President’s initiative for reconciliation, unity

By Shanika SRIYANANDA

The eyes of the world are focused on Sri Lanka to see the outcome of its domestic inquiry probing the decades’ long conflict.

It was on May 17, 2010 barely two days before the first anniversary of the annihilation of the LTTE that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) was appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, giving a promising start to reconciliation in the post-conflict era.

While various segments urged international bodies like the United Nations to investigate the alleged crimes that took place during the last days of the final battle, the President vehemently reiterated that a thorough domestic inquiry would help more to dig deep into the root causes of the conflict and also to come up with concrete proposals to prevent the recurrence of similar conflicts in future.

The LLRC is also entrusted to recommend proposals to enhance national unity and reconciliation among all communities and was asked to find the persons or groups responsible for the 30-year conflict which devastated the country.

In an interview with the Manila Times President Rajapaksa had said “Only the military campaign is finished and the work to address the root cause of the 30-year problem is ongoing and the LLRC was formed to heal the wounds.”

The decision on setting up the LLRC was commended internationally and many countries including the US and UK pledged their support to the Government’s efforts for reconciliation soon after ending the deadly war.

“The United States strongly supports political and ethnic reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Such commissions of inquiry have played an important role in advancing accountability and redressing wrongs in other countries emerging from periods of internal strife”, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton said.

Parliamentary Under-secretary for the UK Foreign Office, Alistair Burt said the UK Government believes the Sri Lankan Government recognises the need for reconciliation and is committed to achieving it.

The eight-member committee headed by the former Attorney General Chitta Ranjan de Silva commenced sittings at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies in Colombo.

It had called the public, especially the conflict-affected civilians in the North and the East, to come before the Commission.

Inaugurating the first sitting of the LLRC and explaining the task given to the Commission, LLRC Chairman C.R. de Silva, said the people of Sri Lanka had undergone a traumatic nightmare and had vanquished the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world. Sri Lankan Forces had vanquished the LTTE over a year ago and now their primary concern was to consolidate the military victory through reconciliation.

“We have sailed through rocks of communal disharmony and mistrust in this country which is known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. Now we have to move in peace and tranquillity,” he said.

Former Ambassador to the US, Bernard Goonatilake, being the very first to testify before the LLRC, had explained the shortcomings of the Norwegian -brokered Cease Fire Agreement (CFA). He said it was ‘full of shortcomings’ as it was signed hurriedly and was drafted by Norwegian mediators in consultation with LTTE theoretician Anton Balasingham “to make the future good for the LTTE.” He said the LTTE had missed an opportunity to share the credit with the Government for a mega development drive in the Northern and Eastern Provinces during the Norwegian-arranged CFA.

Dual citizenship

Emphasising the need for having good relations with the international community, Goonatilake said that as a hardcore section of the LTTE would continue to pose a threat and was unlikely to give up their strategy, though the LTTE no longer retained a conventional military capability, it was vital to work with the international community to thwart LTTE plans.

He said that the LTTE was still lobbying politicians and officials in various countries and nothing could be as important as winning the hearts and minds of the Tamil Diaspora.

Goonatilake emphasised the need for facilitating the Tamil Diaspora to acquire dual citizenship and also the reduction of military presence in the Northern and Eastern Provinces to win over the Tamil community.

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the man behind the acclaimed military strategy that defeated the LTTE in May 2009, spelling out how the military operation was turned into a humanitarian mission, said before the LLRC that the military had to pay a high price to maintain the zero casualty rate adopted by the Government from the very inception of the military exercise.

He denied that any human rights violations were committed by the troops during the battle and said the military had followed all humanitarian norms. Rajapaksa said the three Forces were well trained and provided with knowledge in human rights and International Humanitarian Law.

The Army has a special directorate called ‘Human Rights and Humanitarian Law’ and these cells operate at all levels. He added that the military took action against those who had committed offences.

He said no one talks about the losses suffered by the military due to the zero casualty policy and the difficulties that the soldiers faced during the final battle.

He said that while 6,000 troops died and 30,000 injured in Eelam War IV, at least 6,000 LTTE cadre also died although the real statistics of LTTE casualties could be higher.

In his three-hour long evidence session, the Defence Secretary explained the measures taken to provide relief to the fleeing civilians at every stage of the battle since its inception.

Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said the international community which is engaged in military exercises in various parts of the world could take Sri Lanka’s humanitarian operation as an example.

