News
Ongoing campaign against National Archives DG takes another turn
- A fresh Cabinet-approved subcommittee appointed to revisit unresolved dispute from 2018 after 4 employees alleged that DG Nadeera Rupesinghe had sold copies of historical Dutch records to outsiders
- Dr Rupesinghe, a Netherlands-educated historian whom senior staff are battling to retain, has repeatedly denied the allegations and called for proof
Nadeera Rupesinghe
Two repositories at the National Archives containing thousands of historical Dutch records as well as records of Presidential Commissions of Inquiry (PCoIs) have been sealed off.
The development, which delays public access to these documents, is the result of an unresolved dispute from 2018 when four employees of National Archives sensationally alleged that Director-General Nadeera Rupesinghe had sold copies of historical Dutch records to outsiders.
Several inquiries—including by the Criminal Investigation Department and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption—have had no outcome. Dr Rupesinghe, a Netherlands-educated historian whom senior staff are battling to retain, has not been charge-sheeted.
But amidst an ongoing campaign by her detractors, backed by some Buddhist monks, a fresh Cabinet-approved subcommittee was appointed last month to revisit the case. While it was given a short deadline to produce a report, sittings are lagging owing to non-cooperation by officials, claimed Kapila Gunawardena, Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
A three-member committee previously conducted a preliminary inquiry in 2019. Another Cabinet-appointed committee then carried out a “fact-finding mission” and submitted its report last year. The decision to temporarily remove Dr Rupesinghe and conduct yet another preliminary inquiry is reportedly on the recommendation of this second committee.
The National Archives of Sri Lanka keeps 310 metres of Dutch records on Ceylon created by the Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC, the Dutch East-India Company. Sri Lankans are most familiar with the Tombos or registers of landholdings. They are “open documents” and not classified in any way.
The Dutch Government has in the past assisted the National Archives with preserving these unique documents. One such instance is the now-concluded Dutch records projects to improve the condition of and accessibility to the Tombos and other documents. And microfilm copies were sent to the National Archives of The Netherlands from 2001-2013, well before Dr Rupesinghe took over in 2017.
Separately, the records of PCoIs are given to any party—private or institutional—through permission from the Secretary to the President. In early 2018, four employees claimed that Dr Rupesinghe allowed two Dutch nationals named Frans van Diyk and Lidwien Jansen entry into the repository containing Dutch records for around ten days. They alleged that they changed the numbering of some documents, took photographs and used their computers in the repository.
The National Archives in Colombo
It was found, however, that the Dutchmen—both expert archivists from the Netherlands National Archives—were making a checklist and conducting a preliminary survey for a proposed larger digitisation initiative. This was also aimed at combining the three inventories of Dutch records into one, in line with international standards. The officials were part of the Dutch Government-backed ‘Shared Cultural Heritage’ project. The number of days spent at the National Archives in 2018 was six, not ten.
Dr Rupesinghe said this week that she does not know whether she is accused of selling the original records or copies of them. She has repeatedly denied the allegations and called for proof. But in February this year, Prof Gunawardena wrote to her temporarily transferring her to the Ministry.
“The Secretary asked me to submit the documents in my custody in a proper manner,” she said, adding that she requested Prof Gunawardena to inform her of the allegations being examined by the latest subcommittee. Further comment was declined.
Her successor is now required to take over the contentious documents from Dr Rupesinghe’s custody in writing, one by one. These include archives relating to Dutch rule from the 17th and 18th centuries as well as PCoI papers in the Confidential Records Division and safe deposits of the National Archives.
Dr Rupesinghe has already handed over around 700 out of a total of 7,500 volumes of Dutch records and two of four safe deposit boxes, including the 2015 Bond Commission records. But the handover has been suspended till President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office grants permission to continue videotaping the process (which was suddenly stopped). Still to be transferred are 20,000 files of evidence from the Maxwell Paranagama Commission to Investigate into Complaints regarding Missing Persons, appointed in 2013.
As they have done multiple times since the dispute erupted, over 60 percent of the employees of the National Archives have written to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also Minister of Cultural Affairs, opposing Dr Rupesinghe’s removal.
A handful of officers are conveying falsehoods to the country’s high-level executives, their latest letter reiterated.
“We unanimously state that she is not someone who will destroy the Department but, in fact, a clever public servant who will protect the Department,” it said.
“We made it clear to the committees appointed to look into the irregularities in the Department of National Archives that all the allegations leveled against her and this Department are baseless.”
Academics, researchers and practitioners also expressed support for Dr Rupesinghe in the past, saying they benefited from the changes she introduced.
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