, the ICC said \u201cThe new information received by the Office alleges the responsibility of officials of the United Kingdom for war crimes involving systematic detainee abuse in Iraq from 2003 until 2008.\u201d<\/p>\n

The British government has sought to downplay these allegations but at the same time affirmed that they will conduct their own investigations. The Attorney General has said that the government “completely rejects” claims that British forces had been responsible for systemic abuse and pledged to do “whatever is necessary” to show any allegations were being dealt with within the British justice system. He described British soldiers as \u201dsome of the best in the world\u201d and said \u201cthe vast majority\u201d of the armed forces \u201coperate to the highest standards, in line with both domestic and international law.\u201d\u00a0 At the same time the Attorney General indicated willingness to cooperate with the ICC investigation saying \u201cI will provide the office of the prosecutor with whatever is necessary to demonstrate that British justice is following its proper course.”<\/p>\n

\"Mahinda<\/a>It is three years late now, but Sri Lanka still has an opportunity to regain the initiative with regard to investigating the past.\u00a0 The third and most recent resolution<\/span><\/a> of the UN Human Rights Council on Sri Lanka had two provisions in it for addressing the issue of accountability for the end phase of the country\u2019s three decade long war.\u00a0 First it called on the Sri Lankan government to conduct a credible domestic investigation into the matter. At the same time it also made reference to the two previous resolutions that made the same call, and noted that progress was not satisfactory.\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore, it was only as a second option, that the UNHRC resolution called on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to conduct its own independent investigation.<\/p>\n

UN Probe<\/strong><\/p>\n

UN Human Rights Commissioner Navaneethem Pillay<\/span><\/a> who is due to retire shortly noted that her office had \u201cput in place a staff team that will be supported by several experts and Special Procedures Mandate Holders to conduct the comprehensive investigation to advance accountability and thus reconciliation.\u201d\u00a0 The response of the Sri Lankan government to the UN Human Rights Commissioner\u2019s request to cooperate with this team and facilitate their visit to Sri Lanka has been entirely negative.\u00a0\u00a0 The Sri Lankan Mission in Geneva issued a strongly worded statement giving the government\u2019s reasons for its rejection of the UN investigation.\u00a0 Among the reasons it set out was that the UN resolution challenged the sovereignty and independence of Sri Lanka and also violated the principle of international law that national remedies needed to be exhausted before resorting to international mechanisms.<\/p>\n

The statement also raised questions about the suitability of some of the persons appointed to conduct the investigation.\u00a0 The government has the experience of Ms Pillay\u2019s own visit to Sri Lanka in September last year.\u00a0 It ended acrimoniously and the report she gave was very critical of the governance and human rights situations in the country.\u00a0 She has now requested the Sri Lankan government for its cooperation in taking this investigation forward.\u00a0 It is unlikely that Sri Lanka can successfully invoke either bias or national sovereignty as valid reasons to reject the UN Resolution.\u00a0 All States who are members of the UN are required to follow the Rule of Law and uphold human rights.\u00a0\u00a0 It is obligatory on the UN and its agencies to investigate allegations of violations of\u00a0 human\u00a0 rights and war crimes for otherwise the UN Charter will be a mere piece of paper to be left to individual States to follow or not.\u00a0 At the very least, they need to demonstrate that there is a credible domestic process of investigation that has not yet been exhausted.\u00a0 This appears to be the British approach in dealing with its own war crimes allegations.<\/p>\n

Indeed, it is this approach that the opposition parties in Sri Lanka are demanding of the government.\u00a0 They are calling on it to conduct a credible domestic investigation in which case they will give their support in Parliament to promoting it as an alternative to the UN investigation.\u00a0 The JVP has said that if, within three months, the government is willing to investigate and report on several incidents which have occurred in the past few years because they have violated both human and democratic rights of the people, it is willing to support the government\u2019s resolution in Parliament.\u00a0 On the other hand, the UNP has called on the government to cooperate with the UN investigation saying that blanket refusal to engage with the team of UN appointed investigators is akin to admitting guilt and depriving itself of an opportunity to make its case.\u00a0\u00a0 If the government is prepared to accept these proposals of the opposition parties, they could move to a position that is similar to the British government\u2019s response to the ICC.<\/p>\n

Government Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, in an attempt to gain greater political consensus for its rejectionist position, the ruling party under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa<\/span><\/a> has decided to turn over the final decision on whether to cooperate with the investigation to Parliament.\u00a0\u00a0 The government\u2019s stance has been made clear.\u00a0 The Leader of the House, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva handed over a resolution to Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa<\/span><\/a> for a debate next week, opposing the UNHRC-appointed international panel from coming to Sri Lanka to probe alleged war crimes.\u00a0 The resolution states that \u201cThis Parliament should oppose the International Inquiry envisaged by the UNHRC office as such an inquiry will harm the reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation process and peace in Sri Lanka and also damage the sovereignty and integrity of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the government has a 2\/3 majority in Parliament, the outcome is a foregone conclusion.\u00a0\u00a0 It appears that the government\u2019s motivation to take the issue before Parliament is for reasons of domestic politics.\u00a0 Although the government leadership would be aware of the ramifications of the UN probe, its priority at the present time would be on elections which are anticipated within the next several months.\u00a0 In winning elections the government has utilized the power of nationalism to the maximum.\u00a0 Even now its members are challenging the opposition to show if they are traitors or patriots with regard to the UN probe.\u00a0 During the period of the war, and its immediate aftermath, the government was able to rally nationalism to its side to ensure the defeat of the LTTE.\u00a0 The resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council and now the investigation to be conducted by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has presented the government with yet another opportunity to mobilize the power of nationalism on its behalf.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the government also needs to consider the implications of a rejection of the UN investigation.\u00a0\u00a0 This will be akin to an ex-parte judgment in a court of law.\u00a0 Ex-parte judgments are invariably in favour of the side that participates in the court proceedings.\u00a0 They also tend to go strongly against the party that refuses to participate whose views are not heard.\u00a0\u00a0 The danger for the government will be that the ex-parte judgment of this investigating team will outlive the term of office of the government. The government may win the next election, but the damage to the country\u2019s long term interests must also be recognized.\u00a0 Sri Lanka is a part of the international system that it will be defying.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In a time of confusion there is a need to go back to first principles.\u00a0 There is a need for all parties involved in the investigation to conduct their affairs with an open mind and in a spirit of goodwill.\u00a0 This is the only way in which intractable and difficult problems may be resolved.\u00a0 It is to be hoped that Parliament chooses the path of cooperation with the international community and the UN system rather than that of confrontation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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