The issue of the international community’s role in Sri Lanka has once again come to the surface due to the campaign for the Presidential Elections in January. Ironically, the issue of war crimes came to the fore due to an assertion by one of the two main contestants, former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, regarding the killing of LTTE leaders. In prosecuting the war against the LTTE the Sri Lankan government took stringent actions to ensure that a minimum of information relating to its battlefield tactics and costs seeped out to the general public. Claiming that it wished to ensure the safety of non-combatants, the government restricted access of international agencies and media to the battle zones. Even the International Committee of the Red Cross was not permitted access to the battle zones.
By preventing the international organizations and media from operating in the battle zones, the government was successful in keeping the costs of war out of the realm of public discussion. This enabled public morale to be kept at a high level, as they watched footage provided by the government of battlefield victories, but not of the human costs. As a result, the government’s call for recruits to join the military and for economic sacrifices to support the war effort was met with public support. It enabled the government to defeat the LTTE in a manner that few had thought possible. But this victory has come at a price. For the past year or so, the issues of war crimes and economic sanctions have been hanging over the country.
The price of victory has come in the form of allegations of war crimes and, most recently, in the form of economic sanctions by the European Union which suspended the important GSP+ tariff concession that helped boost Sri Lankan exports to the EU. After much deliberation and delay that government leaders thought was in their favour, the EU finally announced the suspension of the GSP+ package. Now the latest is the letter by the UN’s special rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions, Philip Alston, asking the government for clarification on alleged war crimes. Apparently inexorable, international human rights concerns are now pushing themselves into the centre stage of the country’s affairs. They are unlikely to go away, and this government or the one that follows, will have to deal with them by following a policy of openness to dialogue and to fact finding.
TWIN BLOWS
The twin blows that have fallen upon the government come at the worst time possible, in the run-up to the crucial presidential elections. Although the government has claimed an international conspiracy to defeat it, the government itself cannot disclaim responsibility for the difficult situation in finds itself in. There was no compulsory reason for the government to call for early presidential elections in January, when the President had two more years remaining in his term of office. The EU’s time table for announcing its decision on the issue of GSP+ was known in advance. It now appears that the government was over-confident in the President’s political popularity and in its ability to obtain a favourable decision on the GSP+ from the EU.
From the perspective of the well being of the general population, the GSP+ is the more important issue. An estimated 50,000 to 300,000 jobs will be at stake, with different figures being conceded by the government and claimed by the opposition. Whether it is the smaller figure or the larger one, the negative impact upon the economy is likely to have a detrimental effect upon a much larger segment of the population through multiplier effects. On the other hand, the issue of war crimes will directly have an impact only upon a handful of personalities. Legal prosecutions typically are narrowly tailored to the persons who planned and implemented the orders. However, as the issue of war crimes involves the government leadership, it is inevitable that the government will be equally if not more concerned with the issue of war crimes.
The persistence of the GSP+ and war crimes issues indicate that they are not just going to go away. The problems are likely to get worse unless they are addressed. When the GSP+ issue came up over a year ago, government leaders expressed confidence that they would be able to renew the concession on their own terms. Espousing national sovereignty arguments, they denied access to EU investigators coming in to Sri Lanka to make an assessment of the ground situation with regard to human rights. The government also sent religious leaders to plead for the poor who would be affected. The government’s position was that it was fulfilling the required human rights conditions needed to obtain the GSP+ facility.
REVEAL TRUTH
Similarly, with regard to the war crimes issue, the government denied any such problem. Instead it claimed that the war was meant as a humanitarian operation, and that the government had zero tolerance for civilian casualties. But it did not permit either international investigators, or even Sri Lankan human rights and media organizations from going into the areas where allegations of human rights abuses abounded. The government’s decision to deny access to even the ICRC, which has been viewed internationally from the 19th century, as a most trustworthy intermediary in war situations, will not help its case. Now General Fonseka’s own affirmation that he had heard accounts of LTTE leaders carrying white flags who were not allowed to surrender, have added to the strength of those allegations.
The government has reacted by accusing General Fonseka of betrayal of the nation and the soldiers who so bravely fought for the unification of the country. The fact that the President’s rival at the election himself has made an allegation has given the government a political motivation to discredit him. The President has insisted that he will not allow war heroes to be taken before a tribunal, arguing that he would never betray the security forces in this way. If the accusations are untrue and this can be demonstrated it would even more strengthen the President’s already strong position in the country and establish a better position internationally. On the other hand reacting negatively can give rise to the conclusion that these allegations are true and that the government has even more to hide. Even though it late, there is still much that can be done positively to improve Sri Lanka’s situation.
Although the EU has announced the suspension of the GSP+ concession, it will take about 8 months to come into effect. EU spokespersons have repeatedly said that this transitional period can be used to induce the EU to change its decision if the government shows that it is conforming to human rights and good governance practices. Overcoming the war crimes issue is likely to be more difficult. But the government has a case to make. There is now a Sri Lankan model of ending a protracted guerilla war. The fact that most Sri Lankans are relieved that the LTTE is no longer around to wage war and violence will be a point in its favour. The truth has to be faced, there is no getting away from it. “You shall know the truth, and it shall set you free,” is one of the quotations from Jesus Christ whose birth is commemorated at this time of the year. This quotation is particularly relevant today, when the country and the world are getting different accounts of the past, present and future from the two main presidential candidates.
