By
Upul Joseph Fernando
Wimal Weerawansa is on record saying that Mahinda Rajapaksa never agreed to conduct a domestic inquiry into alleged war crimes. This is an absolute falsehood. Mahinda who presented his 2015 Presidential Election Manifesto agreed for a domestic inquiry on war crimes, the London based Daily Mail reported. The British Daily Mail reported, “Sri Lanka’s President, under pressure from his main opponent in upcoming elections, on Tuesday promised a judicial inquiry into allegations that his troops killed thousands of Tamil civilians at the end of the civil war.
But President Mahinda Rajapaksa reiterated that he would not cooperate with an UN-mandated investigation into the government’s 2009 crushing of the Tamil Tiger rebellion.
“If any rights have been violated (during the war), justice will be ensured through a transparent domestic judicial mechanism,” Rajapakse said in his Election Manifesto. It did not say how this would differ from an inquiry he ordered in July, following intense foreign pressure to account for the 2009 killing of Tamil civilians. A 2011 United Nations report cited estimates from ‘credible sources’ that up to 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the final months of the war.
Rajapaksa is credited with crushing the Tamil Tiger rebels who at the height of their power between 1990 and 1995 controlled a third of Sri Lanka’s territory.
But he is also accused of rights abuses and is perceived by some as an increasingly authoritarian ruler. Maithripala Sirisena, his main opponent in the 8 January presidential election, has already promised a similar investigation. Rajapaksa was seen as the favourite when he called the snap election in November, two years ahead of schedule. But Sirisena has emerged as a formidable opponent after securing the support of all the main opposition groups, including the tacit support of minority Tamils.
The New York-based political risk analysis firm Eurasia Group said the Opposition’s Sirisena was likely to “narrowly win,” but that a desperate Rajapakse could still use security forces to discourage Opposition supporters from voting. “Fresh defections from President Rajapaksa’s ruling coalition suggest that Opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena will narrowly win the presidency when votes are counted on 8 January,” Eurasia’s Sasha Riser-Kositsky said in a report released Monday night. He was referring to Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen who quit the coalition government on Monday and withdrew the support of his All Ceylon Makkal (People’s) Congress.
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group warned two weeks ago that Rajapaksa could try to remain in power by using security forces, a suggestion discounted by both the military and the Opposition. Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe told business leaders in Colombo Tuesday that the majority in the armed forces was sympathetic to the Opposition and he expected a peaceful transition. Wickremesinghe said they will hold no grudges, but ensure rule of law which he said had been undermined by Rajapaksa who is also accused of suppressing dissent despite the end of the separatist war.
The United Nations has estimated that at least 100,000 people were killed in Sri Lanka’s separatist war between 1972 and 2009, when security forces declared victory over the rebels who fought for independence for minority Tamils. Tamils account for about 15 per cent of the population and usually vote together. They will be kingmakers if, as seems likely, the majority Sinhalese community is split down the middle between Rajapaksa and Sirisena. Wickremesinghe said they would ensure a South African-style truth commission if Sirisena was elected in January.
“We need some sort of a truth-seeking mechanism where there will be apologies and forgiving,” Wickremesinghe said. Rajapaksa had also toyed with the idea of a truth commission, whereby perpetrators confess to their crimes, but are not prosecuted. However, he did not pursue it. Instead, in July he asked a Commission of Inquiry already investigating the disappearance of nearly 20,000 people during the war to include other alleged abuses in its investigation”.
Mahinda’s confidantes barking up the sky
Now the Maithri-Ranil Government is going to honour the same pledge. Then why are Mahinda’s confidantes barking up the sky? The issue lies there. Mahinda promised a domestic inquiry into alleged war crimes on the day UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s report was released. When the United States sponsored Resolution against Sri Lanka on war crimes was being approved before the UNHRC, Mahinda rejected the call for an international probe assuring a domestic inquiry.
On the contrary the United States, West, Human Rights Organizations, pro- Tamil LTTE Diaspora, Tamil Nadu Government and the local Opposition claimed they had no faith in a domestic mechanism that Mahinda promised. That was why in 2014 the United States stressed the necessity for the UNHRC for an international probe on war crimes in Sri Lanka. Mahinda spent public money amounting to Rs 872.8 million to convince America to agree for a domestic inquiry. The task was entrusted to a US Company to brainwash the high command of the US State Department. That was how Mahinda wasted public funds to brainwash the US top notch. Contrary to Mahinda’s shortsighted actions, the Maithri-Ranil Government did not spend a cent to get the US agree to a domestic mechanism with foreign observers.
In that backdrop, the pro-Mahinda group in the South, Tamil Nadu and the pro-Prabhakaran Groups worldwide look agitated. Tamil Nadu former Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi and Prabhakaran supporter Vaiko have already issued statements against the US supported Resolution for a domestic probe. Vaiko, Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi have set aside their political differences to demand an international probe on Sri Lanka’s war crimes. They demanded New Delhi to support the US move for an international probe as was earlier. Now Tamil Nadu is on fire with the US agreeing for a domestic probe that comprises foreign observers. Not only Tamil Nadu, Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran is also up in arms. He passed a resolution in the Northern Provincial Council recently calling for an international inquiry into alleged war crimes. Following America’s stand for a domestic probe with foreign observers, Wigneswaran passed a second resolution in the Council that demanded an international probe.
When the opposition to the domestic probe is analyzed carefully, Wimal, Dinesh, Southern extremists, Tamil Nadu politicians and the LTTE Tamil Diaspora are dancing to the same tune. When Mahinda lost the presidential election, Wimal, Dinesh and other extreme minded groups started a campaign to ‘Rise with Mahinda’ from Nugegoda. Mahinda who thought he could win the general election went on their shoulders. Mahinda lost his dream and his confidantes like Wimal, Dinesh and Vasu secured parliamentary seats. Now Wimal, Dinesh and Vasu fear that if the SLFP goes alone at the upcoming local government elections, they would disappear from the political scene. So, now they are planning to rise again using the Geneva ‘Card’ at the local elections. If the ethnic problem is resolved, the LTTE Tamil Diaspora will be lost. The same fate will befall Wimal, Dinesh and others. That is the reason they fear the Geneva Resolution that recommended a domestic probe.
Courtesy:Ceylon Today