Prince Zeid’s war on Sri Lanka -The Geneva Games
Posted on September 18th, 2015
By Dr Dayan Jayatilleka Courtesy The Nation
One thing I’ll say for Prince Zeid: he’s a straight talker, clear, firm, strong and pointed, i.e., effective in his expressions of opinion, however unfair, absurd and frankly ridiculous they are. It’s a pity I cannot say the same about the representatives of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), led by Minister Samaraweera. The UN High Commissioner and his Office are on the attack against Sri Lanka and its institutions. Where is our equally strong defense and counterattack on behalf of our country and the truth, by our representatives? Zeid comes across as determined in his frontal assault on Sri Lankan state actors” at war, but is Mangala Samaraweera anywhere as determined in his defense of the Sri Lankan state at war? If not, where does that leave us?
When you have an aggressive prosecuting attorney on one side and a passive defense attorney on the other, then you have a client who is in serious trouble. That’s Sri Lanka’s position at the UN in Geneva today. On the one hand there is UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid al Hussein’s strong aggressive attack on Sri Lanka in his remarks introducing the report issued by his office. On the other there is the pre-emptive sellout by the Sri Lankan Government represented by Minister of External Affairs Mangala Samaraweera.
Zeid Al Hussein himself admits in his opening remarks and in the Q&A that followed, that the Report is an exercise that has been done for the first time”; that it is rather unique”; that it is the first of its kind on human right violations by his Office. In this at least he is honest. The obvious question is why on earth should Sri Lanka submit to or comply with an unprecedented procedure? Why should our country go along with the product of a process that states which have committed infinitely vaster horrors for much greater periods of time and repeatedly, have not? Why should we be the first in line? Why should we be the guinea-pigs? Why should we put our heads on a chopping block as no one else has? Why should the Sri Lankan government, state and people submit to this discrimination; this institutional and diplomatic apartheid?
There is no pretense of even-handedness in Prince Zeid. In his opening remarks he spoke of crimes committed by the Sri Lankan state and not only by state actors, but also by the LTTE”. So the LTTE are merely an also ran” in the list of those culpable. Zeid implicitly rules out the possibility that the alleged crimes were committed by individuals in the heat of passions such as revenge; he rules out that these are aberrations, when he says that there was clear planning at institutional and command level.
Prince Zeid accuses the Sri Lankan state of international crimes”, i.e. of crimes of interest to the international community…war crimes, crimes against humanity”. He accuses us of indiscriminate shelling” and sexual violence”. We have an answer readily at hand; the reports of Sir Desmond de Silva QC and his colleagues, who were the internationally renowned experts advising the Paranagama Commission. While their report should be immediately tabled in Geneva, they could also be asked to draft our response to the OHCHR report.
The game that is going on is clear. It’s the old one of good cop, bad cop. Zeid plays the bad cop and demands that our collective head be cut off. The Americans will come in and play the good cop, saying, no, we shan’t take the rap for trying to cut their heads off ; we’ll just ask the Sri Lankans themselves to fall on their sword or commit ritual hara-kiri. Mangala Samaraweera has already agreed to the deal which is why he spoke of new statutes for a special criminal justice mechanism with a ‘Special Counsel’ (read Prosecutor). What is it that the existing laws and institutions cannot do? What is that would require new statutes and legal structures for ‘criminal justice’ and ‘accountability’? The only possible answer is the presence of a foreign component; foreign involvement in the domestic legal process!
The Sri Lankan Ministry of External Affairs has already indicated that it will agree to a consensual resolution to be moved by the USA at the UNHRC on September 30th. This would mean that Sri Lanka will agree to a hybrid mechanism with foreign involvement, but under the guise of a ‘domestic mechanism’ to be set up by new legislation. The ‘consensus resolution’ formula will mean that Sri Lanka’s friends and those states who would be opposed to this model because of the violation of sovereignty that it entails and the dreadful precedent it sets , would be preemptively silenced. Not only will they be unable to speak up for us, they will be unable to speak up for a principle which is in their own interests simply because Sri Lanka will be used as a willing human shield by the US.
