Many Shades of Israel’s War against Hamas

Col R Hariharan |Magazine| Special | October 13, 2023| India Legal

https://www.indialegallive.com/magazine/israel-hamas-gaza-strip-india-china-usa-nato-saudi-arabia-iran/

 

The Hamas, the Islamic extremist group in control of the Gaza Strip, barely 400 sq km of land with 2.4 million people sealed off from the outside world by Israel armed forces, surprised the world with a lightning strike on Israel in the wee hours of October 7. The Hamas overcame Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system, firing 5,000 rockets, broke through the fences surrounding Gaza in the morning, attacking Israeli by land, sea and air, using mechanized hang gliders and motorbikes to storm hapless Jewish communities close to the border with Gaza.

The Hamas flooded the social media showing scenes of bravado, including the taking of 150 hostages and killing of innocent civilians—women and children—shouting Allahu Akbar. A TikTok video circulating showed Israeli Rear Admirals, Brigadier Generals and Lt Generals “captured” by the Hamas.

Israel is in a state of war, declared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and vowed to destroy the Hamas. Probably, he considers it an opportunity to settle scores with the Hamas. As defence minister, Netanyahu had quit over Ariel Sharon’s government’s decision to forcibly remove nearly 10,000 Israeli citizens from the settlements in Gaza, after handing over governance to Palestine authority in 2005.

Israel has recalled 3,00,000 reservists to join the army even as it hunted out the Hamas infiltrators in communities close to the Gaza border. Israeli rockets and missiles hit suspected Hamas hideouts in Gaza, flattening many multi-storey buildings. According to Israeli media by Day 6 of the attack, at least 1,300 Israelis have been killed and over 7,400 people in all wounded. The Gaza Health Ministry said 447 children and 248 women were among the 1,417 Palestinians killed by Israel Defence Forces (IDF). The IDF said it is holding 1,500 bodies of militants. And the body count is likely to grow as the end of war is nowhere in sight. Over 3,30,000 people in Gaza have been forced to flee their homes after Israel rockets and bombs hit residential buildings, according to the UN. Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz has said there will be no supply of electricity, fuel or water to Gaza until the Hamas releases Israelis taken as hostages. And UN experts have warned of impending human disaster when Israel launches its ground offensive in Gaza.

Netanyahu has announced the forming of an “emergency government” with Opposition leader Benny Gantz, a former defence minister and army chief for the duration of the war. The three-member “war cabinet” would include Netanyahu, Gantz and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

The IDF is preparing for the widely expected ground offensive in Gaza. Media reports indicate tens of thousands of Israeli forces have been massed along the Gaza border and also along the northern border with Lebanon, where Hezbollah, the Shia militant group, is based in Lebanon. There is a general expectation that it could join in the war, when the IDF launches its ground offensive in Gaza.

In a chilling statement, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, while addressing the troops deployed along the Gaza border, asserted that Gaza will “never go back to what it was”. He said: “I have released all the restraints. We have regained control of the area and we are moving to a full offence. You will have the ability to change the reality here. You have seen the prices being paid and you will get to see the change. Hamas wanted a change; it will change 180 degrees from what it thought.” “They will regret this moment, Gaza will never go back to what it was,” he added. The minister said that Israel with all its might and without compromise, would eliminate “whoever comes to decapitate, murder women, Holocaust survivors.”

Gallant was echoing the words of Interior Minister Eli Yishai’s comment when Operation Pillar of Defense was launched in November 2012. Yishai said: “The goal of the operation is to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages.” It seems Gaza has now bounced back from the Middle Ages, after 11 years to haunt Israel and yet another Israeli minister.

Intelligence Failure

Lt General Herzi Halevi, IDF chief of staff, has admitted to shortcomings that allowed Hamas’ incursion and significant casualties on Saturday. The Times of Israel quoted him as saying: “The IDF is responsible for the security of the country and its citizens, and on Saturday morning in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip, we did not handle it. We will learn, we will investigate, but now is the time for war.”

But the IDF may not be wholly responsible. In a way, the Hamas’ war was waiting to happen as PM Netanyahu has been increasing “the pressure cooker syndrome” of Palestinians living on the West bank, eating into their territory relentlessly to settle new Jewish communities. This could have drawn the focus of the IDF on the West Bank. While the PM’s right-wing supporters applauded him, political preoccupation seems to have ignored the ever-present security threat posed by the Hamas.

