Download the November-December issue of the Saama Vimarshi magazine here.
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 17 November, 2015 Centre for Policy Alternatives on 17 November, 2015 Centre for Policy Alternatives on 13 November, 2015 Bring them home: The long search for Sri Lanka’s ‘disappeared’
The Presidential Commission to Investigate into Complaints Regarding Missing Persons (the Commission) was established on 15th August 2013 under Gazette No. 1823/42. Over a year into its mandate, the Commission continues to operate under circumstances that raise serious concerns in respect of the search for truth, justice and accountability in Sri Lanka. The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) depicts the Commission not only as its primary instrument to address the grievances of the families of the disappeared, but also since the expansion of its mandate, as the sole mechanism for addressing war time violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, amongst others.
Since it began its work of hearing complaints brought forward by family members of the disappeared, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has monitored the work of the Commission and put forward several recommendations on improvements that can be made to the process. In addition to scrutinising these methods, CPA observers have recorded cases brought before all the commissioners across a majority of the hearings. This content is both a compilation of CPA’s work on the Commission and a look into some of the cases witnessed at hearings that help place in context the enduring trauma of enforced disappearances through personal narratives.
Stories of entire families lost, children separated from their parents, spouses taken into Army camps and loved ones lost in the last stages of the war coupled with a family’s desperate economic situation are some of the issues flagged in testimonies brought before the Commission.
The past few months have seen significant events that might signal positive change in addressing this issue that has plagued the country since the beginning of the war, with the cabinet agreeing to provide families of the missing with ‘Certificates of Absence’ and the Office of Missing Persons due to be set up. There is also hope that, at the time this is released, the on-going visit of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances will yield information and recommendations for action to compensate the families that have been waiting for years on end for their loved ones.
Whether it is closure through a confirmation of death or joy on their return to their homes, CPA is committed to upholding the pillars of transitional justice in efforts to provide these families with answers.
The immersive story is accessible here.
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 12 November, 2015 Audited accounts: December 2014
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 9 November, 2015 CPA Condoles on the Death of the Venerable Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero
9 November, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) expresses its condolences on the death of the Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero.
Ven. Sobitha Thero was a key civil society figure in the defeat of populist authoritarianism. Through his dynamic leadership and personality, the Movement for Social Justice reached out to and helped galvanize mainstream opinion against corruption and authoritarianism. CPA salutes a civil society champion, whose continued, coherent and cogent advocacy will be sorely missed, particularly at this critical juncture in the reform process.
As a respected member of the clergy and of civil society, the Ven. Sobitha Thero was able to articulate the views of those who wanted change and more recently, have been concerned about the pace and quality of the change achieved so far. He understood better than most and expressed in no uncertain terms the primary duty of civil society in a functioning democracy – that of eternal vigilance through constant pro-active stake-holdership in public affairs for governance.
May he attain Nibbana.
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Download as PDF in English here, in Sinhala here and in Tamil here.
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 9 November, 2015 The Public Perception of Governance in Government is Not Good
9 November 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is disturbed and condemns two reported recent incidents adversely impacting governance – the Police attack on the Diploma students and what transpired in Parliament over the Avant Garde investigation.
In the case of the former, CPA unreservedly condemns the Police attack. In any functioning democracy it is the responsibility of the Police to protect citizens exercising their fundamental rights rather than brutally attack them in actions reminiscent of the recent authoritarian dispensation. Was it the case that orders were given to the Police to use force in the manner they did and by whom or was the Police acting on its own accord and reverting to what may have been orders and/or standard operating procedures sanctioned by the previous regime? CPA notes that there are a number of investigations ordered into the attack including by the Prime Minister and the Human Rights Commission. We believe that these investigations should be brought to a thorough and speedy conclusion, the reports made public and those responsible brought to justice without fear or favour.
The second incident relates to the debate in Parliament on the Avant Garde case and the defence of that organization by none other than the Minister for Law and Order as well as adverse criticism by him of the role of the Police in the investigation – an institution under his purview. In addition, there was the statement by the Minister of Justice to the effect that he acted to prevent the arrest of the former Secretary of Defence in this regard. There are accusations pertaining to the interference in this investigation by another minister as well. Media reports state that following the debate in Parliament there was further, intense discussion of the issue at Cabinet with some ministers threatening to resign over the statements made in parliament by their colleagues. The Cabinet will meet yet again regarding it.
The issue at stake in the investigation is as to whether there are grounds for prosecution in this case and under which law, thereby determining as to whether prosecution should be criminal or civil. The Attorney General has opined that there is no case that can be filed under the Fire Arms Ordinance or the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The two ministers concur. Most importantly though at the heart of what transpired is the issue of the declared conflict of interest on the part of the Minister for Law and Order who appeared for Avant Garde before he took up his ministerial portfolio, his use of parliamentary time and privilege to defend his former client and his criticism of the Police. His statement in Parliament smacks of a cavalier disregard for conflict of interest as a key and integral element of governance in government and flies brazenly in the face of any pretension of fostering a political culture of governance since the historic election of January this year and its reinforcement seven months later in August.
CPA calls for the resignation of the Minister of Law and Order and a clear public statement, without delay, from the Minister of Justice as to what precisely his role was in the investigation.
The citizens of this country voted twice to reject the previous dispensation and its wanton and systematic erosion of governance in government. Almost a year now since the election of President Sirisena in January, there is a cynicism abroad that those at the helm of the establishment of governance in government are wanting in terms of either willingness and/or ability, that all politicians are the same and that “deals’ will always be struck. Were this perception allowed to become widespread in the absence of government action to reverse it through renewed, demonstrable commitment to governance and declared “zero” tolerance of corruption, the gains of January and August 2015 could be fatally compromised and reforms in general needlessly de-railed. The government is responsible for this situation. Not the opposition.
