the inglorious self-goal
TRANSCRIPT
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The inglorious self-goal
So perfectly orchestrated and precisely timed, the detention of human rights campaigners in Sri Lanka over thepast week almost looks like internal sabotage to ruin the countrys faltering chances at the UN Human Rights
ouncil in !eneva
"hursday #$th %arch #$&'
Heres a mid(week riddle) *hat do the "amil widow +alendran eyakumari, activists Ruki -ernando, -ather
.raveen %ahesan and Sri Lankas ustice %inister have in common/
"hey all chose to engage with international human rights mechanisms, including UN rights hief Navi .illay0 1nd
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now they are paying for it0
Since her e2plosive press conference at the UN compound in olombo, a recurring theme of Navi .illays remarks
on the situation in Sri Lanka has been reprisals against rights activists and others who work to defend fundamental
freedoms in the country0 Her persistence on the issue, in the face of stringent government denials and demands for
proof, has made the safety of activists in Sri Lanka a central theme of international engagement on human rights
issues in the country, now taking place predominantly at the UN Human Rights ouncil in !eneva0
+ut not even .illay could have predicted that the culture of intolerance for dissenting opinions in Sri Lanka would
e2tend all the way up to .resident %ahinda Ra3apaksas cabinet of ministers0
4*e will skin the b555555 alive67 screeched +odu +ala Sena !eneral Secretary !alagodaaththe !nansara "hero at a
press conference in olombo earlier this week0
"he !eneral Secretary, who flew to +urma to receive a special birthday gift from +urmas radical monk 1shin
*irathu this month, flayed ustice %inister Rauff Hakeem for the crime of
being associated with a report handed over to .illay in 1ugust last year0 "he
report detailed multiple attacks on %uslim places of worship that have been
associated with or incited by the campaigns of hardline movements like the
++S and its partner organisations over the past year0
Hakeem flayed by cabinet colleagues
"he hardline +uddhist group is famous for its hate(filled invective against
perceived enemies0 "he attack on Hakeem, while e2treme and vicious, is not
unusual0 "he crescendo of abuse hurled at the ustice %inister by his cabinet
ministers on election platforms and press conferences over the past month
tells an entirely different story0
Since an incensed .resident %ahinda Ra3apaksa read %inister Hakeem the
riot act in cabinet about the report to .illay, multiple ministers have pitched into
the %uslim minister for colluding with foreign forces seeking to effect regime
change in Sri Lanka0
+ut because of his run with the hare and hunt with the hound policies, %inister
Hakeem elicits little sympathy0 His party ensures the U.-1 retains a two thirds
ma3ority in .arliament0 +ut conveniently, the Sri Lanka %uslim ongress
routinely campaigns independently at elections, permitting the %uslim party to
bra8enly attack the policies of the ruling government as being discriminatory
towards minorities0 9nce the polls are complete, the SL% led by Hakeem will
blithely hand its several seats at the two provincial councils over to the U.-1,
distorting its mandate each time after contesting elections on a stringently anti(
!overnment platform0
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1s a firmly entrenched, if mistrusted member of the Ra3apaksa administration therefore, %inister Hakeem has
insurance which human rights campaigners like -ernando, -ather .raveen and eyakumari do not0
Under heavy surveillance and garrisoning since the end of the war in #$$:, international focus on Sri Lankas
human rights record is making life in ;ilinochchi hell again0
"he famous little girl
eyakumari, the harmapuram on Sunday to gather
details about the raid on her home and subseAuent arrest, met a similar fate0
-ernando, who engages in human rights documentation work and -ather .raveen who works closely with families
of missing people in the north, help to take stories like eyakumaris out into the world0
*ith the !overnment under fire internationally for its unwillingness to investigate involuntary disappearances and a
myriad other violations, this has become a dangerous line of work0
>iplomatic pushback
"he detention of -ernando and the atholic .riest, only three days after eyakumaris arrest, set alarms off across
the world, most notably in !eneva0 Rights organisations in !eneva made representations to the UNHR .resident
and country delegations regarding the latest arrests0 =n olombo, civil society activists and diplomatic missions
stepped up the pressure0 1 flood of statements condemning the arrests emerged from ma3or capitals of the world0
>espite deepening hostility between the ruling administration and *estern countries lobbying for improvements in
the countrys human rights situation, diplomatic missions in olombo were in constant touch with government
officials to urge restraint and demand access for the activists lawyers0
Under the .revention of "errorism 1ct, detainees can be held for up to D# hours before being produced in court to