The Chairman of US House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul is reported to have told a closed door intelligence briefing that Egypt had warned Israel three days earlier that “an event like this could happen.” Undoubtedly, Shin Bet, responsible for internal security, and the legendary Mossad, known for its intelligence exploits, both seem to have failed.

In a podcast on BBC Radio, Sir Alex Younger, former head of MI6, called it “the failure of imagination”. He said there were two reasons why Israel’s intelligence had no knowledge of the impending attack. Firstly, “the really big failures that are labelled as intelligence failures…are in fact failures of imagination”. Citing 9/11 as a classic example, Younger said: “The assumption was not that we were vulnerable to anything in terms of this type of attack. The assumption was that it essentially wasn’t possible.”  He further added: “And it is my assumption therefore… that there will have been data breaking through, which probably could have been interpreted differently… but people were just not looking at it in that way.” This is what happened in the intelligence failure that led to 9/11 too!

Israel’s intelligence failure should caution Indian intelligence honchos and leadership, who depend upon information from multiple sources. They need to remember Albert Einstein’s words: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

International Dimension

Unmindful of all the complexities and calamities, security pandits from both sides are debating on the TV, the semantics of war and who is responsible for it. Geographically for over 75 years, the Levant has frequently faced the tectonics of war, more than any other part of the globe. So, the international dimension of the conflict is hogging the limelight. And its Indian dimension is of special interest as India-Israel relations have become closer than ever before in the last nine years. Just as the Ukraine War divided the world, the Israeli offensive against the Hamas also seems to have found its “us and they”.

The White House released a joint statement of leaders of the US, France, Germany, Italy and UK pledging “to support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and the surprise attacks by militant group Hamas”. They added that they recognised “the legitimate aspirations of the Palestine people”, but said the Hamas offered “nothing for the Palestine people other than more terror and bloodshed.”

India was among the first countries to show solidarity with Israel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an X message on October 7 wrote: “Deeply shocked by the news of terrorist attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour.” India’s gesture has been appreciated by Israel. On the other hand, China seems to have disappointed Israel, when it issued a vanilla statement. It called on “relevant parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and immediately end the hostilities to protect civilians and avoid further deterioration of the situation”. Later President Xi Jinping tried to strengthen the statement to condemn “all violence and attacks on civilians” without specifically naming the Hamas.

NATO countries have told Israel’s defence minister that they stood by his country after the attack by the Hamas, but urged his forces to respond with “proportionality”. However, after the defence ministers’ meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was unequivocal in his support to Israel. After condemning the Hamas’ “indefensible attack on civilians,” he called for the immediate release of all hostages. He added: “Israel has the right to defend itself and as the conflict unfolds, the protection of civilians is essential.” He cautioned: “No nation or organisation hostile to Israel should seek to take advantage of the situation or to escalate the conflict.”

The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) strongly condemned the “ongoing Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip”. It considered the brutal aggression against the Palestinian people a blatant international and humanitarian law violation and “a war crime”. Did OIC’s stand reflect Saudi Arabia’s views as it is headquartered in Jeddah?

Some clarity emerged when Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the Palestine-Israeli conflict on October 11. In a telephone conversation, they discussed the need to end war crimes against Palestine, according to Iranian state media. The Saudi crown prince “affirmed the Kingdom is making all possible efforts in communicating with all international and regional parties to stop the ongoing escalation” according to the Saudi state news agency.

Qatar’s foreign ministry’s blame of Israel for the recent escalation of violence with the Palestinians is not surprising as the Hamas headquarters is located in Qatar. It called for restraint from both sides and urged the international community to prevent Israel from using these events as a pretext for a disproportionate war against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

India’s Support to Israel

India was one of the first countries to recognise the Palestinian cause; in fact, India had been one of its biggest supporters in international forums. India established full diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992. Despite this, their relations had been at a low key, as it was hyphenated with Arab countries’ support to Palestine.

