Col R Hariharan | 31-7-2018 |
Colombo High Court acquitted on May 26,
2017 Iyer Sriskandarajah, a Hindu priest,
charged with aiding and abetting the suicide bomb attack on former
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a Colombo suburb on December 1, 2006
that left three dead including the suicide bomber. The court verdict came after
it found the confession by Iyer was not made voluntarily and the state counsel
was unable to submit any other evidence. But the acquittal came after the
priest had spent nearly 13 years in remand custody. An aside to the suicide
bombing case was the allegation of former Sri Lanka army chief Field Marshal
Sarath Fonseka made in parliament on May 2016 that it was an “inside job” to win
sympathy for the then-ruling family (Rajapaksas).
The callousness with which the case
under Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) was handled is neither unique nor
uncommon. According to the statistics on PTA arrests provided by the Office of
the Attorney General to the UN Special Rapporteur on Countering Terrorism Ben
Emmerson, “out of 81 prisoners at the time of judicial phase of their pretrial
detention, 70 had been in detention without trial for five years and 11 had
been in detention without trial for over ten years.”
The UN Special Rapporteur in his report
to the UN Human Rights Council, after a recent visit to Sri Lanka, has also
focused on PTA pre-trial detainees languishing in prison for years without
being tried for an offence. Highlighting the continuing “culture of
impunity” in the country’s justice system, Emmerson has given the serious
apprehensions of the senior most judge responsible for terrorism cases. The
judge said that in over 90 percent of the cases so far in 2017, he was forced
to exclude essential evidence because they had been obtained through the use or
threat of violence. Emmerson’s report
noted that 80 percent of those arrested under the PTA in late 2016 complained
of torture and physical ill treatment.
The report only confirms that though the
Maithripala Sirisena government came to power promising Yahapalana (good governance), it had not
been able to tame the draconian PTA which continues to be in force, with the
proposed Counter Terrorism Act (CTA) still limping in draft stage. Similarly,
remand prisoners languishing without trial shows that it is a continuing
historical aberration that reflects the abysmal level of rule of law and
subversion of justice system.
If you can’t win them, buy them
Even before the heat died down
after the New York Times report on June 25, 2018 about China’s financial
support to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s campaign during 2015 presidential election,
Chinese have announced “gift” of $295 million (SL Rs 48 billion) to Sri Lanka
for spending on a project of its choosing. President Sirisena said the money
would be spent on a countrywide housing programme for building houses in all
administrative districts at a cost of SL Rs one million per house. It is
significant that the Chinese grant has been made when Sri Lanka is poised to
hold provincial council elections. Clearly, this grant would appear to be part
of China’s strategy – ‘if you can’t win them buy them.’ Work on the
construction of another ‘gift’ from China – the 200-bed National Nephrology
Hospital - in Polonnaruwa has also started.
Equally significant was the
announcement of China gifting a frigate to Sri Lanka Navy. Already, PLA has
been offering training courses to Sri Lanka military. It is also completing an
auditorium at the Kotelawala Defence Academy.
On the other hand, it was evident
that Sri Lanka government was trying to balance its relations with India also.
A proposal to develop the loss-making Mattala international airport as a joint
venture with Airports Authority of India (AAI) is underway. Civil Aviation
Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said 70 percent stake of the joint stock
company to be formed for the operation of the airport would go to AAI and 30
percent to the Sri Lanka government. Speaking in parliament, the minister promised to present the draft agreement with AAI before signing it.
The preconditions for the partnership
included AAI agreeing with the Government chief valuer’s estimation for 70
percent pwnership and use of the airport only for
commercial purposes and not for any military use. Only locals and not foreigners can be involved in air navigation work. The
airport security must be handled by the air force and airport staff.
In the context of the growing
international competition for influence in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Ranil
Wickremesinghe’s speech at the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training
Institute on July 13 is significant. He said the Indian Ocean was in danger of
becoming a major centre of tension again. “China its strategic vulnerability in
the Indian Ocean, has sought means of reducing it.” Different projects have
come as the result of China challenging the US in the Pacific; the US does not
want to see a Chinese expansion in Indian Ocean.
He added that India, the strongest power
among the littoral nations, would not welcome a change in status quo. And
Japan is committed to free maritime movement in the Indian Ocean as well as the
Pacific. He said that if a power
struggle broke out in the Indian Ocean, it could adversely affect Sri Lanka’s
objective of becoming the hub of the Indian Ocean. “A destabilized Indian Ocean
is averse to our economic interest. Stability and growth in the Indian Ocean
will further our own national growth.” He said Sri Lanka has to charter a course for itself, as the littoral states ran the
risk of becoming spectators with no control.
He also referred to the
Hambantota harbour and said “the Southern command itself is shifting from Galle
to Hambantota. We have asked the Navy to have more emphasis on anti-submarine
warfare, within our capability. We are increasing the number of offshore patrol
vessels.” He assured “we will ensure that we can maintain the security of the
Hambantota harbour.” He said the immediate objective was to arrive a consensus
among all stakeholders including all the littoral states, on the manner of
upholding the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Appealing to all
parties to agree on the principles, he said “all we are seeking to do is to get
everyone to talk of the possibilities of how we move forward.” The PM’s policy
speech on Indian Ocean clearly indicates Sri Lanka’s growing concerns at the
country becoming the focus of Indian Ocean rivalry among big powers.
Col R Hariharan, a retired MI
officer, served as the head of Intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force
in Sri Lanka from 1987 to 90. He is associated with the Chennai Centre for
China Studies, South Asia Analysis Group and the International Law and
Strategic Analysis Institute, Chennai. E-mail: haridirect@gmail.com Blog: http://col.hariharan.info
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