Centre for Policy Alternatives on 31 March, 2016

Memorialisation for Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka: A Discussion Paper

Memorialisation is an important tool in addressing conflict situations where years of repression, social inequality and injustice have created polarised communities. Memory initiatives can be a great healer and an enabler of reconciliation, paving ways and opportunities for dialogue, understanding, apologising, acknowledging and addressing past violence between divided societies. The change in the political environment in 2015 brought with it a space for such reconciliatory action, and in this respect, the government made promises to establish mechanisms to deal with the past- specifically the 30-year ethnic conflict that ended in 2009.

Memorialisation can play a critical role in the government’s transitional justice agenda, specifically in terms of complementary measures that can help reinforce these systems that may take many months to set up. Further, memory initiatives can address grievances that are not captured fully by the structures promised by the government, while bringing together communities who have suffered similar issues such as disappearances, which were common not only during the 30-year conflict, but also during the two Southern insurrections.

In light of successive governments’ failures to adopt a balanced approach to memorialisation, and given the crucial role the State can play in either healing or dividing communities further, through national memorialisation initiatives it takes up during their tenure in government, this latest discussion paper by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) hopes to set out guidelines and best practices governments should adopt in their practice of memorialisation. It also highlights the need to adopt, by way of a National Policy on Memorialisation, a consistent and impartial approach to State practice of memorialisation.

This discussion paper is one in a series of policy papers related to transitional justice that the CPA hopes will facilitate discussion around incorporating international best practices in the government’s approach to dealing with the past.

Download the discussion paper in full here.

Memorialisation for Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka FINAL

Centre for Policy Alternatives on 23 March, 2016

Truth to Truth

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The International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims is marked globally on 24th March. It is a day to remember the victims of past abuses and promote the right to truth and justice. The right to truth is linked to governments’ duty and obligation to protect and guarantee human rights, to conduct effective investigations and to guarantee effective remedy and reparations.

The transitional justice discourse in Sri Lanka is reenergized with the adoption of the Resolution at the 30th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in September-October 2015. The consensus resolution, cosponsored by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), is an important step in terms of recognizing past abuses and the need to investigate, prosecute, repair and reform within Sri Lanka. The GOSL has, in addition to confidence building measures such as reforming legislation and releasing lands to original owners, promised the establishment of four mechanisms in Sri Lanka- a special court, a commission for truth, justice, reconciliation and non-recurrence, an office of missing persons and office for reparations. These are critical steps in the road to reconciliation in Sri Lanka and must be fully implemented.

2016 will be a critical year in Sri Lanka and for Sri Lankans. The promises are many for a new Sri Lanka. Recognizing and reckoning with past abuses and introducing much needed reforms are critical if reconciliation is to have a chance.

This exhibition is a joint collaboration by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and the Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts (VAFA) to explore transitional justice via the medium of art. Fourteen emerging artists from across Sri Lanka discussed and debated concepts of transitional justice and its relevance to Sri Lanka at a residential workshop in February 2016 conducted by Chandraguptha Thenuwara and Bhavani Fonseka, followed by the production of art work that is on display at this exhibition. The exhibition commences on 24th March 2016, the International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims. This day and what it symbolizes is a poignant reminder for Sri Lankans of the need to recognize the past and promote truth, justice, reparations, non-repetition.

We hope the art work and literature around the theme of transitional justice will expand the discussions on transitional justice and provide a space for reflection, remedy and reform.

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Read this in Tamil and Sinhala.

Centre for Policy Alternatives on 18 March, 2016

LAUNCH: Right to the City Sri Lanka

18 March 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is pleased to announce the launch of an online initiative called Right to the City Sri Lanka with the aim of broadening the discussion on development, housing, displacement in Sri Lanka.

We have a lot of stories, photos, videos from our work with low income communities in Colombo as well as other work that we are involved in with key stakeholders. The idea is to combine this content with our research to create more awareness around the issues we are working on specific to urban development.

We will have a trilingual website soon but until then the content will be up on the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages shared below.

https://www.facebook.com/righttothecitysl/

https://twitter.com/right2thecitysl

https://www.instagram.com/righttothecitysl/

Please follow, like and importantly, contribute to the discussions with your ideas, opinions and feedback.

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Centre for Policy Alternatives on 7 March, 2016

Vilaasam – March 2016

March 5th, 2016 – The Outreach and Capacity Building team of the CPA, working together with the Central Provincial Council and the management of the Mocha Estate, helped provide addresses to 1,500 families of the plantation sector in Maskeliya.

‘Vilaasam’, a project inaugurated in 2013 began by providing road names and addresses to families living on estates in Passara, Badulla. Since then, CPA has been advocating and negotiating with local authorities to provide the same basic human rights to as many estate families as possible. This phase of the project was made possible largely due to extensive cooperation on the part of the estate management and the superintendent, the Ambagamuwa Divisional Secretariat, Ambagamuwa Pradeshiya Saba, the Grama Niladhari Officer at Mocha Estate, and the Maskeliya Police Station.

CPA facilitators established three Citizen Councils in the estate and worked through the residents of the estate to ensure that this basic civil right was protected. Communities that have lived on plantations for generations still do not have addresses to the homes they inhabit. This has proven an extreme challenge in the reception of correspondence in relation to civil administration and education circulars from schools or universities.

The event on Sunday was a great celebration for these families. Numbers were put up on the houses in the three new areas demarcated in the estate. Students from the Mocha Estate school began the proceedings with the singing of the National Anthem in Tamil. Several cultural performances were carried out. Leaders from the three Citizens Councils handed over a directory that listed each family’s address to representatives from the Grama Sevaka office, the Maskeliya police, the principal of the estate school and the estate superintendent.

CPA Senior Researcher Lionel Guruge who conceived and leads the execution of the Vilaasam project addressed the crowd that now, having received one of their fundamental rights, he hoped that this would open the door for greater achievements. In doing so, he reminded the people of the importance of using their voices to hold accountable authorities and local authorities to ensure their rights were fully upheld.

Executive Director of the CPA Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu’s address noted the event as a celebration of the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by fellow Sri Lankans.
‘It is sad that in the year 2016, we are celebrating that our fellow citizens are getting addresses. While we should acknowledge that this is going to change, we should also be ashamed that we have let it go on for so long. We want a Sri Lanka where all citizens are equal,’
He added that at this time where a new constitution was being drafted for the country, he hoped that all Sri Lankans will be treated equally by the state and by each other.

Read the full report of this phase of the project in Sinhala and Tamil.

View all photos from the event here.