Originally published on the CGS blog on July 3, 2015.
It has been nearly half a year since Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena was elected to office, and he and his administration have been seeking the path of reconciliation ever since. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a slow process that will take generations to achieve. The beginning is going to be frustrating for everyone involved, especially for those who suffered the most.
I reported in February that Sirisena promised to give back most of the land taken from the Tamils by the military, but thus far it seems that not much has been given back and the military continues to engage in commercial activities on these seized lands.
The Oakland Institute published a report this May about Sri Lanka’s military still engaging in commercial activity on land seized from the Tamil population during the civil war.
The Sri Lankan High Commission in London countered by stating that this report exaggerated the extent of the military’s activity on the captured lands, that the government has already returned several to their original owners, and that it will continue to do so.
It should be noted that earlier this year, both President Maithripala Sirisena and Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera have met with Tamil Diaspora groups in London, England as part of reconciliation efforts.
The military still has some civilian police powers under an emergency order that President Sirisena allowed to be extended. The purpose, the government says, is to ensure public safety and to prevent the regrouping of the Tamil Tigers.
The process of withdrawing the military from these northern and eastern parts of the island is bound to be slow. However, there are reports that the military is reducing its involvement in civilian matters, and two generals governing these areas under former President Mahinda Rajapaksa have been replaced by Sirisena with two publicly esteemed former civil servants.
It should also be noted that several people who have been held in detention under terrorism prevention laws without charges have been released.
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) agreed to delay the publication of its report detailing the human rights abuses that occurred from 2002 until 2011 (two years after the official end of the war), as well as which individuals and organizations are likely culpable. The publication of this report is to be delayed until September this year so that Sri Lanka can get past its early general (parliamentary) elections, which are to be held on August 17th.
After Sri Lanka completes its elections, it plans to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission like the one set up in post-Apartheid South Africa, according to what Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Time Magazine.
Sri Lanka’sPresident Maithipala Sirisena has been speaking out against prejudice and discrimination toward ethnic and religious minorities in Sri Lanka. Sirisena also needs to avoid causing too much trouble with the pro-Rajapksa political forces in the country, which remain very powerful.
We must all keep in mind that politics is tricky business everywhere in the world, especially when it comes to improving human rights situations.
