Human Rights Violations in
the Scheme of Things
Dilrook Kannangara
It has become fashionable for some to lopsidedly criticize the government
for HR violations as it is fashionable for a buffalo to run in the herd.
They deliberately forget the ‘centre of evil’ as HLD Mahindapala
has correctly identified. Not only the LTTE is the biggest violator
of HR, it also by its existence forces others to follow suit or die.
Why are the Tamil armed groups (apparently most HR violations are committed
by them) armed? To guard themselves from the LTTE terrorists. This is
the cause and the centre of evil. As long as this is present it is foolhardy
to expect others to sheepishly die without committing HR violations!
Without curing the LTTE cancer if the government wants to disarm the
Tamil armed groups, it will double or triple the number of wars and
that means double HR violations as now! How about that?
HR violations alleged against the government are of five types when
analyzed scientifically.
HR violations against apparently innocent individuals not directly connected
to the conflict by proximity nor association with terrorists
HR violations against LTTE activists, suspects and apparent terror abettors
HR violations naturally occur in, around and as a result of conflicts
General HR violations generally occur against the whole population
HR violation of defence authorities and security personnel hindering
their duty
Type 1 category encompasses those instances where individuals
are abducted for ransom, self-abductions, eviction of lodge-dwellers
and harassment of innocent individuals. This type of violations should
immediately stop whoever is engaged. Lawlessness refers to these acts.
In fact real human rights activists are concerned mainly about this
category. The government should take responsibility for these unfortunate
events and punish the culprits.
Type 5 violations also need to be taken seriously as type 1 violations.
Perpetrators should be punished according to emergency regulations,
PTA and other relevant legal provisions. These perpetrators might be
hiding behind the UN, etc. but, they need to be punished as the jungle
dwelling terrorists.
Type 2 to 4 categories are necessary evils that have to be put
up with by the population or a section of the population in a democracy
threatened with terror, disintegration, extinction and barbarianism
of untold proportions unleashed by the LTTE. The most the government
could do is to manage it so that it remains within reasonable limits.
Stopping search operations, mass arrests on suspicion of terrorism,
retaliatory attacks on LTTE targets, offensive operations against the
LTTE terrorists and seek and destroy missions against the LTTE and its
peripherals should continue until the last tiger dies. The government
should also appreciate the scale of the problem. It affects even remotely
less than 10% of the total population and there is no point in endangering
the security of 100% of the population by playing ostrich. Additionally,
alleged violations by the troops, etc. are at a very low level compared
to the comparables elsewhere and even in this country. When the Indian
army was here, rape (something not alleged today), extra judicial killings,
etc. were at Bandit Queen levels!! This is an inevitable result of foreign
occupation. No need to look at Iraq, Afghanistan, Afghanistan (again,
this time by the other side), Philippines, Manchuria, Japan, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Rhodesia, Congo (Nobel laureate UN Peace Keeping Force!) etc.;
from 1505-1948 and 1987-1990 this happened here. This is what Ranil
tried to celebrate in 2005 and that is what he wants again now. Mostly
Tamils living in war ravaged areas obviously prefer the Sri Lankan army.
However, these too need to stop within a reasonable period of time and
2 years is not a reasonable period of time. Of course there are double
standards when human rights of the Sinhalese were violated and when
HR of Tamils are violated. However, there is a marked difference this
time compared against 1971 or 1989. Then it was just a few months (less
than 6 months) of grave HR violations against 13 months of violations
from 2006-7 and there is no end in sight. This is the difference and
this is what we should address. In other words, terrorists are not being
killed at the rate of HR violations; this was not the case in 1989 when
within 6 months of paramilitary empowerment, the terror leader was killed.
Although HR violations continued, it was at a ‘tolerable’
rate, at least for our donors, AI, etc.
This strikes a cord with the majority view. Although they condemn HR
violations, they refuse to be human rights extremists.
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