While Zeid’s example in the Q&A about the prosecution of former president of Chad does indicate that Mahinda Rajapaksa is indeed a target, his entire presentation shows that the primary target is the Sri Lankan state and armed forces and the war itself—our war of liberation from terrorism and for the reunification of our country. His target is nothing other than history—the verdict of history on the Sri Lankan state, its armed forces and our victorious war. The target is our self-pride as a society; our pride in ourselves as a country and people that defeated a ferocious terrorist army. Zeid and his office have provided ammunition for generations the world over, to vilify Sri Lanka. Their discourse and Report gives the pro-Tiger Diaspora the argument that their beloved Prabhakaran lost only because the Sri Lankan armed forces waged a war replete with war crimes. This is the worst possible reviling of the reputation of our dead heroes and their sacrifices—not least of those who gave their lives to breach the bunker-bund complex of the LTTE and save hundreds of thousands of civilians.
The weeks from today to September 30th will show whether or not Sri Lanka has a neocolonial puppet regime which is committed to returning this country to colonial rule, where foreign judges and lawyers sit in judgment of our citizens, our soldiers, our elected former leaders. A Government that does not defend the country’s sovereignty; a government that does not protect the State and the nation’s institutions from external threat be it physical, economic, legal or diplomatic; a government that does not protect the dignity of the nation; a government that does not counterattack against hypocrisy, unfairness, lies and calumny—such a government loses its legitimacy to rule; its legitimacy to govern.
[Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka was Sri Lanka’s Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Geneva 2007-2009 and a Vice–President of the UN Human Rights Council 2007-2008]
September 19th, 2015 at 2:38 am
Mangala Samaraweera could not defend our case. He was dressed up for show but the substance he provided to counter the damning UN Report is ridiculous. It was a case of accepting without refusing the Seids demands. We fought a just war, and we elimin
September 19th, 2015 at 3:02 am
Mangala Samaraweera could not defend our case. He was dressed up for show but the substance he provided to counter the damning UN Report is ridiculous. It was a case of accepting without refusing Zaiids demands.
We fought a just war, and we eliminated a greater danger that made the people suffer for thirty years, if some had died it was indeed unfortunate, but it was never through deliberate shooting at civilians.
Terrorism had to be ended then without leaving it for the future allowing many more to dye in the hands of the terrorist. Deaths of civilians in such a conflict is not unusual-Americans call it collateral damage. There were no torture as the soldiers had no time for such “extra activity” it was a continuous war almost non-stop in rain and gale. And the terrorists were not coming in military formation . They were shooting from every side. This man should have used his Princely head to think intelligently and see that the whole excercice is made up by the expatriate Tamils, Navi Pillay, Yasmin Suka and the crowd to incriminate a government that eliminated the terrorists leaving no sign of them, which the big powers with their NATO Forces and Drones have still not managed to see the end of their terrorist wars.
There was no rape- no soldiers would have been in a mood to do that, and our soldiers were village youth and they are indifferent to sex let alone rape, they were not Western educated. Our soldiers did not go round killing civilians and collect fingers as some American Soldiers did in Afghanista. There were no torure camps where the Armed Forces were fighting,as those of Americans in Iraq (Abugharibh ) Callum MacRae is some one who is earning money from the suffering of others and willifying Sri Lanka ? He has a grudge because he and his camera crew were turned away from the fighting zone. The UN Report should be thrown to a dust bin as it has been produced only to satisfy the expatriate Tamils.
September 19th, 2015 at 5:47 am
NO politician can save SL now.
Only he heroes can save SL.
We can keep denying this fact.
September 19th, 2015 at 7:03 am
Sinhalese are the most unfortunate people (idiots..!) in the world.. We have one of the most beautiful countries in the world, yet our people (Sinhalese), and their leaders have taken everything for granted since our independence, and let foreigners dictate their terms on how to run our country.
What an indignant shame that Sinhalese are unable to take care of the only country they have, and willing to listen to and follow biased agendas set by the foreign powers and their puppet institutions like UNHRC, which is going after countries like SL with vengeance, while turning a blind eye to monstrous atrocities committed by US, and its allies (NATO), in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, etc…. Why are our leaders are so eager to follow these biased agendas knowing damn well that at the end it’s going to destroy the only country that we will ever have..?
