{"id":129180,"date":"2014-08-18T12:17:31","date_gmt":"2014-08-18T06:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=129180"},"modified":"2014-08-27T01:42:53","modified_gmt":"2014-08-26T20:12:53","slug":"opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"Opposition Cooperation Is Necessary For Credibility In Tackling International Probe"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"Jehan<\/a>

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

The government is financing more lobbying companies in the US to change the minds of the US leadership. It has been the United States that has been most strongly pushing for an international investigation into the conduct of the last phase of the war.\u00a0 But it is not going to be so easy as influencing the President of the United States through lobbying companies.\u00a0 For the government\u2019s efforts to be successful it has to show progress in two areas that convinces the international community.\u00a0 First, it has to come up with a superior alternative to the UN investigation that is now underway.\u00a0 Second, it has to show that it is serious about practices of good governance that will support such an alternative mechanism.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 However, the government is having setbacks in both areas which is not a recipe for success, but is one for failure.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s bid to strengthen the national commission appointed by the President to investigate missing persons has induced it to widen the mandate of that body very significantly.\u00a0 As a result the priorities of the commission ay have to shift away from dealing with the issue of missing persons to other complex issues of international humanitarian law and war crimes that were not part of its original mandate.\u00a0 The Chairman of the Commission on Missing Persons has made it clear that the Commission itself did not ask for the international advisors to the commission who have been appointed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In fact they have yet to meet formally, even though a month has elapsed since the first three members of the international advisory team were appointed.<\/p>\n

In addition, the decision to expand the international advisory group is likely to lead to a dilution of its effectiveness.\u00a0\u00a0 While the initial three appointments were acknowledged to be international experts in the field of war related offenses, the subsequent appointments appear to be more ad hoc.\u00a0 The international advisor appointed from India is not a high profile figure who has dealt with issues arising out of wars, but a person whose main involvement has been in rural litigation.\u00a0 The initial challenge is for the government to be able to show its detractors that it is serious about tackling the problems of human rights and accountability that accompanied the war, and that the strengthened mandate of the Commission on Missing Persons and the international advisors will be equal to the task.\u00a0 So far there has been no acceptance of it by the opposition, let alone the international community.<\/p>\n

Electoral Stakes<\/strong><\/p>\n

The decision of senior members of the UNP and TNA to testify at the Investigation into war crimes launched by the UN Human Rights Commissioner<\/span><\/a>, despite the government\u2019s empowerment of its own Missing Persons Commission, is an indication of the polarized nature of Sri Lankan politics.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the government\u2019s inability and unwillingness to work with the opposition in solving the problem has exacerbated the problem for the government.\u00a0 The polarization within the polity can be attributed at least partly to the exigencies of electoral politics.\u00a0 Elections to the Uva Province are scheduled to be held next month, and are widely believed to set the stage for the vitally important Presidential and General Elections to follow.<\/p>\n

The problem is that sections within the government see its survival in terms of increasing, rather than decreasing, the polarization in society. The results of this strategy have been seen in the voting patterns after the end of the war.\u00a0 Those areas where the Muslim and Tamil people live in have a different pattern of voting as compared to the areas where the Sinhalese people live.\u00a0 In recent months the failure to stop anti- Muslim activities and the apparent deference to Buddhist groups that attack the Muslim community<\/span><\/a> have caused a further polarization in society.\u00a0 But to the extent that this polarization sustains the government\u2019s majority vote bank, it appears to have considered that the existence of polarization within the country is a price that is worth paying.<\/p>\n

The government has repeatedly stated that it will not cooperate with the UN investigation as it is detrimental to the country\u2019s sovereignty.\u00a0\u00a0 However, the opposition is doing the opposite of what the government has required of Sri Lankans.\u00a0\u00a0 There was speculation that the government might even make it a legal offense for any Sri Lankan to go and testify before the investigation team.\u00a0 It is likely that such an action would be supported by many of Sri Lanka\u2019s people as they agree strongly with the government that defeating the LTTE was the highest good, and any cost that was borne was worth it.\u00a0 Therefore, the government\u2019s hardline strategy with regard to the international community is more likely to bring it electoral dividends than the opposition\u2019s strategy of looking to the international community for solutions.<\/p>\n

