Hong Kong, China � A minister of the Sri Lankan government has
publicly claimed responsibility for the assassination of slain newspaper editor
Lasantha Wickrematunge and for the serious injuries caused to another well known
journalist, Poddala Jayantha. Yet no action has been taken against him.
Labor Minister Mervin Silva publically stated the following at a meeting in
Hunupitiya, Kelaniya on July 9:
�Lasantha from the Leader paper went overboard. I took care
of him. Poddala agitated and his leg was broken. Now a fellow in my
electorate is trying to stand against me. I now tell him in his own
hometown, I will give him only seven more days. If he does not resign as
chairman of the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha, don�t blame me later on. You�ll
don�t find fault with me. If this fellow goes against what I say, I will
send him to the place where I sent Lasantha.�
The assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunge and the serious assault on
Poddala Jayantha generated global publicity. These two cases are among the
most high-profile crimes reported recently. The police authorities
questioned by the media and international organizations claimed that they
have been unable to trace the perpetrators.
The widely held suspicion is that the government itself was behind these
crimes, and now a minister has come forward to claim that he had a hand in
them. The natural reaction in a country where the rule of law is respected
would have been for the police to immediately question the minister and for
the government to call for an explanation and to disassociate itself from
the minister. However, no action of any sort has followed the statement.
In another incident, the Ministry of Defense website named five lawyers as
�traitors� for appearing in a case against Secretary of Defense Gotabhaya
Rajapakse. All are well-known lawyers who have appeared for numerous clients
and provided their professional services within the best traditions of the
legal profession.
This accusation was condemned by the Sri Lankan Bar Association. The
International Bar Association Human Rights Institute also expressed alarm
about this online posting, which is an attack on the legal profession
itself.
Both the Sri Lankan Bar Association and the IBAHRI condemned a similar
publication a few months ago where lawyers appearing for persons who were
charged as suspected terrorists under anti-terrorism laws were named as
terrorists themselves. Despite the protests, the publication was not
withdrawn and no action was taken against those responsible.
As lawyers are officers of the court, any obstruction preventing them from
carrying out their professional work would constitute contempt of court.
Besides which, freedom to practice one�s profession independently is
guaranteed under the country�s Constitution and the violation of this would
amount to the breach of fundamental rights. Under the Constitution the
Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has the power to adjudicate on any complaint of a
breach of fundamental rights.
In yet another incident, the Paris-based Reporters without Borders condemned
the blocking of a website which published a news item on the president�s
eldest son. �No one should be immune from press criticism, including members
of the president�s family,� the group said. The website published a report
stating that it had been banned after carrying this item. Media watchdogs
have characterized the ban as a further addition to the ongoing attacks
against the media.
Meanwhile the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire
into Serious Violations of Human Rights published an incomplete report
exonerating the military with regard to the killing of 17 employees of the
French charity, Action Contre la Faim, in 2006. This incomplete report was
the result of a completely flawed investigation which the International
Group of Eminent Persons had earlier condemned as lacking impartiality.
It is well known that due to the fear of reprisals many persons refused to
come before the commission. A proposal to provide witness protection was
brought before the Parliament, due to international pressure, but was
thereafter swept under the carpet.
All these incidents demonstrate that the commission has a license to commit
blatant crimes under the guise of national security. The system is
completely blind to complaints relating to such actions. The four incidents
mentioned above are just the tip of the iceberg.
Throughout the country people are unwilling to complain about crimes
committed by the police or other government agencies due to an embedded
perception that justice will not be done in such cases.
An ingrained feeling of the absence of justice in a country will be
exploited by those who wish to abuse power, and this is likely to become
worse as time goes by. Once this situation spreads it is worse than an
epidemic. When lawlessness reaches epidemic proportions there is nothing
within society to generate resistance. Against such a background much worse
catastrophes can happen.
Nineteenth century Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, having noted the
lowest depths his country had reached in his lifetime, predicted that
terrible events beyond imagination might occur in the future. Later
observers interpreted his remarks as a prediction of the period under the
dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. The lawlessness currently allowed within Sri
Lanka by the government carries the possibility of such tragic developments
in the future.
