Wednesday, 25 February 2015 00:00
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RECONCILIATION requires resources and reformation. Perhaps the branch of State that requires the most amount of revamping is the Police as Sri Lanka grapples with reinstating key values to bring together people after a long and divisive war.
Heralding a step in the right direction it was reported that six Police personnel attached to the Suriyawewa Police were arrested and later interdicted in connection with the death of a suspect who was in Police custody.
The victim, Liyanarachchilage Samantha, was said to have been arrested on 19 February on charges of possessing illicit liquor. He died on 22 February while undergoing treatment at the Hambantota General Hospital.
Instances of torture in Sri Lanka are extremely common. While the authorities would vehemently deny this, there have been well-documented cases where torture is used as a form of interrogation in many instances. It is not only Tamil detainees who have made allegations of torture in the hands of the Police and military but also Sinhalese who have been arrested. Even asylum seekers who have been returned from various countries have complained about wrongful detention and torture with dozens of cases pending before courts.
During the war and even in subsequent years torture has dangerously become accepted into the mainstream. There are even those that justify it on the grounds that it is essential for national security. Still others prefer to turn a blind eye. Emergency regulations and provisions under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act have allowed for detention up to 48 hours creating more space for suspects to be mistreated.
There are also strong calls for the Government to compile a list of political prisoners as well as work extensively to fast track cases of people detained without charges. Many activists as well as families of people who have disappeared are understandably impatient for news. While steps of this nature cannot be done overnight honest, transparent attempts to do so will win the Government not just international brownie points but also the genuine regard of the people. Such steps towards reconciliation can be its own reward but ahead of a possibly closely-contested election the consideration of minority sentiments would not be misguided.
Thousands of people not just in the north and east but also in the south live in fear of forces that in fact were established to protect them. This is the sad truth of institutions such as the Police. Any chance of reconciliation has to come with the revamping of these structures and a change in the attitude of those who run them, a fact that is admitted by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
During a recent interview, Wickremesinghe noted that Australia’s silence on human rights abuses by the previous Government was misplaced. Now it is his Government’s turn to prove that it can do things better. To improve freedom so people believe they can be safe in their own country. After three decades of war, this is perhaps the hardest challenge of all.
