Clarion call for a collective commitment to ensure peace and harmony

* No representations of deliberate targeting of civilian concentrations by the Security Forces

*CFA was largely an unworkable and unrealistic goal

*LTTE was totally disinterested in a negotiated settlement

By Manjula FERNANDO

Highlighting the need for leadership for a political process to complement what was gained by the military victory over the LTTE, the members of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in their final report stressed they heard no representations of deliberate targeting of civilian concentrations by the Security Forces, a key allegation that the LLRC was mandated to look into.

The report upheld the conduct of the Security Forces in general but highlighted the need to inquire in to the isolated incidents where violations were allegedly committed.

The Commission, recommended ‘a professionally designed household survey covering all affected families in all parts of the island to ascertain the scale and the circumstances of death and injury to civilians and damage to property since there were references to many deaths and injuries due to shell fire between the Forces and the LTTE’.

Citing different figures highlighted by individual UN bodies, the Government and Hospital sources and civilians, the Commissioners observed it is not possible to establish a verified figure of civilian deaths given the difficult and chaotic circumstances of the situation where all were driven by ‘saving lives than counting bodies’.

According to figures submitted by the Ministry of Defence officials, the report estimated, 22, 247 LTTE deaths from July 2006 to May 2009. There were 5,556 Security Forces deaths and 28,414 injured during the same period.

In the LLRC report tabled in the Parliament by the Leader of the House Nimal Siripala De Silva on Friday afternoon the eight members, which included two Tamil and a Muslim member, made observations and recommendations under the topics Ceasefire Agreement, Security Forces Operations, Humanitarian Law issues, Human Rights, Land Issues: Return and Resettlement, Restitution/ Compensatory Relief and Reconciliation.

Former Sri Lankan diplomat Bernard Goonetilleke (back to camera) gives testimony

The Commission appointed by the President on May 2010 was mandated to ‘inquire and report on matters that had taken place during the period between February 2002 to May 2009, mainly the breakdown of 2002 ceasefire agreement (CFA) and the sequence of events that followed thereafter’.

The Cease Fire Agreement (CFA)

Under the CFA chapter, the Commissioners criticized the dual role played by Norway as the facilitator and the monitor/the SLMM, adding that this has led to the neutral role of the facilitator being compromised.

It said this set up led to a conflict of interest, thus preventing them from taking effective action as a monitor against the incidents of violations. They have observed that this has contributed in a significant way to the eventual breakdown of the CFA but added the ‘disinclination of the LTTE to terminate the conflict’ was the main reason for its failure.

The report also criticized that Norway had handed the Government a compromised text with the LTTE as a draft CFA, with a take it or leave it approach, violating established principals of such a process in order to keep the LTTE in the negotiating process.

The Commission called the 2002 CFA was ‘largely an unworkable and unrealistic goal and it failed to provide a platform for sustainable peace in the longer term’ apart from a short lived respite for a nation battered by terrorism for decades. It also noted the CFA did not give due recognition to the Muslims but categorized them with the Tamil speaking community whom the LTTE claimed to represent which was discriminatory to the Muslims.

Considering the actions of the LTTE immediately prior to the CFA, the commission has concluded the LTTE was totally disinterested in a negotiated settlement short of the creation of a separate state and they had used the peace process to buy time.

It said the CFA led to apparent legitimization of the territorial claims of the LTTE since the CFA categorised the country into two distinct areas.

However on the positive side the commissioners observed the CFA that kept the LTTE at the negotiating table for a considerable period, may have acted as a catalyst in the disintegration of the LTTE, a process that may have taken longer if the war persisted.

Humanitarian Law

Under the Humanitarian Law issues the commissioners observed ‘ The Sri Lankan experience has in fact given rise to a debate as to whether, by unilateral declaration of a No Fire Zone, the government unwittingly provided the LTTE an opportunity to consolidate itself amongst the civilian enclave for strategic purposes.’

It says a host of such difficult issues arise when non state actors manipulate IHL concepts such as NFZs meant to protect civilians for military advantage. This is an area the international organizations such as the ICRC and the UN should address and try to strengthen the legal framework governing conflicts between the government and non state armed groups.

There were many accounts of civilians of the LTTE firing at civilians in order to prevent them from escaping the hostage situation created by the LTTE as part of their combat strategy.

Learning from the Sri Lankan experience spanning from 30 years, formulating an effective legal framework is a clear obligation that the international community owes to all victims of conflict, it has observed.