However, India-Israel relations became closer and multifaceted after PM Modi came to power in 2014. Modi was the first Indian PM to visit Israel in July 2017, when the two countries signed seven MoUs. The MoUs covered a wide range of subjects, ranging from industrial innovation, water conservation to cooperation on diverse subjects like electric propulsion of small satellites. The visit of PM Netanyahu, a year later, further reinforced the relations.

These visits paved the way for various Israeli unicorns to operate in India. In 2020, Israel’s National Cyber Directorate and Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) decided to enhance capacity building initiatives. The relations between the two countries were further cemented when India joined Israel, USA and UAE to form the I2-U2 grouping in 2022. This paved the way for close cooperation for joint initiatives in a number areas in water, energy, transportation, space, health and food security sectors.

Over the years, Israel has emerged as the biggest defence supplier, next only to Russia. With Israel’s collaboration India has been able to develop and produce state-of-the-art systems such as Barak 8 surface to air defence missiles, Skystriker drones, etc. In May 2023, India and Israel signed a Vision on Defence Cooperation statement during the visit of the Israeli defence minister. It formalised further collaboration and production of a whole range of defence equipment, particularly in development of UAVs and light combat aircraft and helicopters, so essential to guard our Himalayan frontiers. Israel’s close involvement in India’s defence preparedness has to be understood while studying the relations between the two countries. This is more so, when Israel is confronting an Islamic terror group like the Hamas, even as India continues to support a just deal for the Palestine people.

India clarified its stand in a carefully worded statement issued by its Ministry of External Affairs, reiterating the country’s support for a sovereign, independent and viable Palestine state. It described the Hamas assault on Israel as terrorist attacks, adding clarity to India’s position on the subject.[RH1] 

—The writer is a retired military intelligence specialist on South Asia associated with the Chennai Centre for China Studies

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 [RH1]

No Option For Muizzu But to Maintain Functional Relationship With India: Ex-Intel Office

Dhairya Maheshwari | Sputnik Opinion | October 6, 2023

https://sputniknews.in/20231006/no-option-for-muizzu-but-to-maintain-functional-relationship-with-india-ex-intel-officer-4633917.html

 

Both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping were among the first world leaders to congratulate Maldives’ President-elect Mohamed Muizzu after his election win.

Maldives’ incoming President Mohamed Muizzu has urged the outgoing administration headed by Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to put a hold on “execution of bilateral conventions and agreements”, according to a letter cited in Maldivian media on Thursday.

The decision comes as the Maldivian President-elect doubled down on his election campaign pledge to expel foreign troops from the Indian Ocean nation since winning the presidential runoff last weekend.

Muizzu, who represents a coalition of Progressive Party of Maldives and People’s National Congress (PNC), has been a backer of the ‘India Out’ campaign while in opposition. New Delhi has denounced the ‘India Out’ campaign, amid threats against Indian diplomats and interests on the archipelago.

India is the biggest defense capacity-building and a major development partner of the Maldives.

Since Muizzu’s election, the Indian government has called upon the incoming administration in Male to “collaborate closely to address shared challenges confronting our region”.

“The focus of our partnership with Maldives has always been on capacity building and working together to address our shared challenges and priorities, you know, including security challenges and priorities,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson told a regular briefing in New Delhi on Thursday

Sputnik India spoke to Colonel (retired) R Hariharan, formerly the head of intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka and a fellow at Chennai Centre for China Studies (C3S).

Edited excerpts:

Sputnik India: Why is Maldives critical for Indian interests in the Indian Ocean?

Hariharan: Maintaining good relations with India is more important for Maldives as it depends upon India for almost everything, as the smallest country in Asia with half a million population lacks resources, even freshwater. Tourism is its mainstay.

Maldives is a chain of 26 atolls, stretching from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south, spanning 90,000 sq km of territory across the Equator in the Arabian Sea. It is located 750 km Southwest of India and Sri Lanka.

Historically, Maldives has ethnic, religious and cultural connectivity with India and Sri Lanka. Maldives’ language Dhivehi is a dialect of Sinhala and with a script derived from Arabic. In fact, Minicoy the southernmost and second largest island in the Indian territory of Lakshadweep, has around 12,000 Mahl people of Maldives ethnicity.

Maldives-India relations have been close since colonial rule ended in 1965 and Maldives became a republic. India that responded immediately to President Maumoon Gayoom’s call for assistance to thwart a coup attempt in Maldives in 1988. India had been swift to provide help and succour during the 2004 tsunami and when the country faced a drinking water crisis in 2014.

