Burying the dead
being an art well developed in our times
(our psycho-analysts have helped us much
to keep balanced minds–whatever
that may mean–) there is no reason really
for this matter to remain so vivid
as if some rare occurrence. I assure you
I am not sentimental, never having
had a ‘break down’ as they say.
I am as shy of my emotions
as you are. And I attend to my daily
tasks in a very matter of fact way. Read more »
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Jorge Rafael Videla,
Argentina’s former military ruler
Facing charges for killing
Thirty political prisoners
In nineteen seventy six
In nineteen eighty three
Fifty three Political prisoners were killed
were killed at the Welikada prisons
In cold blooded murder
None were ever punished
Those who helped
To cover up such heinous crimes
Now partake in high positions
And even sits in the commission
For Reconciliation and Lessoned learned
That is Sri Lanka’s justice
Wonderful art of peace and reconciliation
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This year I was able to complete my work on the relationship between the crisis in institutions for administration of justice and its consequences for the realisation of human rights in Asia. This work consists of three publications. The first was The phantom limb, which was published in 2009. It was followed by Recovering the authority of public institutions, which was also published in 2009. This year the work was completed with another publication, Sri Lanka: Impunity, criminal justice and human rights. Though all three books are studies of Sri Lanka, they are intended as case studies of a problem common to almost all parts of Asia, except for some places like Hong Kong and South Korea with comprehensive rule of law systems.
Stating the problem
The phantom limb: Failing judicial systems, torture and human rights work in Sri Lanka (AHRC, Hong Kong, 2009, 80 pp)
The first publication is perhaps the most important one in its articulating of the basic understanding of the problem. A medical doctor who attended a presentation I made on the absence of institutions for administrations of justice and its impact on human rights suggested the term “phantom limb”. In response to my speech, he said that the situation I described was known as the phantom limb syndrome. An amputee who has lost a limb continues to imagine that he has that limb and even feels pain in the limb. The problem of institutions for administration of justice is similar. Read more »
Filed under: Judiciary, Sri Lanka, abductions, civil society, crime, extrajudicial killings, fundermental rights, human rights, justice, police, politics, rule of law | Leave a Comment »
The Disabled Ticket Seller
With a severe head injury
Found dead ,is the news.
Five more similar cases of beggars
And disabled killed not long ago
Whose hand is behind all this ?
Those who try to beautify the city,
Are they not the suspects?
Moral ugliness of all this
Does not catch
The city dwellers eyes
When a nation is morally dead
Murderer is seen as a purifier
And a beautifier , a liberator , a hero.
Such a nation deserves a dictator.
Weep for my lawless mother land,weep,weep
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“Today, what remains of democracy and the rule of law in Sri Lanka is no different to the dream that amputees have about the continued existence of their lost limbs. The phantom limb complex prevails, while in reality, justice is impossible for those who have been victims of political crimes, as well as those who have suffered serious crimes, such as murder or rape.”
______________
For many decades now, international journalists have interpreted every story that has emerged from Sri Lanka to be some kind of war story. Some journalists have proposed that Sri Lanka’s use of overwhelming force was able to eradicate terrorism in the country, and that other countries such as the United States, should follow suit. The pathetic failure of international journalism is demonstrated by these endeavours.
In recent years, Sri Lanka has undergone a systemic collapse, as the rule of law system and any semblance of democracy have crumbled. This is a story that has never been portrayed adequately by international journalists; instead, almost all journalists continue to refer to Sri Lanka as a democracy. Journalists focus on Sri Lanka as a war zone, and there is little reflection about the development of Sri Lanka outside of the discourse of war.
_____________________________________
Depuis maintenant plusieurs décennies, les journalistes internationaux ont interprété toutes les histoires venues du Sri Lanka comme autant d’histoires de guerre. Certains ont suggéré que l’utilisation massive de la force a permis d’éradiquer le terrorisme au Sri Lanka et que d’autres pays comme les Etats-Unis devraient suivre cet exemple. Ces tentatives d’analyse démontrent l’échec pathétique qu’a connu le journalisme international au Sri Lanka……..
Click here to read full text of this article in French
_____________________________________________
In the south, the Sri Lankan government carried out one of the most ruthless acts of repression in history, killing tens of thousands of civilians between the 1970s and 1990s. Read more »
Filed under: Constitution, Judiciary, Sri Lanka, abductions, corruption, disappearances, extrajudicial killings, justice, media, rule of law | Leave a Comment »
Look, he said, this wonderful country
Where no murder ever happens
How uncivilized are
All those other lands !
Cutting of an arm to get the gold bangles
from a travelling woman
Cutting a finger to get a ring
Kidnapping a three year old
To demand a ransom
Rape of Doti’s daughter by a court officer
At Kulutara
Murder in every corner
A body a bag at a road side
Never happened in his ultra-civilized dream land.
Source:Premier’s Poson day dream
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I am the elephant
I am sovereign
I will trample all people
I am the bully
I am sovereign
I will spit on the faces of people
Who are these others
To talk of law, to talk of democracy
I am sovereign
What I do
Is no one else’s business
If people go hungry
What do I care
I have powers
That are rare
I am sovereign, so I am.
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Colombo magistrate court issued
A warrant against a Harath, a DIG
The world is told today.
Warrants are for court absconders
Those wretched criminals
Who tries even to cheat justice.
When from highest ranks of police
Such absconders emerge
It says a lot about our law enforcement
He will come now
He will apologize
Then once again he will hold his rank
So the joke goes on
Lawless law enforcement continues
In this paradise, the South Asian miracle.
Source: A Warrant Issued on A deputy Inspector General of Police -A Poem
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“you are no fool, I know – but are you not trying to fool all us?”
Medananda let us have a chat
Two citizens one to one.
You said in an interview to BBC
You object to
having time limits to presidents
to hold power.
OUR KINGS you said,
Had no such restrictions
Vasaba ruled forty four years
Made eleven big tanks, no.
In you mind you equate
Presidents with kings
And forget the very meaning
of a Janarajaya, a republic. Read more »
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Sri Lanka’s police system cannot even deal with crimes like rape, murder and theft. It is corrupt to the core.
A BBC news report has revealed that over 99% percent of the Chinese contributions to the Sri Lankan economy are loans. These are loans either given by the government or by the Chinese banks. Then there are loans taken from other countries, and also from commercial banks. The country today is run entirely on the basis of loans. Investments from outside are small and negligible.
There is a vast difference between of development models based on borrowing and those that rely on investments. Southeast Asian development, which is talked about a lot these days, was based on creating climate to bring in foreign investments. Malaysia and Singapore are usually spoken of as investment based models . In both countries with a proper policy of investment and certain grantees to the investors the new investment came in. This improved the economy, provided greater employment and also improved the condition of people as a whole. Creating conditions for investment in this manner requires a sophisticated understanding of international business as well as a capacity to develop local policies in order to consolidate an economy to answer the problems that the economy is faced with at a given time. Read more »
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ONLINE BOOK-A Baseline Study on Torture in Sri Lanka
ONLINE BOOK-In Defence of the Legal Profession
A LONG SEARCH FOR JUSTICE
The UN Human Rights Committee report of a TORTURE VICTIM
An article from Transparency International Sri Lanka
Transfer of the Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption
