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It’s heartening to see something has begun in Sri Lanka: US envoy
View(s):The United States is yet to determine what action it would take regarding Sri Lanka after September, when the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is due to release a report on human rights violations alleged to have been committed at the end of the war with the LTTE.
“What we know is that the High Commissioner has said the report will be released,” said Tom Malinowski, visiting US Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour. He expressed hope that Sri Lanka would work between now and September to build up a domestic process acceptable to all Sri Lankans.
“What happens after September is yet to be determined,” he said, briefing journalists in Colombo. “What I can say is that there will continue to be intense interest in the international community, whether reflected by actions in the Human Rights Council (HRC) or through our bilateral engagement with the Government of Sri Lanka, in seeing this process continue until the people of the country have closure.”
The Human Rights Council adopted a string of resolutions on Sri Lanka—highlighting human rights abuses, urging accountability for alleged war crimes and calling for a restoration of democracy—largely on the initiative of the US. With the change of Government in Sri Lanka, there are questions on how Washington will proceed with its actions within the HRC.
Mr Malinowski was complimentary of the new regime. “It was not just an election, not just a change of Government,” he said. “It’s a change in commitment, a change in direction. A year ago had I been here, I could not have had the conversations that I have had with the Government without virtually every problem being denied.”
“Now, the problems are acknowledged and the country is reaching out for partnerships in an effort to help address them,” he continued. He welcomed the first return of land to people in the North, the release of some prisoners, a relaxation of controls on media and “a lessening in the sense of a fear and self censorship that was prevalent here in the past”
“I want to stress that we certainly don’t see this as finished process,” Mr Malinowski said. “In fact, virtually everything is unfinished. But it has only been three months since the new Government was elected and, sometimes, it is better to walk steadily than to run quickly and stumble.”
So long as the country keeps moving forward, it will have the support of the United States and the international community, Mr Malinowski said. “Nothing is settled,” he reflected. “Something has begun in Sri Lanka, but nothing is settled. It is very, very, heartening that something has begun.”
In response to a question on the missing, the US official said it was a subject “that has intense interest to families in many parts of Sri Lanka, in the North, but not just in the North”. “The issues of accountability and reconciliation that Sri Lanka faces are very complicated,” he averred. “They will take time to resolve. We don’t expect those difficult questions to be resolved in a matter of months.”
“But the families who lost their loved ones, the families whose loved ones were disappeared, deserve to know their fate—whether they are alive or dead and, if they’re alive, where they are,” he said. “That is something that should not have to wait.” The Government could take action in this regard, thereby restoring trust in the short-term, even as it addresses the much more complicated issue question of how to achieve accountability in a way that satisfies all Sri Lankans.
Mr Malinowski also visited Aluthgama, the site of anti-Muslim riots last year. “We wanted to show our interest and concern in the efforts to promote peace and reconciliation between the Sinhala Buddhist community and Muslim community down there,” he elaborated. “And it did feel like some progress has been made.”
“Many of the people felt that they have had historically good relations with their neigbours, that the violence was caused by irresponsible people exploiting religion and religious differences,” he related. Community leaders expressed cautious option “that things can go back to a more harmonious state”.
“There’s nothing more dangerous than political playing with religion and dividing people and encouraging conflict on that most sensitive and most personal part of a person’s identity,” he said.