be released or served with official detention papers0 9fficials from foreign missions went so far as to make late night
phone calls to police stations in the north where -ernando and -ather .raveen were being held, to ask for details
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about the condition of the detainees and the charges upon which they had been arrested0 =n some cases, flustered
police officials hurriedly disconnected the lines0
-rom bureaucrats and political officials in olombo, the missions were getting a consistent message) B=t is beyond
our control0
=n !eneva meanwhile, the !overnment was digging in its heels0 Sri Lankas .ermanent %ission to the UN in
!eneva is the only Sri Lankan overseas mission to be staffed entirely by career diplomats0 "hese officers, fully
cogni8ant of the fact that damage control needed to be done given the degree of focus the detentions were getting,
issued a lengthy diplomatic note to all permanent missions and international organisations in !eneva0 "he US
mission alone failed to receive the note0 "he !overnment delegation to the UNHR would later e2ercise a right of
reply at the ouncil regarding the arrests along similar lines0
Cnter 4!obi7
Cnter 4!opi7 or 4!obi7 aka ;0 Selvanayagam, the L""C operative the "=> claims it was hunting based on
intelligence information that he was regrouping the "igers in the north0 "he !overnment note e2plaining
eyakumaris arrest and detention, said investigators had obtained a lead on !opis whereabouts that had led them
to the +alendran home in >harmapuram0 Shots were fired in3uring a policeman and massive caches of weapons
were found, the note goes on to e2plain0 *hen eyakumari refused to tell investigators the suspects whereabouts,
she was arrested and later detained for further interrogation, according to the note0
Ruki -ernando and the atholic .riest had been arrested and detained because they were engaging with persons
connected with 4!obi7, the !overnment e2plained in its letter to the missions0 =n cru2, the note argued in no
uncertain terms that the detentions were within the countrys legal framework and had been made to ensure
national security0
"he %ilitary Spokesman e2pounded the same charge about !opi in the state press, alleging that the two activists
arrested on Sunday had ma3or links with L""C cadres0
*hile terrorism concerns were easily understood as being a security imperative for any country, the fact that the
three persons arrested in connection with the L""C operative coincidentally also happened to be disappearances
activists significantly eroded the arguments credibility0 "he narrative seemed to fit too comfortably with government
propaganda that has ceaselessly eAuated human rights activism with support for the L""C cause internationally0
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Roll back
+ut sometime on "uesday evening, the ground began to shift0
"he %ilitary Spokesman told foreign 3ournalists he had been misAuoted in the state media about the two activists
and their "iger connections and insisted he would be issuing a correction0
"he news items about -ernando and the priest were taken down from the >efence %inistry website0 .olice
Spokesman SS. 13ith Rohana told >aily -" the "=> 4may conclude investigations7 about the two activists on
"uesday night0 -orty eight hours after they were arrested in the *anni, Ruki -ernando and -ather .raveen were
given bail by the olombo %agistrate who was roused at && p0m0 at his *attala home0 "he series of arrests of well
known rights campaigners under widely criticised anti(terror legislation that remains in place five years after the
L""C was defeated, seemed irrational and ill(timed at best or defiant of international opinion and scrutiny at worst0
"hree days after the arrests, diplomats and analysts are still struggling to make sense of what prompted the latest
seAuence of events0 lear in his mind that the UNHR cannot impose sanctions on his administration because that
would reAuire the approval of the UN Security ouncil where he is certain +ei3ing and %oscow will protect Sri
Lanka, was .resident %ahinda Ra3apaksa testing his strength/ *ere state law enforcement agencies merely
following intelligence leads/ =s the !overnment seeking to resurrect the L""C spectre ahead of the provincial
elections and tie the resurgence ine2tricably to human rights campaigners/
9r did the !overnment simply plough through with the arrests to send a message to the international community
about how little it cared about e2ternal pressure/
=f it was the latter, the administrations high(handed tactics only succeeded in proving the polar opposite0 "he
machismo and tough talk subsided swiftly on "uesday evening as the international outrage grew louder and the "=>
prepared to release -ernando and the priest0 =n the final analysis, the advent of sudden saner counsel and
backtracking by the security establishment seemed to prove that one section of the !overnment had been acting
alone0 9nce again, the rest of the administration was left to mop up the mess0
"hat has not been easy0
Hours after it told the UN that Ruki -ernando and -ather .raveen had been arrested for engaging with persons
connected to 4!opi7, the !overnment said in a statement that the pair had been detained for their 4presence in the