Every time Ranil and his crooks come to power SL ends up in disaster. Last time when he was the Prime Minister, he nearly gave north & east to Prabhakaran with the help of the “Bandit Queen Chandrika”, brokered by pro-LTTE Norwegians..
This time is no different.. It will be even worse as his FM Gay boy Mangala, is willing to follow the disastrous agenda set by UNHRC, especially setting up a Kangaroo (Hybrid) Court, consisting of international judges, lawyers – majority of whom are handsomely paid by the pro-LTTE Tamil Diaspora – to punish our Armed Forces and the previous regime, for saving the country from the blood-thirsty Tamil terrorists.
Sad to say but true.. It is NOT the minorities and their supporters ruining the country. It is the majority Sinhalese and their leaders that doing everything possible to destroy the only country we have.
As I said before, Sinhalese are the most unfortunate people in the world, who are only capable of messing up thier own future, thanks to their utter stupidity, ignorance, and short-sightedness. Untill we Sinhalese, wake up (if they ever wake up..!) and realise the stupid blunders our politicians are continuing to make, we are digging our own grave…
Sad indeed…
September 19th, 2015 at 7:45 am
Lorenzo’s comments remind one of the proverbial war involving bats ( Flying foxes A.KA. Maha Wavulas) when the mammals are winning he’s a bat and when the birds are winning he’s a bird.
September 19th, 2015 at 12:23 pm
DOES THE PRINCE KNOW HOW MANY SOLDIERS WHO FOUGHT IN THE WAR ARE NOW DISABLED ?
DOES THE PRINCE KNOW THAT THE TAMIL TERRORISTS KILLED 700**SEVEN HUNDRED** POLICE PERSONNEL IN ONE SHOT BY BURNING THEM ALIVE ??
DOES THE PRINCE KNOW HOW THE TAMIL TERRORISTS ENTERED MANY VILLAGES IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, AND BUTCHERED MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN, PREGNANT WOMEN, LITTLE CHILDREN, WITH SWORDS AND MACHETS ?
DOES THE PRINCE KNOW THAT THE TAMIL TERRORISTS KILLED 40 LITTLE SAMANERAS ( CHILDREN ORDAINED INTO PRIESTHOOD), BY CUTTING AND CHOPPING THEIR HEADS OFF WITH MACHETS ?
DOES THE PRINCE KNOW THE MEANING OF **HYBRID** ? OUR PRIME MINISTER RANIL, SAYS THAT THE WORD “HYBRID” HAS NO MEANING. RIGHT FROM THE BEGINING I KNEW IT WAS **WORD PLAY**.
DOES THE PRINCE KNOW THAT THE AFORESAID PEOPLE WHO WERE BUTCHERED ARE ALSO HUMAN BEINGS LIKE THE TAMIL TERRORISTS AND TAMIL CIVILIANS WHO WERE ACTUALLY IN CIVIL ATTIRE, WHO WERE TERRORIST FIGHTERS.?
SOMEBODY, PLEASE ENLIGHTEN THIS PRINCE THAT ALL THE LIVES ARE VALUABLE, NOT ONLY THE FAKE TAMIL CIVILIANS.
September 19th, 2015 at 12:28 pm
DR. DAYAN !! YOU HAVE A BIG JOB TO DO. PLASE ENLIGHTEN THE STRAIGHT ‘ BIG ‘ TALKER **PRINCE**. ABOUT ALL HUMAN LIFE, THAT WAS LOST, AND NOT ONLY OF THE TAMILS. THANKS.
September 20th, 2015 at 3:21 am
I could not agree more with Nihal Perera’s comment. He is spot on.
Ranil, Maithripala, Chandrika, Mangala, Ranawaka, Sobitha, Anura Kumara and their sidekicks were never up to the task of dealing with India and their Western Masters. They are clueless what to do. This short sighted, selfish group are leading our nation now. What hope do we have?
After 500 years we were free for 6 years. But what did Sri Lankans do. They defeated the man who saved Sri Lanka, not once, but twice at polls. Sri Lankans are ungrateful and short sighted people. Our next generation will pay dearly for that.
September 20th, 2015 at 6:09 am
Thanks Aravinda….
It is indeed a crying shame that Sinhalese have become so ungreatful and ignorant of their own country. It breaks my heart to think what the next generation will have to face due to utter stupidity of the present generation…