Swift and decisive action is needed. Perception matters in politics. Principle always does. The balance of political power could shift and quickly, not because the previous dispensation and its torch bearers in active politics are looking good and providing an attractive alternative, but because the government is too soon appearing to be wanting on principle and performance.
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Centre for Policy Alternatives on 20 October, 2015 Map of work by Outreach teams
This map follows the work of CPA’s Outreach teams that work on democracy at the grassroot level, increasing public participation and critique of local governments in their relevant areas.
Citizen Councils are an initiative to engage people in democracy, by equipping them with knowledge and awareness to take the issues of their community to the necessary officials in demanding improvements in these areas and accountability from the authorities.
Pradeshiya Sabha initiatives work closely with local governments to increase transparency and open channels to communicate with the citizens in decision making.
For photos of these activites, visit our Flickr pages for Citizen Councils and Pradeshiya Sabha initiatives.
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 20 October, 2015 Introduction to Public Participation in Constitution Making
CPA hosted a meeting for Civil Society to introduce its Programme on Citizen Participation in Constitution Making on the 13th of October at the OPA, Colombo.
Senior Researcher from CPA Outreach, Lionel Guruge introduced attendees to the objectives of the proposed programme, which are mainly to ensure that citizen recommendations and aspirations were included in the formulation of a new Sri Lankan Constitution. This had not been the case in the formulation of the previous Constitution and its amendments.
CPA Executive Director, Dr Saravanamuttu emphasised the responsibility that Civil Society bears to ensure that the Constitution reflects people’s aspirations and needs. Speaking on the actions of previous governments, he stated that when good governance was spoken of people laughed; when eradication of corruption was mentioned people stated that this was Sri Lanka; democratic deficiencies were considered an occupational hazard, but presently these have been included into the spectrum of public policy. He further stated that we as civil society must not forget that it was us who included these actions into public policy, and it will be incumbent upon us to not participate in the making of the supreme law of the land.
Human Rights activist SG Punchihewa emphasised that in making a new Constitution, civil society must be sensitive to various factors such as the ambiguity of laws in the Constitution which subsequently lead to ambiguous implementation of laws. He stated that this was the case in the section of the current Constitution dedicated to Sri Lanka’s obligation to international treaties. He further emphasised the need to preserve and promote language equality in the Constitution.
Speaking at the programme, parliamentarian and President’s Counsel Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne said that a special committee to make recommendations for the preparation of a new Constitution for Sri Lanka has been appointed under the guidance of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. He stated that Officials of the Legal Draftsman Department, intellectuals from the legal sector, parliamentary officials and representatives are included in the committee. He added that no final decision has been made by the government on how they may proceed with this initiative; yet a number of options are being discussed including the establishment of a Parliamentary Select Committee to oversee the process, or the Parliament adopting a ‘whole-house’ approach i.e. the whole Parliament acting as one body for the purpose of drafting the new Constitution. Dr. Wickramarathne further stated that currently there hasn’t been a discussion on a Constitution making process beyond parliamentary intervention but that the government is very much in favour of a Constitution that includes public participation and that the government led approach for such an initiative would depend on what option the government decides to take for the drafting of the Constitution.
Attendees of the event included civil society organization representatives, academics, former ministers, legal professionals, media, Trade Union members and University Students. Former Auditor General Mr. Sarath Mayadunne, Dr. Jayampathy Wicramarathne, Executive Director of PAFFREL Mr. Rohana Hettiarachchi were also among the attendees.
A number of suggestions and considerations for the new Constitution were made by the attendees of the event, including;
• As stipulated in the 13th Amendment, the inclusion of Tamil language as another official language in a separate Article in misleading and unnecessary; therefore to include Sinhala and Tamil as the two official languages of Sri Lanka in one Article
• To remove any mention of religion from the Constitution and promote a secular Constitution
• More attention given to the minority Tamil population in the Estate Sector
• To include the suggestions and representation of minorities such as Burgher, Malay, and Indigenous populations of the country
• The inclusion of a structured mechanism for the devolution of power including the duties of the Provincial Councils
• The inclusion of the Right to Life and Right to Health in the new Constitution
• Inclusion and greater representation of women in the new Constitution – women’s issues to be considered a national issue instead of being isolated as a burden of women alone
There was also concern raised regarding the timeline of the government in drafting the new Constitution as many believed one year is not sufficient enough to formulate a truly representative Constitution that includes the aspirations of the public. Other civil society organization representatives stated that a campaign of this scale would be difficult for one organization to conduct in isolation and promoted the suggestion of a concerted effort from all interested civil society organizations so that they may pool in their resources for a successful program. Some were also of the opinion that the government must be proactive in this process so that citizens are given assurance that the government is indeed interested in promoting a representative Constitution.
Press cover of the event can be found at:
http://varunmultimedia.me/videos/btv/vmtube/hiru-news/hiru-news_-13-10-15/play.html?1
http://varunmultimedia.net/videos/btv/vmtube/sirasa-news/news-1st-sinhala_-13-10-15/play.html?1
http://www.rupavahini.lk/main-news/sinhala-news/8677-2015-10-13.html
http://www.news.lk/news/politics/item/10280-pm-appoints-a-committee-to-create-a-new-constitution
http://www.tamilwin.com/show-RUmtzASYSVgo0E.html
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/news-online/special-committee-prepare-new-constitution-appointed-guidance-pm.html
http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/cpa-seek-massive-public-participation-formulation-new-constitution