The former Head of the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) Dr. Hiranthi Wijemanne accused the international community of not making a genuine attempt to save children from the LTTE. She said until the final battle, the LTTE continued to recruit children by abducting them.

Former Defence Secretary Austin Fernando said that despite being the Defence Secretary, he had no authority whatsoever to intervene though the CFA signed in 2002 extensively dealt with national security issues.

He said that before the then Prime Minister signed the CFA with the LTTE, the military was not consulted and he as the Defence Secretary had not been involved in preparing the CFA.

CFA collapse

Fernando requested the implementation of a comprehensive compensation package for all those who had suffered due to the war regardless of their status, and urged the Commission to explore ways and means of promoting national reconciliation.

Appreciating the military for engaging in a true humanitarian operation, V. Anandasangaree, leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) said that Sri Lankan military personnel were the best humanitarians and they treated the IDPs very well.

Director of the Marga Institute Godfrey Gunatilake said the LTTE used over 250,000 civilians as a human shield after the military operations began in the North, but the international community failed to apply any serious pressure on the LTTE.

Some of Sri Lanka’s top former diplomats blamed the International Community for assisting the LTTE and being silent when the terrorists committed grave crimes and conscripted underaged children to the outfit.

Former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN Jayantha Dhanapala commended the Sri Lankan military for saving over 300,000 civilians from the grip of LTTE terrorism, but blamed the International Community for harbouring terrorists on their soil.

The former Head of the Peace Secretariat and MP Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, said the conflict was prolonged because certain segments of the International Community backed the LTTE.

Prof. Wijesinghe said that he believed the Government should use all efforts to convince Tamils who suffered in the past that the Government is committed to reconciliation. The humanitarian approach adopted by the Sri Lankan military in May was extensively explained by the three Service Commanders at the LLRC who said the military had to face immense difficulties and suffered many losses as their hands were tied due to the zero civilian casualty policy, which prevented them using maximum firepower.

Army Commander, Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya said the Sri Lanka Army had always followed humanitarian norms and maintained a zero casualty policy during battles.

Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Commander, Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke, strongly refuting the allegations that the SLAF indiscriminately bombed civilian habitats, said that as the SLAF Chief, he could deny all these allegations as he had documented proof to the contrary.

Not bothered

Navy Commander Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe also said the international community was not bothered to take any action against the LTTE, which used merchant vessels with registration numbers of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for their operations.

According to the LLRC’s Secretary S.B. Atugoda, over 50 persons including Sinhala and Tamil politicians, testified before the LLRC during its sittings in Colombo.

Giving the chance to civilians, those directly affected by the conflict, two sittings were held in Vavuniya and Kilinochchi. The Commission also had its sittings in Jaffna to get testimony from civilians who were affected. Following a recommendation by the LLRC, President Rajapaksa directed the authorities to facilitate the people in the resettled areas to use their own language in official transactions with State departments, especially when making statements to the police.

The prominent personalities that testified before the LLRC were GOC of the 58 Division that captured the majority of LTTE-dominated land Maj. Gen. Shavendra Silva, the first woman career diplomat Manel Abeyratne, M.I.M. Mohideen, who spoke about the suffering of Muslims during the battle, S.L Gunasekara, Island Editor Manik de Silva, Minister Douglas Devananda, Harim Peiris, Prof. Rohan Gunaratne, Chief Minister Eastern Province Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, Gomin Dayasiri, Cardinal Dr. Malcolm Ranjith, Colombo Bishop Rt Rev Duleep de Chickera and Jaffna Government Agent Emelda Sukumar.

Each person made a useful contribution and came out with suggestions to avoid a conflict in future. These lessons learnt by the LLRC will be needed to make their final report with viable recommendations to create reconciliation among the communities.

The people who are reluctant to believe in commissions due to past experience, as many such commissions faced a natural death due to influence, have hopes that the LLRC would be completely free of any influence and would come out with its own independent recommendations, ensuring equal rights for all communities, nation building and reconciliation. Meanwhile, not further delaying implementing the vital suggestions by some prominent people, an Inter-Agency Advisory Group is to be formed to implement the interim recommendations of the LLRC.

The Commission is to hear evidence from a number of key personalities who can come out with reasons for the bitter conflict and suggestions to strengthen the bonds between the communities to prevent future calamities.

This domestic inquiry has the potential of changing the country’s future and promote true reconciliation among the communities, if the team derives the essence of all testimonies laid before the LLRC.