A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Back to 500BC.
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Friday, February 3, 2017
IF REFORM PROJECT NEGLECTED, SRI LANKA MAY RETURN TO POPULIST AUTHORITARIANISM, WARNS A NEW REPORT
Image courtesy of Getty Images: Supporters of
Sri Lankan opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena chears
during the final day election campaign rally on January 5, 2015 in
Kalutara, Sri Lanka.
A new report released by Colombo based think tank The Center for Policy
Alternatives (CPA) concludes that “the government must now reenergise
the reform project, openly championing it with the people and ensure
that partisan interests from within and outside do not jeopardise it.
January 2015 presented an unprecedented opportunity for democratic
governance on a number of fronts; to squander it, even by delay and
default, will hasten the return to populist authoritarianism.”
The report presents a bleak picture of the government’s human record
and says that ” the government has showed insensitivity and lack of
political will to address stark violations of human rights, even when
brought before the international community. The concern is that this
trend of indifference on the part of the government might continue this
year too, possibly impacting the forthcoming March UNHRC session and UPR
process.”
The report ” Two Years In Government: A review of the pledges made in
2015 through the lens of constitutional reform, governance and
transitional justice” discuses political context,. constitutional
reform, anti corruption and related issues, transitional Justice in
separate chapters.
“Despite some successes, the current public perception is of a slow pace
or even stagnation. This in turn has resulted in disillusionment and
disappointment, with questions posed about the ability of the National
Unity Government to govern effectively. These sentiments are justified
in terms of promises made and the inability or unwillingness to manage
expectations via a comprehensive communication strategy.” says the
report.
Transitional Justice: Challenges and Trends
Despite the ambitious proposals made in 2015, the government has been
extremely slow in the implementation of transitional justice promises.
These are briefly discussed below
A) Prioritisation of Constitutional Reforms over Transitional Justice
One of the main challenges to progress on Transitional Justice is the
common sentiment in government circles that Transitional Justice need
not be prioritised. Many in government have pushed for the
prioritisation of constitutional reforms instead on the basis that such
reforms entails a long term solution of the ethnic question as well as
strengthen basic human rights. Some believe too that transitional
justice would adversely impact the prospects for constitutional reform
as opponents of both distort the former as the process through which war
heroes would be turned into war criminals. In this respect the
accountability mechanism is of particular salience. The inability to
deliver on the commitments made in 2015 including the delay in the
establishment of the OMP, further feed into the perception of
transitional justice not receiving the same status as constitutional
reform. The apparent prioritisation will likely have ramification during
the election cycles, especially in the North and East, where there is
growing dismay with limited progress with transitional justice.
B) Lack of political will
Despite the legislation on the OMP being enacted in August 2016, there
has as yet been no move to gazette the legislation, delaying further the
establishment of the OMP and the appointment of commissioners.
Similarly, no legislation has yet been introduced for the establishment
of the other three mechanisms and there continues to be delays in the
implementation of the other commitments such as criminalising
disappearances, security sector reforms, further land releases. The
delays can be attributed to many factors.
Firstly, Transitional Justice did not significantly feature in the
January 2015 nor August 2015 general elections, 124 thus the lack of
political will can stem from the fact that Transitional Justice was not
part of the mandate for which the people voted. However, the commitments
made at the UNHRC in September 2015 (post both elections in 2015) tie
the government to a process of Transitional Justice. Secondly, many
interviewed by CPA indicated that the internal politics and power
struggles within government have resulted in a lack of political will in
strengthening Transitional Justice mechanisms. As the honeymoon period
of the National Unity Government wanes, the government expends its time
and energy on consolidating its power, fending off attacks from the
Joint Opposition and maintaining unity within its ranks. Thus, there are
not many champions of Transitional Justice in government, with many
identifying the Foreign Minister as the lone voice in favour of
Transitional Justice. Thirdly, the pushback from nationalist elements
within and outside government is another factor. This is clearly
demonstrated with the debates around the participation of foreign judges
alluded above.
C) Absence of a strategy
Another challenge is the lack of a clear vision or strategy.126 The
plethora of ministries and secretariats appointed to look into matters
concerning reconciliation and Transitional Justice is an example of
this.127 Moreover, there seems to be no clear roadmap as to the
sequencing of mechanisms and linkages amongst them. 128 The confusing
situation that has ensued stirs up disillusionment amongst the public
and renders the government an easy target for criticism.
D) Lack of outreach and communication
The lack of political will, has also led to deficiencies in
communication on the part of the government. The main criticism
regarding the OMP was the lack of consultation by the government with
key stakeholders, especially with victims, as well as the insufficient
communication to explain what it entails.
Lack of communication can give rise to many problematic consequences.
Firstly, the lack of transparency that this creates, causes distrust
amongst the victim groups and other stakeholders in civil society. There
would also be no sense of ownership, as the mechanisms or solutions put
forward will be those decided behind closed doors by a select few with
minimum public participation, compounding the perception of an elitist
driven process with no resonance with the actual victims.
On the other hand, the lack of communication also results in the
government not keeping the public informed about the good work that is
being done such as the release of some lands and the enabling of people
displaced for decades to return to their homes.
Secondly, the weak communication results in the factions opposing the
government, such as the Joint Opposition, setting the agenda and
projecting the dominant narrative the current situation. With inadequate
and inept communication, the government has ceded agenda-setting and
the dominant narrative to the opposition
Thirdly, contradictory statements have been made by different actors in
government, as seen with the accountability mechanism. This reflects the
lack of cohesion within government and feeds into perceptions of
contradictions and incompetence.
E) Waning international pressure
Added to the lack of political will and lack of a clear vision, is the
easing of international pressure. The international community has been
lenient with this government and adopted a far more relaxed stance than
in the past.
This situation is most likely to continue in the future, especially considering the regime changes in several countries.
Read the full report on line here
Two-Years-in-Government-1.pdf by Thavam Ratna on Scribd