Sri Lanka: Some questions on President Gotabaya answered

Col R Hariharan |November 22, 2019|

Here is an edited version of my answers to a few questions raised by e-mail by a Turkish media columnist on Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa:

Q 1: Is there any merit in accusations that Gotabaya was involved in human rights violations during the war against the Tamil tigers? 

There are quite a few allegations of human rights violations committed by Sri Lanka security forces and military intelligence during the Eelam War from 2006 to 2009, when the LTTE separatists were finally defeated and top leadership was eliminated. These were alleged to have been committed under the watch of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, (now elected president) who served as the defence secretary, under his elder brother President Mahinda Rajapaksa, during the Eelam war.

The offences included causing death to civilians in  safety zone by artillery fire, kidnapping and killing of journalists, causing disappearance and custodial killing of surrendered LTTE cadres and youth suspected to have links with separatists, intimidation of media persons etc. These allegations were investigated by a panel appointed by the UN Secretary General  as well as Sri Lanka government appointed commission. They had found substance in many of the allegations.

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) discussed the issue and held that Sri Lanka should facilitate an international panel to probe the allegations, prosecute and punish the guilty and take measures to improve accountability of government and governance. Sri Lanka had co-sponsored a resolution worded in an acceptable form to this effect at the UNHRC. However, there had been limited progress so far in implementing the resolution.   

Q 2: Do you think right now Sri Lanka needs a hawkish politician like Gotabaya? 

Gotabaya is not a politician but a retired Lt Col of the army. He is considered as an action oriented leader with a record of achievements, who does not hesitate to bend rules to achieve results.

Only after his brother was defeated in 2014 presidential election, he started taking active part in politics through Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, a party floated by admirers of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa. Public lost their faith in the government and incumbent President Sirisena when they failed to stop the Jihadi terroists carried out suicide attacks on churches on Easter Day April 21, despite the government getting advance information from India. This exposed the functional paralysis of the government due to continued schism between President Sirisena and PM Wickremesingh, after the President made an abortive attempt to remove the PM in October 2018. Gotabaya is considered as an architect of the victory in 2009 Eelam war, which had earned him nation-wide popularity. Evidently majority of Sri Lanka people have voted him to power because they felt he was the man of the hour to lead the country to ensure stability and security. 

Q 3: Is Sri Lanka facing a security threat today like it did a decade back?

A decade ago, after Tamil Tiger separatists were defeated, Sri Lanka did not face Islamist terrorist threat as it was mostly confined to West Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. However, thanks to the IS' successful use of social media seem to have impacted some of the young Sri Lankans working in South Asia and Gulf countries where large number of Sri Lankans work. After the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks by some of them, Sri Lanka's terrorist threat potential has increased. The attacks have whipped up a feeling insecurity among the people and dislocated the already troubled relationship between ethnic communities, particularly Muslims. Buddhist fringe elements used the situation to find increasing space in politics and society.  

Apart from this, Sri Lanka has become a strategic pivot for China's BRI expansion and assertion of its military and economic power in Indian Ocean region (IOR). This has become a big challenge for India as China has whittled down Indian influence in Sri Lanka and IOR. Expansion of China's strategic reach in Indo-Pacific has become a major concern for the US and its allies. India has responded to these developments by joining the Quadrilateral security group. So Sri Lankan security is likely to face of pulls and pressures of these strategic developments in coming years. 

Q 4: Do you think Gotabaya's election victory has once again showed a deep ethnic and sectarian divide in the Sri Lanka society?

The continued ethnic and sectarian divide reflects the failure of Sri Lanka leadership to implement a time-bound holistic plan and carry out structural changes to create of confidence between Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim population. Gotabaya's victory has shown ethnic divisions are deeper than before. 

Q 5: Why do you think Gotabaya was able to survive politically despite facing international pressure and domestic controversies that he faced? 

It was not Gotabaya but his brother President Mahinda Rajapaksa's strong resistance to listen to the commiserations and counsel of international community that had resulted in continued international pressure and controversies on Sri Lanka. Most of the Sinhala majority is abhorrent to the idea of foreign intervention in what they consider as an internal process.

Q 6: Can Sri Lanka thrive economically when there is a stark division and minorities fear for their safety? 

This is a complex question. The simplistic answer would be that division between majority and minority communities in society would affect Sri Lanka economically. However, it cannot be quantified without looking at empirical data.

Q 7: Do you think there's any truth in the corruption allegations that Gotabaya has faced? 

Well, these allegations have been there for more than 6-7 years. Some are at investigation stage, while a few are in courts. Only law courts can vouch the veracity of such allegations, though some of them came about as a result investigative reporting by eminent journalists.