The Indian Ocean’s strategic importance has gone up after President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was launched in 2013 to increase China’s strategic outreach across continents.

The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) forms the oceanic part of BRI infrastructural connectivity. It enables China to secure passage for its international maritime trade to pass through bottlenecks in the Indian Ocean.

Maldives and Sri Lanka are important pivots for the success of the MSR, more so after the Quad framework started taking shape to check increasing Chinese strategic presence in Indian Ocean.

President Xi Jinping was the first Chinese head of state to visit Maldives since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1972. His visit to Maldives on May 15, 2014, on his way to Sri Lanka and India, underlined the island nation’s importance in Xi’s strategic outreach under BRI.

Though Chinese companies had been involved in project contracting in Maldives since 1985, it made a quantum jump after former President Abdulla Yameen (a political ally of Muizzu), with a strong pro-China stance and marked hostility towards India came to power in 2013. Not only has Yameen responded to Xi’s invitation to join the MSR during his visit but also signed a free trade pact with China a few months later.

During Yameen’s tenure as President till 2018, a number of Chinese infrastructure and investment projects were executed. Male-Hulhumale bridge conceived in 2007. It was constructed by China Harbour Engineering Company at a cost of $210 million.

Similarly, Beijing Urban Construction Group replaced Indian contractor GMR, to complete the stalled Male International Airport expansion project at Hulhumale in 2018.

Sputnik India: How strong is the institutional defense partnership between India?

Hariharan: India-Maldives institutional defence partnership is well established.

Even during Abdulla Yameen’s rule tilted in favour of China, he signed the Indo-Maldivian Action Plan for defence. Under the agreement, India would install 26 radars on all the atolls to link up with the Indian coastal command. Indian Navy and the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) carry out joint surveillance and patrolling activities.

India-Maldives relations got a further boost after Prime Minister Narendra Modi adopted the “Neighbourhood First” Policy when he came to power in 2014.

India is involved in a number of major infrastructure projects like the Greater Male Connectivity project, cargo vessel services and capacity building and training of MNDF and Maldivian civil servants in India and the Gulhifalhu Port Project. Indian defence forces and MNDF regularly hold joint exercises.

India has supplied a Dornier surveillance aircraft to Maldives to keep an eye on foreign vessels traversing the Indian Ocean as well as casualty evacuation from isolated islands and prevent poaching and drug smuggling in Maldivian waters.

After the QUAD framework for Indo-Pacific security, the importance of the US military base at the atoll of Diego Garcia in Chagos archipelago, around 1,713 km from Maldives, has increased. This base was used during the US operations in Afghanistan.

Sputnik India: Should Muizzu be seen as pro-China? Do you expect Maldives to go closer to China as opposed to 'India First' policy of the outgoing Solih administration?

Hariharan: As explained earlier, President Muizzu has no option but to maintain a functional relationship with India, though he might be dubbed as pro-China (though he maintains he is pro-Maldives).

Muizzu has used the fictitious rhetoric of presence of foreign soldiers (a euphemism for Indian troops) during his election campaign. The Indian High Commission in Male has condemned such a malicious media campaign.

China has definitely staged a political comeback with the success of the Muizzu. His primary election campaign theme was removing Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives.

When the Indian Ambassador Munu Mahawar called upon Muizzu, he urged New Delhi to respect the decision of the people of Maldives to protect their sovereignty and independence.

At the meeting, he expressed confidence that India would cooperate on this matter. He also expressed hope that the Indian government would facilitate the easy repayment of loans taken by the current government of outgoing President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

In his remarks, the Indian Ambassador assured Muizzu of India's support and cooperation in various development fields in the Maldives. He also affirmed that India would fully respect the Maldives' sovereignty and expressed readiness to negotiate facilitating loan repayment.

We can expect Muizzu to take calculated steps to favour China, in preference to India.