Disappearances

The commission says a large number of people who made representation before the Commission, especially during its field visits to the conflict affected areas, provided disturbing accounts of the loss of their family members, including women, children and elderly during the conflict most of which were ordinary civilians. They have also heard representation on extra judicial killings, abductions, arbitrary arrests and detentions, disappearances committed by the LTTE as well as HR violations by the Security Forces.

It has recommended a comprehensive approach to address the issue of missing persons as matter of urgency in addition to directing law enforcing authorities to take immediate steps to investigate these complaints and bring perpetrators to justice. A failure, it warns, will present a serious obstacle to any inclusive and long term process of reconciliation.

Given the complexity and magnitude of the problem of missing persons, it has been recommended that a ‘special commissioner of investigation’ be appointed to investigate and report to the Attorney General for criminal proceedings.

To ensure that lessons from these past incidents be learnt in a manner that the mistakes will never be repeated, the Commission says island wide human rights programmes targeting schoolchildren, youth, members of the Security Forces and police should be initiated.

It has also been recommended that the enforced disappearances should be criminalised in the in the domestic legislature.

Channel 4 video

Based on the allegations and the material available the commission has recommended an independent investigation to establish the truth and if the claims in the footage were verified, to prosecute offenders to protect the honour and professional reputation of the soldiers.

It observed offences of a few cannot be allowed to tarnish the honour of the many who upheld the finest traditions of service carrying out combat duties professionally against a widely condemned terrorist group.

It has also added that if the material in the video was stage managed as claimed by several experts, whoever constructed the video and the broadcaster should be held responsible for instance of gross disinformation.

PTA

The commission has observed instances of persons being detained in custody for a long period of time under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). In such cases it has recommended an independent advisory committee to monitor and examine detention and arrest of persons taken into custody under any regulations under the Public Security Ordinance or the PTA.

Illegal armed groups

The activities of the illegal armed groups have been a serious concern to the Commission. According to the representations made by people during field visits to conflict affected areas, it appeared these groups had been dominating certain areas, creating a fear psychosis among the people.

As a solution to this the commissioners have recommended effective action to disarm these groups and put an end to their activities. Reiterating its interim recommendations to the President to disarm these groups, the Commission has regretted that no conclusive action has been taken to this effect so far.

Conscription of children

The commission observes that the LTTE has continued to conscript children during at the tail end of the conflict and even within the No Fire Zone. According to the representation made by a member of the clergy by April 2009, as the conflict intensified, approximately a large number of civilians, including those LTTE fighters who escaped, workers from the NGO Caritas, and some doctors had taken shelter in the compound which belonged to the St. Mary’s Church at Valayanmadam. On 23rd March 2009, a large number of LTTE cadres had surrounded this Church and walked into its compound with their weapons despite objections raised by the clergy. Subsequently, it was alleged that nearly 575-580 children, between 15 to 18 years – were forcibly taken by the LTTE from this Church compound and sent to Mullaiwaikkal. It has also drawn its attention to the recruitments carried out earlier by the Karuna faction in the East.

In its recommendations the commission members have highlighted the rehabilitation of the ex - child combatants should be the utmost priority of the Government in the immediate post-conflict phase.

The Commission says it was pleased to note the rehabilitation programme of the Government, which has resulted in the rehabilitation, and reintegration of hundreds of former child combatants, and in particular the approach of the community based correctional programme adopted by the Commissioner General of Childcare and Probation.

The Commission recommends that the same community based approach be adopted for the rehabilitation of the former child combatants in cooperation with NGOs and civil society organizations.

It has been revealed that 127 children, after appropriate training and reaching the age of maturity have found overseas jobs.

Women, Children and the Elderly

According to the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s affairs, the female headed households in the North and the East are estimated to be 59,501, with 42,565 of them living in the Eastern Province and 16,936 in the Northern Province. There should also be a substantial number of female headed households outside the North and the East. According to the Ministry the data collection process is ongoing.

The commission stresses the need for the Government to make a greater and sustained effort to enlist and engage the services of relevant international organizations and civil society groups to assist them in dealing with the issues of women, children and elderly.

They have also pointed out the education of children of the conflict affected should remain a key priority of the Government.

Displaced Persons

The Commission has observed that there was a need to grant the legal ownership of land to those who have been resettled while underlining the need to respect the freedom of movement and the freedom to re-settle in their places of origin.

