When Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse was questioned by a BBC correspondent about the recent assassination of well-known journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, he countered the question with another: Why was the correspondent worried about one man when thousands have died?
Murders and assassinations always involve individual victims. This question by the defense secretary would upset anyone seeking justice against such a crime. And in Sri Lanka, far too many are seeking justice.
One such case is that of the editor of an allegedly pro-government publication, Rivira, who was savagely attacked on Jan. 23. He wrote an article to The Nation saying there was no clear evidence as to who attacked him.
“In such a scenario, inevitably, the finger would be pointed at the incumbent government and the president. That doubt will remain until the real perpetrators are brought to justice. Therefore, what they need to do is to catch those behind this attack,” he said.
If the life of a single individual does not matter when thousands have died, then the editor of Rivira will also be ignored, as the attack he experienced was but a triviality in the eyes of the authorities.
It seems Wickrematunge understood this mentality well. Before his death he wrote, “When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me. In the wake of my death I know you will make all the usual sanctimonious noises and call upon the police to hold a swift and thorough inquiry. But like all the inquiries you have ordered in the past, nothing will come of this one, too.”
Last Friday this column mentioned the continuous death threats to Padmini Peiris, the widow of the assassinated Sugath Nishanta Fernando, who had been a witness in a case; to the lawyer who represented him; and to the Right to Life organization, a human rights group that assisted the family. On the evening of the same day the office premises of Amitha Ariyaratne, Fernando’s lawyer, were severely damaged by arson. Yet another crime committed on another individual. But does it matter?
The following day, Saturday, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka discussed this case at its weekly meeting. The association had earlier passed a resolution on death threats to the same lawyer, relating to the same case, and asked the inspector general of police to inquire into the matter. This time, naturally, there was greater frustration regarding the arson attack as well as the inaction of the police on the earlier demand.
It is not the first time a demand for an inquiry by the premier association of lawyers of Sri Lanka has been ignored by the police. The grenade attacks on the house of senior lawyer J.C. Weliamuna lead not only to a lengthy resolution by the association but also to a demonstration.
Later there was the humiliation of an attorney-at-law named Mohotti at the Bambilipitya Police Station, which also lead to protests and calls for action by the police. In all these instances there was the familiar inaction, reflecting the attitude that such events are unimportant and do not warrant criminal investigation or prosecution.
The statement of the defense secretary was also reflected in the use of the Defense Ministry website to chastise lawyers who offer their professional services to alleged terrorist suspects. A number of lawyers names were mentioned in the website in a very provocative manner. The affected lawyers wrote to the Bar Association and in their letter to the president of the association stated:
The ability of those of the legal profession to provide legal services to all who seek their professional assistance is essential to the rule of law and democracy. You are no doubt mindful that it is the duty of the leadership of the legal profession to ensure that no threat or obstacle is allowed to be placed in the way of the ability of the legal profession to discharge its lawful functions and duties free of unmerited ridicule, defamation and oppressive treatment.
If what happens to individuals does not matter when thousands are dying, then it is quite logical to regard the legal profession itself as irrelevant. Why should lawyers provide their professional services to individuals under the present circumstances of Sri Lanka as described by the secretary of the Ministry of Defense?
Not only are the lives of individuals regarded as trivial but also the administration of justice itself suffers the same neglect. The entire legal system of Sri Lanka is based on respect for the individual. The protection of an individual’s rights to life, liberty and property is the concept around which not only the criminal law but also the civil law of the country depends. The cases before civil courts are about property matters, which have risen due to disputes between different persons.
The statement of the secretary of the Ministry of Defense reflects a mentality that regards all this as unimportant and irrelevant. This is not just one man’s mentality. This is the mentality that has so profoundly become a part of the state machinery in Sri Lanka. The virtual burial of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution happened in this context.
Even the attitude to corruption reflects this mentality. At a public forum a government spokesman blamed the private sector for the corruption of public officials. He implied that public officials take bribes only because private businessmen offer them. Within such a mentality the law against corruption cannot be enforced at all.
What place does crime hold within this mentality promoted by the government? Sugath Nishanta Fernando was a complainant and a witness in a bribery case against a police officer. He is now dead and the police officer that allegedly took the bribes has less to worry about a possible conviction.
In the war zone, Amnesty International condemned the cluster bomb strike this week on a hospital in the town of Puthukkudiyiruppu as despicable. This hospital had been subjected to several attacks in recent days and bombarded for 16 hours. Amnesty International described the attack as a crime under international law and called for an investigation and prosecution.
However, in a country where all crimes are trivialized, no such inquiry is likely to take place. In fact the secretary of defense justified the attack, stating that the hospital was situated outside the safe zone and was therefore a legitimate target.
Source: Sri Lanka’s despicable approach to crime
Filed under: civil society, corruption, crime, extrajudicial killings, human rights, justice, media, politics, rule of law, Sri Lanka
