EC: No more power over State media

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/front-page-news/36281.html

Monday, 21 February 2011 00:00 Election Commissioner has no powers to issue orders to the media during forthcoming local government elections, says the Elections Department. Election Department (ED) said that as provisions of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution had been abolished, Commissioner was not in a position to give orders to State media. Consultant to Elections Department Bandula Kulatunge told BBC Sandeshaya that earlier, Elections Commissioner was able to order Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) and Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLRC) to comply with the guidelines announced by the Commissioner of Elections. “Elections Commissioner had powers even to appoint a Competent Authority and order State media to be unbiased but those powers have been removed from the 18th Amendment,” he said. Election Department is expected to issue guidelines within the next couple of weeks to all media institutions that should be followed during the forthcoming local government elections. Asked what actions could be taken against those contravene election guidelines, he said officially the department was not able to take any actions under the provisions of the 18th Amendment. “However, one can go to courts in such instances where election guidelines are contravened by a media institution”, he added. (BBC)

No need to cut army strength-Boniface

http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/front-page-news/36278.html

Monday, 21 February 2011 00:00

By Amadoru Amarajeewa

There was no need to reduce the strength of the armed forces merely because the war was over, the new eastern Commander Major General Boniface Perera said. Addressing a gathering of officers, soldiers of the three armed forces, the Civil Defence Force and Police personnel for the first time after his appointment to the new post in Trincomalee Major General Perera said that now that the security forces had defeated the world’s most ruthless terrorist outfit they had to be prepared to rescue people from natural disasters. He added that the Army alone did not win the war, rather it recaptured the territories captured by the LTTE. with the assistance given by the air force from the air, the navy from the sea and the Civil Defence Force and the police on the ground. “It recaptured the territories captured by the LTTE, with the assistance from the Air Force, Srti Lanka Navy, the Civil Defence Force and the Police,” he said. He asserted the duty of the security forces was not to allow terrorism to raise its ugly head again. Pointing out the deserving right of the people to get the full credit of the war victory as they were the ones who paid the supreme sacrifice towards the war, the new Eastern Commander said that people would not respect the officers of the security forces merely for the medal they wore They would respect the officers if they served them with dedication and commitment, he said.

Regional Meetings on Human Rights Defenders

Date	Venue	Location	Time	Organized by
17th November	Rathnapura	Organization to Safeguard Democratic and Human Rights	10.00 a.m.        – 3.00 p.m.	Organization to Safeguard Democratic and Human Rights, Rathnapura and Rights Now
Sunday 23rd December	Matara	Prince Reception hall, Kaliyadasa Road, Matara	3.30 p.m.- 5.30 p.m.	Right to Life
27th Dec.	Kurunegala	Devasarana Development Centre, Yakalla, Ibbagamuwa	3.30 p.m.-5.30 p.m.	Kurunegala Human Rights Organization
27th Dec.	Kandy	Methodist Hall	3.00 p.m.-5.30 p.m.	Right to Life
30th Dec.	Negombo	Negombo – NAFSO Centre, No 10,Malwatta Rd, Negombo	3.00 p.m.- 5.30 p.m.	Right to Life
08th Dec,	Polonnaruwa		3.00 p.m.- 5.00 p.m.	Rights Now

 

 

17 organizations meeting

Coordinating Committee Meeting of the

17 Organizations

will be held on

Wednesday, 26th November

from 1.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m.

at

Centre for Society and Religion (CSR)

All are invited.

 

 

Tensions between human rights and the limitation on those rights during the conflict and war

Tensions between human rights and the limitation on those rights imposed by very specific situations such as conflict and war

 

(This presentation was based on Article 29(2) of the UDHR)

 

Presentation made by Sudarshana Gunawardana, representing Sri Lankan civil society organization “Rights Now” at the 13^th Annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum held in Kuala Lumpur on 31^st July, 2008

 

 

Let us imagine a country in which the rule of law of prevails, in which the people have sovereignty and they elect, from time to time, their representatives to government.

 

This country is a member of the United Nations. It has ratified all major Human Rights Treaties including the optional protocol to the ICCPR and submits periodic reports to the Treaty Committees. Respecting international obligations, the successive governments of the country has introduced or amended legislation in order to make sure that it is consistent with the international human rights norms and standards. Violation of fundamental rights as set out in the Constitution by a state action can be questioned by petitioning the superior courts.

 

The country faces a civil war. Special National Security Laws and Emergency Laws have been enacted to deal with issues of terrorism and counter-insurgency. These regulations can supersede any existing law other than the provisions of the constitution.

 

In such a country, a journalist who reports on the conflict may be arrested by Counter Terrorism authorities and held in incommunicado detention.

His wife could file a petition on his behalf, alleging violations of several rights guaranteed to him as a citizen. Among them would be the freedom of Thought and Conscience, Freedom of Expression, Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Detention, Freedom from Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment. During the inquiry, the Public Prosecutor could argue that the arrest and detention is legal as it was made under the emergency regulations. The journalist’s prolonged detention could thus be legally justified despite the protections of national and international law.

 

What we are considering today is exactly this question about the tensions between human rights and the limitation on those rights imposed by very specific situations such as conflict and war. The global impetus of the War against Terror and counter-terrorism measures adopted by many of our countries poses a major challenge to our work in this regard. Arbitrary arrest and detention, prolonged and incommunicado detention, restrictions on media freedom and on the freedom of assembly and association are all common features under the laws that are being promulgated in the name of national security and public order. Whether it is the detention of so-called terrorist suspects in Guantanamo, in small holding cells in Sri Lanka or in Mongolia, or whether it is the brutal suppression of dissent, as human rights defenders we continually challenge the form and nature of these limitations, while accepting the principle that sometimes limitations are necessary for the greater good.

