Task forces and freedoms

Hot on the heels of the Supreme Court decision on Tuesday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has established a Presidential Task Force consisting of all military and police personnel, to build what he terms a “secure country and a disciplined, virtuous, and lawful society.”

The Gazette announces the appointment of Defence Ministry Secretary Major General (Retired) Kamal Gunaratne as Chairman of the Task Force. Among its members are the Commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force, the Inspector General of Police, and intelligence officers.

The members of the Task Force have been tasked with an eye-watering list of responsibilities, including taking immediate steps to curb illegal activities of social groups which are seen as harmful to the free and peaceful existence of society in unspecified places of the country.

The other tasks include fighting drug trafficking and more control of prisons. The Task Force has also been empowered to take necessary legal measures against persons responsible for “illegal and antisocial activities conducted in Sri Lanka while located in other countries.”

There is much to unpack in this Gazette, but perhaps the most important is the worry that this will open the door wider to creeping militarization and authoritarian rule. The unspecific wording of the Gazette, and the indistinct boundaries or limits set on its powers and reach, means that it could end up harming institutions and due process that are integral to the freedom of citizens.

Sri Lanka’s State functions are not perfect, but that does not allow for the use of military and police to reduce their operational space and authority. The public service and those who engage with them should be given room to use expertise, debate, and transparency to make decisions, and if there is anyone who disagrees, the court system exists to provide them with redress. The involvement of the police and military in this process evokes fears of repression by default, and negates the right of freedom that has been assured to every citizen. This gives a decidedly alarming hue to what the Task Force could do to control “social groups” who are seen as being disruptive to the “discipline” of society.

The moral spectrum of legislation and justice exist in shades of grey, particularly where minorities and other vulnerable groups are involved. Yes, even prisoners. What are the parameters for deciding what “anti-social activities” are? And how will they impact citizens who dare to express their dissent? What will this do to a citizen’s right to disagree with their rulers, or even the people who accidentally get caught up in the cross-hairs of larger political agendas?

Successive Governments have already showcased that in Sri Lanka, the powerful can flout the law. This impunity stretches to the ruling class and their hangers-on, but basically stops there. It is the institutions of this country that have protected and upheld Sri Lanka’s democracy, people’s rights, and transparency, time and again. They desperately need support and reform. When the powerful chose to sweep aside those hard-fought safeguards, they create the opportunity for more partisanship, narrower levels of tolerance, and blatant dismissal of the law.This Gazette, coming ahead of an election where the Government is seeking a two-thirds majority to potentially further reduce the balance of power, should alarm every right-thinking citizen.