It has also emphasized the need to facilitate the refugees in India to return and resettle on their own volition and the need to prevent discrimination among the two groups of the displaced persons.

Muslims

The issue of Muslim IDPs who were displaced from five districts (Jaffna, Mannar, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya) due to LTTE threats as far back as October 1990 remains one of the key post conflict challenges that bears a significant impact on the process of reconciliation, the Commission observes.

A large number of representations have been made before the Commission on the plight of these IDPs who have been living under dire conditions for more than two decades.

According to representations made especially during the Commission’s visit to Puttalam, almost the entire Muslim Community of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province numbering approximately 75,000 persons were expelled by the LTTE in a systematic and organized manner during a two week period in October 1990.

Northern Muslims were 5% of the population of the Province and hailed from the five districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya.

A 2006 UNHCR survey estimated that there were 63,145 individuals living in 141 separate settlements in Puttalam district alone. There are many more outside of the Puttalam district.

The Commission has recommended appointing a special committee to examine a durable solution and formulate a comprehensive State policy on the issues of Muslim IDPs.

The Commission has also gone into the grievances of the Tamils, Muslims and the Sinhalese people who lost their agricultural land due to eviction. The Commission has also noted and commended the methodology adopted to facilitate a safe and fair return of the displaced from Manik Farm and other camps.

Diaspora

The Commission, recommends that the Government constitute a Multi – Disciplinary Task Force that will include representatives from the Presidential Secretariat, External Affairs, Defence, Foreign Employment, the Private Sector, and Academia, to propose a programme of action to harness the untapped potential of the expatriate community and to respond to the concerns of the so-called ‘hostile diaspora groups,’ and to engage them constructively with the Government and other stakeholders involved in the reconciliation process.

If such a comprehensive approach is not adopted urgently, the Commission feels that the current momentum towards creating a hostile external atmosphere could grow, and those groups that advocate such a process would continue to promote polarization that will significantly impair the genuine efforts of others who espouse reconciliation back home in Sri Lanka.

ISSUES OF GOVERNANCE The Commission heard submissions that some minority grievances stem from deficiencies in the system of administration and lack of good governance that affect all citizens regardless of ethnicity. These deficiencies require concerted action by allstakeholders. However specific action is needed where the system functions particularly to the disadvantage of the minorities.The political culture of the country has made the general public powerless and helpless to a point that they have become dependent on politicians to obtain many services and amenities they are entitled to.

Thus, the Commission has recommended the Government should establish an independent institution to address the grievances of all citizens, in particular the minorities, arising from the abuseof power of public officials and other individuals.

Devolution of Power

Many persons who appeared before the Commission stated in clear terms that reaching a political consensus that will facilitate devolution of power to be of critical importance, to further the process of reconciliation after the ending of LTTE terrorism, which was the main obstacle against achieving such a consensus for a long time. It has observed that it was vital that the Government should provide leadership to a political process which must be pursued for establishing a framework for ensuring sustainable peace and security.

The Commission has endorsed devolution of power within a broad framework of a sovereign, multi- ethnic State to empower local government institutions.

It has also proposed an additional mechanism, such as a second chamber comprising representatives from the provinces to generate a sense of confidence among the political leadership and the people in the provinces.

National Anthem

On the question of the National Anthem, the practice of the National Anthem being sung simultaneously in two languages to the same tune must be maintained and supported. Any change in this practice at the present time would only create a major irritant which would not be conducive to fostering post conflict reconciliation.

Political consensus

One of the dominant factors obstructing reconciliation in Sri Lanka is the lack of political consensus and a multi-party approach on critical national issues, such as the issue of devolution. The Commission observes that during the last four to five decades there have been instances where ‘hate speech’ had contributed to major communal disharmony. Since ‘hate speech’ relating to ethnicity, religion and literature exacerbate ethnic and religious tension, creating disunity and conflict, deterrent laws must be enacted to deal with such practices, and these laws should be strictly enforced.

The Commission strongly recommends that a separate event be set apart on the National Day to express solidarity and empathy with all victims of the tragic conflict and pledge our collective commitment to ensure that there should never be such blood-letting in the country again.

Based on testimonies it received the Commission feels that this commemorative gesture, on such a solemn occasion, and at a high political level, will provide the necessary impetus to the reconciliation process the nation as a whole is now poised to undertake.