crime scene70 1nd while the %agistrate had signed an unconditional release, the %inistry said the two activists had
been granted bail while 4investigations continue07
>etaining high profile activists during the UNHR sessions will be chalked up as a colossal blunder at the
conclusion of the current round in !eneva0 "he move could not have been better scripted even if it had been the
conspiratorial work the pro(separatist lobbies operating overseas0
"he colossal blunder of the detentions of rights activists while the !overnment is under fire in !eneva couldnt have
been better scripted if it had been the work of the pro(separatist lobbies0
1lready struggling against an avalanche of bad publicity and damning reports at the UNHR, events of the past D#
hours will almost certainly impact Sri Lankas fortunes in !eneva, where diplomats and %inisters are engaged in
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last ditch attempts to swing member states ahead of the #D %arch vote0
"he outcry over the latest detentions coincided unluckily with the third and last informal discussion on the Sri Lanka
resolution0 onvened by the US .ermanent %ission in !eneva, the informal consultation was a public discussion at
the .alais >es Nations which houses the UNHR0 "he meeting was the last opportunity for member states to air
their views publicly about the language and scope of the resolution0 rucially, US 1mbassador to Sri Lanka %ichele
0 Sison, who has uniAue assessments of the situation on the ground
by virtue of being based in olombo, also participated in the final
informal meeting0
49perative lause E7
"he co(sponsors of the resolution steered "uesdays discussion to
focus on the mandate for the 9ffice of the High ommissioner
F9HHRG to lead an investigation into violations in Sri Lanka0 "he co(
sponsors are leaning towards allowing the office currently run by
High ommissioner .illay to appoint e2perts of its choice, rather than
having the ouncil appoint a commissioner to lead the investigation,
according to sources with knowledge of the discussions0
"his decision would effectively put the 9HHR in the driving seat in
terms of the inAuiry into Sri Lanka0 >ebate also persists as to the
time frame of violations to be investigated by the 9HHR and how
far back into the conflict the probe would delve0
"he delegation of the Russian -ederation intervened during the
discussions to insist references to 4demilitarisation7 and gender(
based violence is deleted in the resolution te2t0 "he position was
reinforced by the hinese delegation and the routine disagreements
with the resolutions Eth 9perative lause, which sets up the 9HHR investigation more e2plicitly in the second
draft continued at the meeting0
"he final language of the resolution is likely to determine the time(frame of the investigation and lay out the
technical details of the 9HHR inAuiry with more clarity0 Representatives from the apanese and South ;orean
delegations remained silent observers to the discussion, but sources in !eneva say support for the resolution is
crystallising at the ouncil0
.illays last hurrah
Navi .illay, the Sri Lankan !overnments bte noir will provide the final thrust of lobbying in favour of the US
sponsored resolution at the ouncil ne2t *ednesday F#IG0 .illay, who has already said she was 4disturbed7 by
reports that the !overnment had used the ."1 to arrest human rights activists, will make her oral presentation on
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Sri Lanka based on her fact finding mission to the island last year0
*ith an e2tended term e2piring in 1ugust this year, her #I %arch speech may well be the last time Navi .illay
addresses the ouncil about Sri Lanka in her capacity as High ommissioner for Human Rights0
>uring her press conference in olombo, the D# year old former 3udge of the =nternational riminal ourt effectively
set in motion the series of events leading up to ne2t weeks resolution on Sri Lanka at the ouncil0 9perative
lause E of that document will permit her office to commence investigations into the abuses she has been flagging
for five long years0
"he !overnment has attempted over the years to discredit Navi .illay, but she has proven a far more skilled and
single(minded adversary0 "he UN High ommissioner for Human Rights is the advocate of victims, not
governments0 Her mandate is to provide advocacy for voiceless victims of abuse at the highest international levels0
=t has never been part of her role to safeguard the interests of rulers0 "his is a crucial distinction the !overnment
has consistently failed to understand0
Ne2t week, when Navi .illay speaks about the plight of victims in Sri Lanka, of eyakumari and @ibooshika, Ruki
and -ather .raveen, and even %inister Hakeems grievances, the world will sit up and listen0 1lready concerned by
the reports of the recent detentions, member states that were on the fence may already be teetering in favour of the
US resolution0 -or such delegations, Navi .illays oral presentation could prove the final catalyst0
4"he war is over, the suffering is not,7 .illay said after concluding her visit to Sri Lanka in 1ugust last year0
1nd didnt the !overnment go out of its way to prove that this week0