{"id":64071,"date":"2012-12-10T13:09:23","date_gmt":"2012-12-10T13:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=64071"},"modified":"2012-12-10T13:09:23","modified_gmt":"2012-12-10T13:09:23","slug":"a-danger-of-international-isolation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/a-danger-of-international-isolation\/","title":{"rendered":"A Danger Of International Isolation"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0\u00a0Jehan Perera<\/a><\/span> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

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

The impeachment process launched by the government against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake<\/a><\/span> has entered its most contentious and controversial phase.\u00a0\u00a0The Parliamentary Select Committee appointed to look into the charges against her has declared that she has been found guilty on three counts and innocent of two others.\u00a0\u00a0There were a total of fourteen charges against the Chief Justice.\u00a0\u00a0The opposition members appointed to the committee had earlier withdrawn<\/a><\/span> from it and the Chief Justice herself had refused to continue to appear before it citing bias.\u00a0\u00a0The belief that justice is being done in these circumstances would require a leap of faith.\u00a0\u00a0The national Bar Association has taken a decision to go on token strike on Wednesday. Many international legal and judicial associations, in which Asians have leadership roles, have got activated in opposition to the impeachment.\u00a0\u00a0This is generating a negative wave of opinion internationally.<\/p>\n

It is unfortunate that the government, so dominant within the country should be isolating itself from the international community.\u00a0\u00a0The government appears to believe that opening embassies in hitherto unknown African countries will make it new friends and receive the votes at international forums that will safeguard it from international sanctions.\u00a0\u00a0But the government also needs to keep its international stature and reputation high within its own Asian neighborhoods and not be lulled into a sense of complacency by their diplomatic statements.\u00a0\u00a0There was a time in the past when Sri Lanka was the cynosure of the world on account of the relatively high quality of life it provided its people even with limited economic resources.\u00a0\u00a0The governmental leaders of some of these countries may speak today at international forums in favour of Sri Lanka, and expect the favour to be reciprocated at a future date.\u00a0\u00a0However, what they really think about Sri Lanka\u2019s government and its leadership may be quite different.<\/p>\n

An international conference recently took place in Singapore that was attended by academics, media professionals and political analysts from several Asian countries.\u00a0\u00a0The theme of discussion was how the media could contribute to counter terrorism and violent extremism. The conference was hosted by the National University of Singapore which is the premier state-run university in that country.\u00a0\u00a0Singapore is known as a country that is by no means sympathetic to either terrorism or to violent extremism.\u00a0\u00a0On the contrary it is a country that gives a very high priority to national security.\u00a0\u00a0At the same time it gives a great deal of emphasis to ensuring that there is inter-ethnic harmony by treating its different ethnic and religious communities with equal respect and trust.\u00a0\u00a0The off-the-record opinions voiced by participants about the situation in Sri Lanka were more negative than what appears in the public domain.\u00a0\u00a0It is a serious cause for concern by Sri Lankans who think about the future.<\/p>\n

SERIOUS MISTAKE<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was noteworthy that none of the participants at the conference regretted the demise of the LTTE<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0The issue of how the war ended did not loom large to them.\u00a0\u00a0The war ended over three and a half years ago and is a fading memory to the world at large, including the vast majority of its academics, media professionals and political analysts.\u00a0\u00a0What they are concerned about is what is happening today in post-war Sri Lanka.\u00a0\u00a0Like many in Sri Lanka they too expected there to be a sharp improvement in the human rights situation, especially in relation to the political rights of the Tamil minority.\u00a0\u00a0The common opinion that was expressed at this conference was disappointment that Sri Lanka had not gone forward to sustainable peace after the end of the war, by finding a solution to Tamil grievances.\u00a0\u00a0Now the impeachment of the Chief Justice makes them think that lack of democratic practice is at the root of the problem.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s post-war foreign policy priority appears to be one of protecting its leadership and the military from international war crimes charges.\u00a0\u00a0The government leadership is rightly concerned, along with the general population, that the issue of alleged war crimes in the last phase of the war is a threat to it.\u00a0\u00a0International human rights organizations and those who function as custodians of the international criminal justice system will continuously put pressure on Sri Lanka until these matters are investigated to their satisfaction.\u00a0\u00a0This has to be a matter of concern to all in the country, but most specially those who can one day be charged for these offenses. However, the issue of how Sri Lanka ended the war with the LTTE is not the only, or even the main concern of many in the international community.<\/p>\n

It can be believed that the international community as a whole, possibly including Russia and China, would wish to see Sri Lanka resolve its ethnic conflict that gave rise to war through a political solution.\u00a0\u00a0They would also stand for the rule of law and respecting the independence of the judiciary.\u00a0\u00a0This was the clear message that came out at the conference held in Singapore.\u00a0\u00a0The opinion of those few academics, media professionals and political analysts who are interested in Sri Lankan affairs will go a long way in shaping the thinking of the foreign ministries of their countries.\u00a0\u00a0The government and its leadership will be making a serious mistake if they believe that they can protect themselves from this problem by ensuring that Russia and China are there to deliver a veto to any international move at the UN.\u00a0\u00a0Those are also countries that seek to be respected members of the international community and will not wish to be identified as supporters of countries that defy international norms.<\/p>\n

UNJUST IMPEACHMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n

In winning the war against the LTTE the government achieved a victory that few thought was possible and thereby gained international recognition.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Political and military analysts in all parts of the world will now study the Sri Lankan model of militarily quelling the challenge posed by terrorism.\u00a0\u00a0However, the government is losing out where it concerns post-war developments, most notably the provision of full democratic rights to the Tamil people and now, the respect for the independence of the judiciary.\u00a0\u00a0By not dealing with the roots of the political problem that gave rise to terrorism and extremist violence the government is losing the battle for favourable international opinion.<\/p>\n

Most of the participants at the conference in Singapore had the impression that the government was suppressing the Tamils after winning the war.\u00a0\u00a0The absence of a political solution that the government can credibly show to the world contributes to this negative impression.\u00a0\u00a0This is added to by acts of violence and suppression of democratic freedoms that occur at regular intervals.\u00a0\u00a0The assault by security forces on university students in Jaffna who were lighting lamps on November27, the date formerly commemorated by the LTTE as their Heroes Day, and the manner in which the security forces handled the situation has added to this negative impression.\u00a0\u00a0Even journalists who were covering the incident were assaulted.\u00a0\u00a0Now making an even worse impression, the government is impeaching its own Chief Justice who has been the country\u2019s first ever Supreme Court judge and its first woman Chief Justice.<\/p>\n

The government is engaging in this act of impeachment in defiance of the public opinion voiced by the totality of the country\u2019s religious leadership and also the bar associations in the country. The rapidity with which the Parliamentary Select Committee, or what is left of it, has been proceeding with the impeachment cannot impress any objective outsider as being the actions of a government that respects democratic procedures.\u00a0\u00a0It is necessary to recognize that in the absence of a political solution these incidents will serve to polarize Sri Lankan society and convince the international community that the ethnic minorities cannot expect justice from the government when its own Chief Justice is being treated unjustly. Tragically, such actions can be expected to be to the detriment of the country and its political leadership in the years to come unless the government changes course even now, as it can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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