Further Polarisation<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>However, there is also a further cause for the polarization within the polity which has nothing to do with the issue of whether or not Sri Lankans and political parties will cooperate with the international investigation.\u00a0\u00a0 This is the government\u2019s continuing practice of deciding on important national issues by itself.\u00a0 The issue of war crimes provides a striking example.\u00a0 The government\u2019s decision to invite international advisors into Sri Lanka to advise the Commission on Missing Persons was not taken after a transparent decision making process.\u00a0 That decision was taken unilaterally and in a non-transparent manner with even most of the cabinet of ministers being taken by surprise.\u00a0 In this context it is going to be difficult to expect the cooperation of the opposition in addressing important national issues.<\/p>\n

Prior to the President\u2019s surprise decision to appoint the international advisory panel to the Missing Persons Commission, there was considerable interest in the South African model of dealing with the past.\u00a0 At the present time, the South African initiative seems to have been put into cold storage.\u00a0\u00a0 But it is an offer worth considering very seriously.\u00a0 The role of South Africa would be to ensure that the highest standards of transparency and that there will be fairplay to all sides in an inclusive process, and not only targeting the government. Such a partnership with South Africa in pursuing the path of truth and reconciliation can go a considerable part of the way to win over many to support a nationally driven process of truth and reconciliation but which has international involvement.<\/p>\n

The South African example of reconciliation is today entrenched in the consciousness of the international community as a success story. At the present time it seems that a properly constituted and mandated Truth and Reconciliation mechanism<\/span><\/a> with South African support is the best option to transform Sri Lanka\u2019s internal and external relationships in a positive direction. It requires the participation of all key sectors, including the opposition. By way of contrast, the international advisory group appointed by the President without consultation with other key sectors has not won the acceptance of key groups on the ground whose support would be necessary to make the process a credible one. The Bishop of Mannar, Rayappu Joseph<\/span><\/a>, who is an important civil society and religious leader representing the North, has rejected the Commission on Missing Person.<\/p>\n

The Bishop has written to its Chairman that \u201cI have decided not to make representations before your commission. I have over the years grown to be weary of domestic mechanisms in resolving serious injustices that Tamil people have faced over the period of the war, prior to it and after its conclusion. Over the years many commissions such as yours have been set up and there is absolutely no shred of evidence that they have tackled impunity. Most, if not all of these commissions have provided only to be eye washers for the then Governments in power.\u201d<\/p>\n

The opposition\u2019s decision to testify before the international investigators at a time when the government is refusing to do so, will mean that the government loses on two counts.\u00a0 First, the opposition participation in the UN investigation will increase the credibility of the UN investigation.\u00a0 Second, it will mean that the government does not present its own case before the investigators.\u00a0 In this context, the government\u2019s appointment of international advisors to its strengthened Commission on Missing Persons will not yield the desired results. Unfortunately, the price to be paid for encouraging polarization in society can also prove to be very high. If the government\u2019s strategies alienate the opposition whose support is needed, the country can end up the loser.<\/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-129180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nOpposition Cooperation Is Necessary For Credibility In Tackling International Probe - 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\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Opposition Cooperation Is Necessary For Credibility In Tackling International Probe - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-08-18T06:47:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-08-26T20:12:53+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\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/\",\"name\":\"Opposition Cooperation Is Necessary For Credibility In Tackling International Probe - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-18T06:47:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-08-26T20:12:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/#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\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Opposition Cooperation Is Necessary For Credibility In Tackling International Probe\"}]},{\"@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":"Opposition Cooperation Is Necessary For Credibility In Tackling International Probe - 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\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Opposition Cooperation Is Necessary For Credibility In Tackling International Probe - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2014-08-18T06:47:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-08-26T20:12:53+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\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/","name":"Opposition Cooperation Is Necessary For Credibility In Tackling International Probe - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Jehan-Perera-colombo-telegraph.jpg","datePublished":"2014-08-18T06:47:31+00:00","dateModified":"2014-08-26T20:12:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/#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\/opposition-cooperation-is-necessary-for-credibility-in-tackling-international-probe\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Opposition Cooperation Is Necessary For Credibility In Tackling International Probe"}]},{"@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\/129180","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=129180"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129475,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129180\/revisions\/129475"}],"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=129180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}