 

In addition, since many of us come from societies and countries where growing trends of religious and other forms of fundamentalism and extremism are leading to serious social tensions and identity-based conflicts, the imposition of limitations on rights can also be politically motivated to enhance the power and position of one community against another. Here again, the principles of equality and non-discrimination in the imposition of limitations must be taken very seriously by us. 

 

Our discussions on the universality and inter-dependence of rights has always taken into consideration the fact that in order to achieve stability and harmony in society, certain rights and individual freedoms must be balanced with the rights and freedoms of other individuals and of society as a whole. In Article 29 (2), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights sets out admissible limitations ‘as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.’

 

The issue of limitations have also been further explored through the work of the Human Rights Committee and by the Siracusa Principles on the Limitation and Derogation provisions of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. More recently, deliberations of the European Court of Human Rights have also elaborated on this aspect of human rights.

 

The interpretative principles of the Siracusa Principles, among other matters, call for limitations not to be arbitrary or unreasonable, and say that limitations should be clear and accessible to everyone. In particular, the Siracusa Principles affirm the need for provisions to ensure protection against illegal or abusive imposition or application of these limitations.

 

The Siracusa Principles also take into consideration that the basis for imposing limitations such as ‘Meeting the just requirements of morality’, creating an environment for the maintenance of ‘public order’ and ‘general welfare’ are open to subjective interpretations. Thus, the Principles clearly cite the variance of notions of what constitutes morality over time and from culture to culture and calls for the limitations to remain true to the maintenance of respect for the fundamental values of the community.

 

At this meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum on National Human Rights Institutions, we as human rights defenders from the Asia Pacific region would call on all national human rights institutions to play a leading role in providing guidance and direction to states in the area of limitations to rights.

 

NHRIs must insist that the state guarantees the rights of all persons, including under special laws and emergency regulations promulgated in the interests of national security and public order. The responsibility of ensuring that the extent of any limitation is strictly proportionate to the need or higher interest protected by the limitation lies with the NHRI. In addition, NHRIs can ensure guarantees of the legality of these special laws and regulations, and also of the rule of law that will protect us against the arbitrary use of state power. The role to be played by NHRIs in ensuring respect for the dignity of the individual, for the principles of equality and non-discrimination and for the non-retroactive nature of the law is equally critical, as is the role they can play in ensuring that all those who are detained under these special laws should be guaranteed a fair and public hearing.

 

In order to do this, NHRIs must be pro-active and exercise their independent authority to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights of all those who live within their state borders. By maintaining regular vigilance over detainees and places of detention, by engaging in consistent dialogue with the security forces, law enforcement agencies and detaining authorities to ensure the welfare and security of detainees, NHRIs can work together with human rights defenders to ensure respect for human rights in their countries. Such a role can also strengthen the position of the state in which the NHRI operates at the level of the international human rights community and bring credit to its commitments to the protection and promotion of all human rights for all.     

Amid claymores and human bombs,it is time to take stock the peace building strategies

Amid claymores and human bombs, it is time to take stock the peace building strategies

-Sudarshana Gunawardana

 

The life of a young woman living in Mannar, in Northern Sri Lanka, is insecure. She lives amidst the fighting between the GoSL security forces and the LTTE. A young man in Buttala, Southern Sri Lanka, cannot apprehend the agonies and miseries that she goes through. Put another way, young Sumanasiri in Buttala cannot imagine the sufferings of young Sellama in Mannar.

Activities aimed at building peace are identified in three tracks:

Track one – Activities focused on engaging the protagonists to the conflict

Track two – Activities focused on engaging the intelligentsia and artists belonging to the different sides of the conflict

Track three – Activities focused on engaging the communities that represent the different sides of the conflict

During the heyday of the peace process between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), we saw multiple activities in all three tracks. Especially under the track three initiatives, the main emphasis was on making southern people aware of the miserable plight of the people live in the war torn North and East of the island as a result of the protracted armed conflict.

People to people exchange programmes, peace marches, workshops, discussions, peace concerts and numerous other activities were held in order to achieve these objectives. These activities focused on raising awareness. Massive amounts of information were disseminated among the people after translation from foreign languages. At least interpreters and printers benefited from these activities.

Now, however, with the shaky ceasefire now over, war has returned as the typhoon follows the wind. Peace activists who came from abroad have left the country and local doves now associate with hawks. 

If we were to ask young Senehelatha, who lives in Southern Sri Lanka, her opinion about the present life of Nadarajah, who lives in the North, we might hear the following: “Yes, I know Nadarajah is suffering. The cause of his suffering is war. To save him from the scourge of the war, we must work to end the war. To end the war, one has to address the root cause of the war, which is Prabhakaran and the Tigers. So we must annihilate the Tigers to bring an honourable peace for Nadarajah and the rest of the citizens.” As war is imminent, it is also inevitable that Nadarajah’s elder brother, who was forcibly recruited as an LTTE foot soldier, will be killed; that Nadarjah’s brother-in-law who has moved to Colombo will be detained indefinitely and that Nadarajah’s family will have to live in a camp designated for IDPs.

We now live in a reality that is more terrible than our worst nightmare. Young Sumanasiri from the South has infiltrated the jungles of the Vanni in the North, in order to set up claymore bombs. Sellama from the North has arrived in south, wandering the streets of Colombo in the South, with explosives tied to her belly, waiting to become a suicide bomb.

Even in remote villages, small cooperative shops close its operations once a month for stock taking. In the present circumstances, isn’t it time for civil society to take stock of the strategies they have pursued for building peace in the country?

 

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