Issue No. 139 April - June 2013 There are growing tensions in northern Sri Lanka as Tamil people try to prevent the Sinhalese-dominated army from taking over their land. -Charles Haviland-BBC Human Rights Review : April - June Institute of Human Rights 2 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Editorial 03 Current issues : Is a political solution necessary? ♦ 19th Amendment twin-pronged 05 ♦ President should stand by his assurances Media Freedom ♦ Uthayan office attacked 08 ♦ If Media are suppressed, Democracy will die 09 Situation in the North & East ♦ Concerns Over Northern Land Grab 10 ♦ Tension over army 'seizure' of Sri Lanka Jaffna land Rotten, Corrupt & Inefficient this regime could last for ever ♦ A tragedy that could have been avoided 13 ♦ Railway crossings need not be death traps 14 ♦ Electricity hikes ♦ Matale Graves 15 ♦ University unrest 17 ♦ Charges revealed 18 ♦ The Azad Salley Affair 19 Our moment of destiny ♦ A voice of Sanity 19 ♦ A Case for Best Legal Brains 20 Death in Police Custody ♦ A Disturbing Trend Of Police Brutality 21 ♦ An ordeal hard to forget 22 Defying the International Community ♦ US Questions Govt. 23 Articles : ♦ The Forthcoming Anarchy - Diluting the 13th Amendment 29 ♦ Burning of the Jaffna Library 30 Unit Reports : Education Unit 26 Rehabilitation Unit 27 Staff Information 28 Edited by Layout designed by Cover Page Pictures Leela Isaac Hashini Rajaratna Ceylon Today - 27/05/2013 Human Rights Review : April - June 2 Institute of Human Rights EDITORIAL 3 THE NEED TO EDUCATE THE PEOPLE “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty”. Thomas Jefferson, the Third President of the United State of America. Those who believed that permanent peace had dawned in Sri Lanka with the government’s victory over the LTTE, now realise that the real problem is the ethnic conflict and until that is resolved there can be no per- manent peace. The LTTE was only a symptom, not the disease. Some believe that through constitutional changes it is still possible for a multiethnic, multilingual, multire- ligious, multicultural Sri Lanka to evolve where all its citizens could live with dignity, enjoying equal rights. Some day an enlightened leader might emerge and rebuild such a united Sri Lanka regaining the lost para- dise. But that’s a long way off. At present there seem to be many reasons why the ethnic conflict cannot be resolved through a political solution, based on power sharing. Today’s leaders fear sharing power with the minorities. It seems to spring from a sense of insecurity and distrust. Although it is not openly expressed, it is evident in some of the comments they make. For instance Mahinda Rajapakse himself is reported to have said recently at a cabinet meeting, referring to the Muslim led Eastern provincial council and the issue of the constitutional amendment, “I know what is happening. They are raising anti Sinhala cries. They are creating hatred. As long as I am there, I will not allow anything to happen. I am doing this for the sake of the future generation and not for my own benefit” (The Island, June 18, 2013) Gotabhaya Rajapakse, the Defense Secretary also shares the same fear. According to Hardip Puri, Indian diplomat, who at the time of signing the Indo Lanka Accord in 1987, was the political secretary at the Indian High Commission in Colombo, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is supposed to have said on March 27, 2013, “Could we afford to have a provincial council administration here, which pointed a gun at the national leadership at the drop of a hat? We don’t want to be at the mercy of a scheming provincial ad- ministration” (Ceylon Today, June 19 2013). But seven provincial councils, all Sinhalese, have existed for nearly twenty seven years and no one has so far pointed a gun at the national leadership. So obviously his fear is of the North and East where the majority are Tamils and Muslims. Since the leaders of the present regime do not want to share power with the minorities, they can convince the Sinhala majority that it is dangerous to do so. Among the Sri Lankan voters in the South, there isn’t much political awareness. For instance, when the notorious 18th Amendment was passed there were unend- ing rows of people standing by the roadsides cheering the President, who was now virtually crowned a king with limitless power. They never realized that they were digging their own graves and today they may not be aware how the 18th Amendment has affected us. Even the Left political parties have not been very keen on educating the masses politically. Therefore it is very easy for this regime to manipulate the people and get their votes, if they were to go for a referendum on sharing power with the minorities. From the