Watch out for Human Rights
Watch
by Sanja de Silva Jayatilleka
Courtesy The Island 10-08-2007
The last sentence which precedes the recommendations of the new 134
page Human Rights Watch report (‘Return to War: Human Rights under
Siege’, August 2007) written by Ms. Charu Lata Hogg, reveals its
true intent: "…the international community should work with
the government and the LTTE to establish a United Nations human rights
monitoring mission…."
This is reinforced by the concluding line of the report: "Push
for a strong resolution on Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council that
supports the establishment of UN human rights monitoring mission."
Referring to the Commission of Inquiry that the government has set
up to address human rights concerns, the report urges (p122) that
"Foreign governments and international organizations should not
view the CoI as an effective means to address persistent human rights
violations. They can and should devise creative methods to promote human
rights and rule of law in Sri Lanka."
Even a preliminary reading of the report reveals a number of speculations
combined with baseless assertions, inaccuracies and misrepresentations.
Ms Hogg says the report "does not aim to be a comprehensive account".
Similarly what follows is not a comprehensive critique. (Italics used
in the text below are mine).
Speculations
Page 5: "Government forces failed to distinguish between combatants
and civilians and may have purposely targeted the school"
Page10: "Emergency Regulation called the Prevention and Prohibition
of Terrorism…… could be used to justify crackdown on media…..could
also use the wide immunity clause …"
Page 11: "There is now a clear pattern of complicity by the security
forces in abductions….."
Page 15: "Finally, the head of the commission [Commission of Inquiry]
is limiting the work of the international experts to a narrow observer-only
role."
COMMENT: The role of IIGEP was agreed upon at the outset in their
terms of reference.
Page 48: "The majority of disappearances appear to be perpetrated
by the Sri Lanka security forces."
Page 48: "Local human rights groups believe that the security
forces "disappear" and then ….execute…"
Page 76 and 77: "The Presidential Directives on Protecting Fundamental
Rights of Persons Arrested and/or Detained, distributed to the commanders
of the army, navy, air force and police, instruct the security forces
to respect basic human rights, as well as to cooperate with the Sri
Lankan Human Rights Commission. ….
…… But the directives originally issued merely instruct…..to
respect fundamental due process rights already enshrined in Sri Lankan
and international law. The fact that the president had to issue them
twice suggest that members of the military and police were frequently
violating the law…"
Page 92: "Following military operations in Vaharai..…for
example, the military found shelter material from UNHCR left behind
by displaced persons…and food bags from the WFP. The defense ministry
broadcast images of these WFP bags filled with sand in LTTED bunkers
on …television..insinuating that the relief organization was helping
the LTTE."
Page 99: "In March 2005 parliament established a Select Committee
of Parliament for the Investigation of the Operations of Non-governmental
Organizations and their Impact……As existing checks and balances
are already in place, the need for additional financial reviews seems
unnecessary and raises questions about the parliament’s motives
in monitoring NGO work ".
COMMENT: HRW does not show the same desire to rely on existing checks
and balances in the country on any other matter.
Page 107: "On November18, an explosive device near the college
ostensibly placed by the LTTE killed five government soldiers as they
drove the A9 highway towards the Kokilai army camp."
Page 114: " Thus, while a strengthened and better funded commission
with genuine independence can play an important role ….it could
not substitute for an international monitoring mission…"
Page 116: "The decision to create the CoI in itself suggests an
admission on the government’s part that domestic institutions have
been incapable of investigating and prosecuting these serious crimes."
Page 116: "If the police, attorney general’s office and the
courts were functioning properly, then a special commission would not
be required."
COMMENT: Special Commissions/probes are appointed in many countries
which have properly functioning law enforcement agencies and Attorney
Generals departments.
Page 116: "The government presented the commission as a good faith
effort to investigate serious human rights violations… it is clearly
not a substitute for international human rights monitors…"
Page 118 : "According to a press account, the Colombo Magistrate
refused to provide the CoI with records ….on the assassination
of Foreign Minister Kadirgamar because releasing the documents would
interfere with an on- going investigation…."
….The decision to withhold does not bode well… in the Kadirgamar
case it was a government official, apparently killed by the LTTE. It
seems even less likely that the authorities will provide information
on cases in which the alleged perpetrator is the military or police."