 

 

Sri Lanka: Situation Normal, All Fouled Up

 Col R Hariharan | Sri Lanka Perspectives September 2023 | South Asia Security Trends October 2023 | www.security-risks.com

 

Overview

The September Perspectives presents a cross section of major events. Sri Lanka’s continues to be hauled before the UNHRC session for accountability of its poor human record has become a standard feature since 2010. This year is no exception. International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff talks concluded its talks but disappointed the government by deferring the release of the second tranche of assistance to the cash strapped country. A Channel 4 ‘dispatch’ episode telecast during the month has alleged a conspiracy to facilitate the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa behind the Easter Sunday bombings. Lastly, the government’s doublespeak on ethnic reconciliation, while it allows Sinhala Buddhist chauvinists to run riot is exemplified by a Tamil judge fleeing the country to save himself.   

Sri Lanka at the UNHRC

Sri Lanka has continued its denial mode when the UN Human Rights office (OHCHR) presented its oral and written update on the Sri Lanka Accountability project at the 54^th session of the UNHRC. The Project was set up in accordance with Resolutions 46/1 and 51/1. Sri Lanka rejected the oral and written updates and its conclusions and recommendations and said it will not cooperate with it.  

The oral and written reports were scathing in their indictment of Sri Lanka. The written report said the country “suffers from a continuing accountability deficit - be it for war crime atrocities, more recent human rights violations, corruption or abuse of power. The country must address these to move forward, it added.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk referred to the Aragalaya spontaneous public protests and said, “More than a year ago mass protests demanded better governance and an inclusive vision for Sri Lanka – in short, a renewal of the social contract.”

Referring to Sri Lanka’s proposed new truth-seeking mechanism, Turk said “Truth seeking alone will not suffice. It must also be accompanied by a clear commitment to accountability and the political will to implement far reaching change.” The report emphasised the need for meaningful and transparent consultations with victims and civil society on the current truth-seeking proposal.“

The report called upon the authorities to accelerate investigations and prosecutions into “emblematic cases of human rights violations”, as well as the Easter Sunday bombings 2019. The report’s reference to the Easter Sunday bombings is significant.

The report has also expressed concerns at the proposed Prevention of Terrorism bill and the legislation to regulate broadcasting. It noted the reports of disputes over land have continued despite the President set a “different tone” in advancing the reconciliation initiative and promised to stop land acquisition for archaeological or security purposes.

The six-nation Core Group on Sri Lanka called for effective governance reforms. It observed “Sri Lanka still has a long way to go to fulfil commitments to justice, accountability and reconciliation.”

During the interactive dialogue, India’s Permanent Representative at the UN Indra Mani Pandey reiterated India’s desire to see the full implementation of the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution and conduct Provincial Council elections “to ensure a life of respect and dignity for Tamils.”

IMF staff mission concludes

Sri Lanka’s expectations of obtaining a second tranche of $ 330 million loan from the IMF were belied when the visiting IMF staff mission to Colombo ended two weeks of discussion without an agreement. The mission said despite Sri Lanka showing early signs of stabilisation, full economic recovery is not yet assured. In March, the IMF awarded the first tranche of $330 million after it approved $ 2.9 billion rescue package to Sri Lanka.

In a statement the IMF said “the people of Sri Lanka have shown remarkable resilience and the authorities have made significant progress on important reforms.” It further said “discussion will continue towards reaching a staff level agreement in the near term that maintains the reform momentum needed to allow Sri Lanka to emerge from its deep economic crisis.” No time limit has been fixed for the release of the second tranche.

The IMF said though inflation has come down to below 2% in September from a peak of 70% a year ago abd gross international reserves increased by $1.5 billion during the March-June period, the real GDP in the second quarter contracted by 3.1 percent on a year-on-year basis and Reserve accumulation has slowed in recent months.

On the negative side, the IMF said “Revenue mobilisation gains are expected to fall short of initial projections by nearly 15% by year end, in part due to economic factors.” It expressed concern at tax collection. It said it was “an important pillar of the program’s primary balance targets and remains committed to this important pillar of the program to sustain the essential expenditures of Government services like education, health, infrastructure, and support for the poor. The IMF pointed out there was a big gap between State revenue at 9% of GDP and expenditure at 19%. To fill the gap, it was important to have appropriate tax policies and tax administration systems, it pointed out.

With the demand for elections gathering momentum, reworking Sri Lanka’s tax policies and tax administration is going to be difficult. So in all likelihood the second tranche may be delayed and Sri Lanka is likely to court Asia’s biggest moneylender – China.

