Caught in the middle

Caught in the middle of rising calls for Parliamentary elections, the Government has to balance a tricky domestic political environment additionally pressurised by the appointment of a credible domestic war crimes probe. 

For any mechanism to be credible, it will require the presence and assistance of global Tamil groups, which have been made into villains by the previous Government. Battling this image of an “LTTE rump” determined to separate the country will be a huge challenge for President Sirisena’s administration, particularly as increasingly it seems the timeline for appointing an independent panel and elections could be on a collision path. Electorally such a move could come at a huge cost since former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his loyalists are waiting in the wings to use it to their benefit. 

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has been at the centre of negotiations with all parties, according to reports, while President Sirisena has told reporters the domestic panel could be appointed as early as end-June. This bodes well for the UN officials on disappearances who are expected to tour in early August and take advantage of the Presidential Commission that will release their report on 15 August.  

    

Last week talks indicated the UN Peacebuilding Fund will support Sri Lanka, initially with $3 million, to establish and operationalise processes for building peace through reconciliation and accountability by addressing the critical core grievances of minorities in an inclusive and consultative manner. In particular, with the support of the Fund, the UN is looking at supporting the Government in four areas including technical support to establish an inclusive and credible domestic mechanism to address human rights violations and accountability and provide redress to victims and conflict-affected groups, including families of the missing, in line with international standards.

Obviously, matters do not end there. The Commission on War Disappearances recently noted accountability and responsibility by parties vary from district to district, and in the Northern Province, 60% of the allegations were levelled against the LTTE, 30% against the security forces, 5% against armed groups and 5% against unknown groups. Cases of forced disappearances and abductions alleged to have been committed by officers of the security forces, according to oral submissions made by relatives of missing persons, had been reported. These needed to be referred to the Attorney General for judicial action, the Commissioners state in their report.

This is what makes the domestic probe such a heavy political gamble. Moreover the long term challenges of legal persecution and hearing of cases, make it a prolonged risk. Legislation such as the witness protection legislation that was recently passed needs to be vigorously exercised. This is especially essential given the sensitive nature of the investigations and the fact that it could implicate very powerful people, who could in turn intimidate or threaten witnesses or otherwise sabotage the investigative and trial process. Without such safeguards in place, it is unlikely that the legal process will be considered fair and competent.

Compensation, counselling and psycho-social assistance for families in the north and east has also been recommended by the Commission, an essential part of the healing process that has not received much attention yet.

With fresh elections around the corner, solutions for these knotty issues will take time, but with the United Nations report pending and its own credibility at stake, Sri Lanka may not have that luxury.