COMMENT: This suggests the fantastic notion that the government would
want to cover up LTTE’s involvement in the Kadirgamar assassination!
Page 119: " Finally the commissions first months suggest that
it is relegating the group of eminent observers to a marginal role.
"
Inaccuracies
Page 6: "After an LTTE attempt on the defense secretary’s
life, the government expanded …..Emergency regulations…."
COMMENT: There were repeated attacks by the LTTE in response to which
the Emergency Regulations were expanded. The incident referred here
occurred in a crowded street in the city at rush hour causing many casualties.
Page 14: "Over the past year President Rajapaksa has held regular
breakfast meetings with media editors. According to participants, he
has at times admonished editors for their "unpatriotic" writing.
His brother the defence secretary has been more direct: in April 2007
he telephoned the editor of the Daily Mirror, an English-language daily,
and told her that he would "exterminate" a journalist who
had written on human rights issues in the country’s east.".
COMMENT: Libel, at a guess.
Page 21 : "The resumption of major military operations in April
2006…."
COMMENT: There were a number of LTTE attacks, on civilian and military
targets including claymore ambushes which preceded by months, the military
operation of April 2006. These LTTE attacks started in December 2005,
the days after the presidential elections.
Misrepresentations
Page 13 " In response to international concerns…and to preempt
proposals for an international human rights monitoring mission…,
the government established a Presidential omission of Inquiry."
COMMENT: The United Nations criteria for humanitarian intervention
would not apply to Sri Lanka.
Page 15: "All of these problems suggest that the Commission…
is unlikely to make significant progress…"
COMMENT: Criticisms made of the CoI on page 15 and 16 of the HRW report
have been refuted by the Attorney General whose response has been omitted
by the HRW.
Page 19: Referring to violations of the CFA: "…and the vast
majority being committed by the LTTE."
COMMENT: The vast majority is actually an overwhelming majority, namely
96%, according to the SLMM figures which are given as a note to the
report.
Page 21: "Government forces which had shelled the Sampur area….after
a suicide bomb assassination attempt on the army commander…"
COMMENT: The suicide bomb was strapped on a woman who blew herself
up outside the army hospital in the heart of the city on a busy street
at lunch time. Several people were killed.
"…bombed the area around Mavil Aru …after the LTTE turned
off water from a sluice gate.".
COMMENT: The sluice gate was the only source of water for the village
of Mavil Aru with 40,000 famers. After several attempts by the government
urging the LTTE to release the water, and aggressive acts by the LTTE
towards the villagers, a battle ensued between the LTTE and the army.
The LTTE was defeated, the area was recovered and the water restored
to the villagers.
"The LTTE responded with a counter attack … on the mostly
Muslim town of Mutur"
COMMENT: Words like ‘respond’ and ‘counterattack’
are inappropriately used to describe deliberate provocations by the
LTTE.
Page 21: "LTTE forces fired heavy weapons from populated areas,
including near displaced persons camps…"
COMMENT: And yet the report concludes that it has found "no evidence
of human shielding by the LTTE" (page 45)
Page 21: "The army often responded or initiated indiscriminate
shelling..."
Page 32: COMMENT: The UNHCR report confirming that there were no forcible
returns of IDPs and that the returns appear to be voluntary ("Our
staff monitoring the situation on the ground say the majority of people
are eager to return home, the returns are voluntary and in line with
international protection standards,") and similar reports by other
agencies ("Aid workers on the ground told Human Rights Watch that
the return process, coordinated by the Ministry of Resettlement and
the STF, was much improved from the forced returns in March, with no
reported cases of physical abuse.") are quoted and dismissed by
HRW, which asserts instead that:
"The returns were accomplished with a range of abuses".
Page 36: Referring to the High Security Zone, HRW writes: "the
government has not provided reasons to show military necessity or security
concerns to justify preventing civilians’ access to their land
and property."
COMMENT: In times of war, states are unlikely (and unwise) to provide
justification or reveal reasons for military necessity or security plans
to foreign NGOs which are unsatisfied with the judgment given on the
subject by the country’s Supreme Court.
I hold the view that Human Rights and Humanitarian agencies have a
valuable role to play. Irresponsible reporting however, serves only
to damage their credibility.
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