THE SOUTH ASIA CHANNELSri Lankas Downward SpiralBY TAYLOR DIBBERTJULY 14, 2014 The U.S. Congressional Caucus on Ethnic and Religious Freedom in Sri Lanka held a hearing on July 9 in Washington, D.C. The caucus, created in 2013, is co-chaired by Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio). It remains to be seen how effective this newly created group will be but -- given the recent developments in Sri Lanka -- there is no question that there was plenty to discuss at the gathering. Aside from the persistent ethnic and religious violence that plagues the country, the war-torn island nation is still grappling with a bunch of problems as it struggles to make the transition from a postwar country to a post-conflict one. Recent anti-Muslim violence outside Colombo last month resulted in the death of several people and the injury of many more -- as mobs attacked Muslim homes, places of business, and mosques. The police have been widely criticized for failing to prevent the violence. These developments serve as another reminder that Sri Lanka remains a country in crisis. Indeed, extremist Sinhalese-Buddhist groups operate withimpunity while ordinary community members have basic human rights repressed under the deepening authoritarianism of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. As mandated by the March 2014 U.N. Human Rights Council resolution passed on Sri Lanka, the U.N.s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) will undertake an investigation into wartime atrocities on the island. The office will examine events that took place from the 2002 cease-fire until the wars end in 2009. The OHCHR team includes three prominent experts and 12 staff members. The group will produce a detailed report, which will be presented at the Human Rights Councils 28th session next March. The report is expected to add to a quantum of evidence that suggests that both government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) -- the group fighting for a separate Tamil state in the northern and eastern parts of the country -- committed serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. The Rajapaksa regime is doing everything it can to ensure that the investigation does not go smoothly. In addition to the regime publicly stating that it wont cooperate, myriad cordon-and-search operations, numerous cases of arbitrary arrest, and the governments proscription of certain Tamil individuals and organizations -- that are allegedly supporting terrorism and the LTTE -- all fit into this broader strategy. The government continues to use international pressure to rally its Sinhalese base (Sinhalese people are the overwhelming ethnic majority in Sri Lanka), and the recent rise in repression in the countrys Northern Province, coupled with baseless claims that the LTTE is regrouping within Sri Lanka, are designed to serve those ends. The ban against Tamil diaspora groups is a calculated move by the regime. Even though several countries will not recognize it, this move will make it harder for Tamils residing in Sri Lanka to receive financial assistance from those in the diaspora. It also means that anyone living in Sri Lanka who collaborates with proscribed individuals or organizations could be imprisoned for extended periods according to the Prevention of Terrorism Act -- an undemocratic piece of legislation that gives the security forces wide-ranging powers to arrest and detain people, without their being charged or tried. (The law has had a disproportionately negative effect on Sri Lankas Tamil community). The diaspora ban is undoubtedly supposed to discourage community members residing in Sri Lanka from sharing information with local human rights activists, diplomats, or anyone who may use evidence of past or ongoing human rights abuses for documentation, advocacy, or accountability purposes. While some shrewd analysts have suggested that the ban has been designed specifically in light of the U.N. investigation, its likely that the regime in Colombo is playing a much longer game. The regime understands the deleterious effects that efficient, timely information-sharing is having on its (dubious) claims of progress and postwar recovery. In this context, it appears that Rajapaksa and his collaborators are attempting to silence people indefinitely.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 11:53:21 +0000
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