Attack On The JSC Secretary: Fooling The Masses On ‘International Scrutiny’

By Laksiri Fernando -October 13, 2012

Dr Laksiri Fernando

There is a new pattern of argument by government spokesmen (no women!) denying the last Sunday (7 October) attack on the Secretary to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), Manjula Tilakaratne. They in essence ask, ‘could the government be so foolish to indulge in such attacks on the Judiciary when Sri Lanka is at the scrutiny of the UN Human Rights Council?”

I am positive that the ‘argument’ was collected from Mahinda Rajapaksahimself who roamed around the corridors of the then Human Rights Commission (now Council) in Geneva in early 1990s. Unfortunately this is not 1990s!

Geneva

Those days several Latin American countries, particularly El Salvador, Guatemala and Chile, were on the spotlight of the UNHRC, but abductions, disappearances and other human rights violations nevertheless continued stealthily. The argument on the part of the government spokespersons (there were women!) were the same: ‘are we so foolish to do these things when we are willingly under your scrutiny, they argued.’ Even the human rights advocates who came from these countries were perplexed at the beginning; more so were the human rights observers from other countries including government representatives.

But this was only a passing phase. Within few years, the speculation disappeared and before that Mahinda Rajapaksa disappeared from Geneva. Human rights research and investigations on those countries very clearly proved that the governments and their various agencies were the real perpetrators of human rights atrocities except where armed or terrorist organizations (like the LTTE) were in existence.

Under normal circumstances, when a country is under the international scrutiny it works as a deterrent on government violations. This is largely the case in Sri Lanka, after March 2012, when the UNHRC managed to pass a resolution against the government (not necessarily against Sri Lanka). Suddenly the government changed the tune. This sudden or abrupt change was quite suspicious considering the whole ‘show-off’ and ‘browbeating’ that they demonstrated in Geneva. They have agreed, as if wholeheartedly, for a ‘full body check’ from top to bottom.

As they have ‘agreed’ they now believe that they can claim anything found suspicious in the body (politic) as an ‘implantation’ or result of ‘conspiracy’ of other parties. This is fooling of masses on ‘international scrutiny.’ Without insulting women, I may add that the pretended innocence of the government is like the proverbial ‘virginity of the prostitute.’

Among several government spokesmen who put forward this argument before the media; while Keheliya Rambukwella badly mumbled; perhaps Wimal Weerawansa was the most articulate on the argument, as usual. I am quoting from News 1st yesterday. He asked and argued, “What is the benefit that the government can accrue through this action when the UNHRC in Geneva is ready to blame the government even on false accusations? It is like roping its own neck. Do you think the government would do that when there is international scrutiny?”

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