Balance involvement

A Government on the defensive can be dangerous thing. A level-headed tackling of the issues at hand is what the Government requires at the moment and wading through knee-jerk reactions on the resolution that was passed at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is of paramount importance at times such as this.

External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris seems to be attempting to do this while other Government and opposition members are making statements that at best undermine this endeavour without considering the actual implications of the resolution. Take for example the completely irresponsible comments of Minister Mervyn Silva, who has stated that he is responsible for “chasing away” journalist Poddala Jayantha and would “break the legs” of non-Governmental activists as well as media personnel who are seen as being “unpatriotic”.

Let it be clear that dissent is not disloyalty and journalists are simply doing their duty by pointing out the various dimensions of an issue, even when they may be detrimental to the Government, because it matters to the people. The media represents freedom of expression and giving a voice to the voiceless is essential to attain peace and equitable development. Journalists should not be hounded, especially by a Minister who has time and again acted atrociously and irresponsibly. Perhaps if the Government had taken disciplinary action against this repeat offender, such a statement would not have been made in the first place.

Responding to such ill-timed and ill-judged comments, Prof. Peiris has rightly insisted that the Minister should be condemned for his comment. It is silly behaviour from Silva as well as other ministers in the last few weeks that has worsened the situation rather than made it better. Therefore, one has to consider if holding a referendum, such as what was called for by Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa, holds any constructive result for the country.

An all-island poll would cost millions of rupees that the public can ill afford. Moreover, there is no cause to believe that its results would make any difference to the present resolution and Sri Lanka being reviewed by the UN at the next UNHRC sessions in 2013.

So far it seems that sense has prevailed. The Government has already announced that there will be no referendum and that it will implement the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report as it sees fit. Yet the catch is that the Government has also said that this will be done without the involvement of the opposition. This excludes the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as well as Muslim and other moderate Tamil parties and could reduce collective decision making in finding solutions for the ethnic issue.

There is also danger that the dialogue between the TNA and the Government could break down and the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee being stillborn. In alienating opposition voices, the Government runs the danger of shutting out the voices of the very people that it claims it wants to assist.

National reconciliation cannot happen with only the voice of the Government. There must be engagement with other parties for an equitable solution according to a timeline that satisfies all. Difficult as this is, it is the only way that the Government can prove its sincerity and avoid another showdown in 2013. Whether the Government will be broadminded enough to put Sri Lanka before its own needs remains to be seen.