South it would be a definite – No. According to an online poll conducted by the ‘Daily Mirror, 53% of the people sup- port the abolition of the provincial councils and another telephone survey conducted by a radio channel re- veals that 61% of the people oppose power sharing. Government politicians will also use stories form the past, specially the Mahavamsa, to convince the people that they alone can prevent the re-emergence of the LTTE and protect the country from international ter- rorism. To the majority of Sinhalese Mahinda is the modern day Dutugamunu who saved this country for the Sinhala race from the Tamil terrorists. According to the great chronicle Mahavamsa, brave King Dutu- gamunu who defeated the Damilas and ruled over Lanka in single sovereignty lived about 2112 years ago. But even today the name Dutugamunu spells magic. It is one sure way of uniting all the Sinhalese against any perceived threat to Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. Sharing power with the minorities, in the form of Provincial Councils in the North and East would be portrayed as one such threat. Continue on page 04 Human Rights Review : April - June 3 Institute of Human Rights EDITORIAL 4 Continue from page 03 In this context it is heartening to read certain articles and editorials in the fairly independent English news- papers. One editorial had this to say;”The war victory did not render any party, the regime or other groups, the carte blanche to take away even the meager rights that have been granted to the Tamils by way of the 13th Amendment or by tradition and convention. Treating the Northern Tamils as equal partners in the same family of Sri Lankans is no sin, nor is it a betrayal of the Sinhala race. Treating Tamils as equal part- ners in all social, cultural, economic and political ventures is the right thing to do. To do that simple deed, one needs a big mind and even a bigger heart.”(Ceylon Today, June 23, 2013) It is obvious that no such leader can be found among those in power today to carry this message to the people. Any political leader who sincerely attempts to bring about a political solution must first convince the Sin- halese majority that it is not ‘dangerous’ to grant equal rights to the Tamils. This can be done only by rais- ing awareness among the Sinhalese people. But that seems impossible because those who hold power to- day, the leaders themselves, fear treating the Tamils as equals. In their view the Tamil politicians, the Tamil people and even their religious headers like Bishop Rayappu are all potential terrorists, who will turn the gun on the Sinhalese if they are allowed to win the Northern Provincial Council elections. The President, the Defence Secretary, the JHU, Wimal Weerawansa and some of the Buddhist monks are all of this same mind set. In the past there were a few leaders who made genuine attempts to solve the ethnic problem through power sharing, like S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Dudly Senanayake, President Premadasa and Presi- dent Chandrika Bandaranaike. They failed because the majority of Sinhalese did not support them and this even before Tamil terrorism raised its head. Therefore the most important task today is to convince the Sinhalese people, of the need to share power with the minorities. Since those in power are against it, it is left to the opposition to educate the people, and make them realise the dangers involved in denying the minorities equal rights and antagonizing India, the UN and the international community. Do we want the Tamils to wage another war demanding equal rights? In a recent TV Talk show, a Tamil politician was provoked to ask – why can’t we have a Provincial Council in the North even now, when you have had them for the last 26 years? Why can’t you grant us the same rights that you enjoy in the South? Are we not citizens of this Country? If the Tamils do wage a war, can we afford to kill off another 40 thousand in Mullivaikal? The leader of the opposition should be going round the country educating the Sinhalese people on this im- portant matter. But he seems to be too busy planning what punishment he should mete out to his party members who disobey him. Having already expelled 20 popular members form the party, he doesn’t seem to have any intentions of seriously fighting this regime, while appearing to do so. Therefore someone else has to give leadership to the opposing forces. But who? Will the Left leaders , civil society organizations, eminent academics, professionals, intellectuals and ra- tional human beings all get together and lead this country towards peace, avoiding another civil war? It would be a very difficult task to mobilize the people in favour of a political solution based on power sharing.