Channel 4 video

In the Channel 4 “Dispatches” programme aired on September 5 presented whistleblower’s Azad Maulana alleged that Suresh Sallay, Director of State Intelligence Service was complicit in the Easter Sunday bombings in April 2019 to bring Gotabaya Rajapaksa to power. He claimed he had put Sallay in touch with Zahran, leader of the National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) extremist group.

The latest Channel 4 video has introduced yet another conspiracy theory into the government’s inept follow up action taken after the bombings. The core issue is President Sirisena chose to ignore the advance intelligence of the attack received from Indian intelligence ten days before the attack due to his schism with PM Wickremesinghe. Though the findings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) are out, the case has not been brought to a conclusion.  

Successive governments in Colomb usually appoint a presidential commission on any important national issue. In keeping with the tradition, President Wickremesinghe has appointed a three-member committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge SI Imam to investigate Channel 4 allegations on the Easter Sunday attacks.

The public have lost faith in governmental inquiries, particularly after the controversies dogging the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks.  The public have become cynical about politicians and political leaders after the Aragalaya protests last year. So, the public may not have great expectations from the Presidential Committee on the latest Channel 4 video.

Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism on the rise

Since 2021, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government decisions, based on Sinhala Buddhist ethnocentric considerations, rapidly reversed the progress on ethnic reconciliation made by his predecessors. The Archaeology Department’s controversial seizure of 400 acres of land in Thannimurippu area belonging to Tamils around Kuruthoormalai in Mullaitivu district in 2002 is a case in point. An archaeological map in 1932 assigned 78 acres of land in the site for religious worship. A resurvey was ordered and designated as Kurandhava Vihara archaeological site in 2020. This was the start of archaeological activities aided by the military in Kuruthoormalai in January 2021. Early in 2022, Vidura Wickramanayaka, minister for national heritage, led the consecration of a Buddha statue in the land. After two months, the department asked for the handing over of 400 acres surrounding Kuruthoormalai. Of this150 acres belong to Tamils of Thannimurippu, while the rest of it was under Nagancholai forest area. When Buddhist monks started building the vihara with the help of the military and the Archaeology Department, Tamils obtained a court order against further construction. Even when the case was pending in the Supreme Court, the ancient Murugan temple there was destroyed by soldiers led by Minister Wickramanayaka, according to MP MA Sumanthiran. In fact the MP was invited by the archaeology department for a function at the site on May 19, 2023!

Last year, Mullaitivu court judge Saravanaraja had ordered a halt and removal of all new constructions, including an illegally built Buddhist shrine at the site of the ancient Hindu temple there. Since then, the judge was subject to constant harassment and threats. He told the media, “Constant pressure was applied by the government to reverse the orders I had issued in the Kurunthoormalai case.” He said members of parliament like Sarath Weerasekara and others have issued threats against his life. The Attorney General invited him to his office on September 21 and compelled the judge to reverse his orders in the Kurunthoormalai case. Two cases were also filed against him personally in the Court of Appeal in connection with the Kurunthoormalai case. So finally, he resigned from his judicial posts “due to life threats, pressures and harassments.” He is reported to have fled Sri Lanka to save himself from reprisals.

To sum up…

The UNHRC has presented a realistic picture of Sri Lanka and highlighted what is required to be done. Sri Lanka requires not just structural and institutional reforms, but a change in the mindset of the government as well. Reform must be structured beyond fiscal relations. It should include obligations and responsibilities of the government in a wide range of domains of good governance.

If we go by the performance of the government since Aragalaya last year, the government does not appear to be in a hurry to improve its accountability. This applies not only to human rights, but also equitable treatment of all citizens. Judge Saravanaraja fleeing the country to escape official pressures is a disgraceful example for any country; but it is also a glaring example of the doublespeak of the government on ethnic reconciliation. As of now, the government of the day’s is best described by the military cliché - SNAFU – Situation Normal All Fouled Up.

Col R Hariharan, a retired MI specialist on South Asia and terrorism, served as the head of intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka 1987-90. He is associated with the Chennai Centre for China Studies. Email: haridirect@gmail.com  Website: https://col.hariharan.info]