Sri Lanka Descending Toward Dictatorship, Critics Say; U.S. Determined To Remain Engaged
By Simon Denyer,
Friday, July 13, 2012
Defining the future of Sri Lanka: After its civil war, critics warn that the country is descending toward dictatorship.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: The defeat of one of the world’s largest and most lethal terrorist organizations – and the end of a three-decade civil war – should have heralded a bright new dawn for the tropical Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka.
The economy is one of Asia’s fastest growing, and tourism is booming. But three years after the war ended, human rights groups and opposition leaders warn that the country is descending towards dictatorship, with dissent brutally crushed, the media cowed and the minority Tamils, whose insurrection caused the war in the first place, still treated like second-class citizens.
The United States and India, Sri Lanka’s two main trading partners, had largely looked the other way as the government crushed the Tamil Tiger rebels three years ago in a campaign that left between 7,721 and 40,000 people dead, according to UN estimates. But the two countries have expressed frustration at the lack of post war reconciliation and urged Sri Lanka to do more to protect human rights.
At the same time, Washington and New Delhi have found themselves increasingly marginalized, their leverage limited as the government in Colombo has forged close economic and diplomatic links with China and Iran.
“The Sri Lanka government has the wind in their sails, and they want to define the future of their country on their own terms,” said Harsh V. Pant, who teaches at the Department of Defence Studies at King’s College in London. “It is going to be very difficult for outsiders like India and America to influence anything domestically. And if Sri Lanka has problems in international institutions, they know they can rely on China.”
At the height of their power, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ran vast swathes of Tamil-dominated northern and eastern Sri Lanka as a virtual mini-state. But they had also turned a struggle for the rights of the island’s Hindu and Christian Tamils into a terrorist campaign involving suicide bombers and child soldiers – assassinating anyone who stood in their way, including thousands of moderate Tamils, a Sri Lankan president and former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
But after a long stalemate, the Sri Lankan government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa took the war to the Tigers with unprecedented ruthlessness and single-mindedness.
As the scorched earth campaign entered its final stages in 2009, it cost tens of thousands of lives – a UN report called for an investigation into war crimes by both sides, accusing the Tigers of using civilians as human shields and the Sri Lankan military of indiscriminate shelling and denying civilians access to humanitarian aid.
Rajapaksa is enormously popular among the island’s Buddhist Sinhala majority for ridding this country of 20 million of the spectre of terrorism and war, but critics say he is in danger of squandering the peace.
The military still runs northern and eastern Sri Lanka, with locals complaining that its control of every aspect of daily life is deeply intrusive and humiliating, and that anyone who challenges it risks deadly retribution.
Courtesy: The Washington Post
It is more than Dictatorship…. as its mixed with stupidity, irresponsibility, sheer disregard and callousness…….
The judgement of the president of the country says that his Minister of publuc Relations should be the person who ties a man to a tree !!
Defence secretary then appoints a rapist, underworld kingpin as Minister supervising Defence and he kills again !
When Lanka pays more than its income to pay for loans alone, the Chief of central bank tries to get commonwealth games which would have costed Rs 500 billion ( half of the budget)
Ex Attorny General says heresay stories to UN, having dismissed specific crime cases against politiciens
Army Commander had said now he can only control save vanitha unit!!
The governing party happily appoints criminals, thugs, rapists to represent them in councils!!
The members of government are all are now honorary puppets!!
List goes on……
The writing was on the wall so we left this dump many years ago to live a quiet peaceful free and financially secure life overseas without corruption, murder, rape and poverty.
This genocidal govt and corrupt regime will come to an end for killing 40,000 innocent Tamils and burying them in mass graves.
Is this the “Leela” who was praising this regime to high heavens in the not too distant past?
I say to whosoever this reporter is … as long as Sri Lanka flourishes which we see it happenning right in front of our eyes, all credit goes to HE The President Mahinda Rajapakse and to the GOSL. We crushed a ruthless terrorist outfit which no previous governement in Sri Lanka had the back bone to execute. Our military would remain anywhere in Sri Lanka where the Defence auhtorities deems fit.
This is exactly what this reporter wants, to create a separate Tamil state. They are angry that with President Rajapakse and the Government of Srilanka for opposing it and defeating the bloody terrorists. This reporter as well as Rod Rednour who are all in one clan with the diaspora Tamils are highly payed. They have a mission to see Srilanka destroyed, We are very sad to see our own news papers and reporters like Fredrika janz doing the work for them.
Just because someone won a war and that too using ruthless method, does not make him a hero. Only stupids and ignorant idiots will call these people heroes. Also have a look at the country’s current economy. Its going down the drain!
Leslie, So you think that SL is flourishing . Either you are living on another planet or you must be one of the few who enjoys the crumbs thrown by the Rajapakses. Economic miracles are only possible under the UNP and you can see that from history.
Leslie-
May I know where you are living? Maybe in the comforts of a wealthy nation reaping all the social benefits renderd to you? SL is run by a thug and his family of relatives, friends and goons. The whole nation runs on foreign aid and loans. Yeah the developments are monies leant by China, where China owns half the country today. Merely because you have a computer and keyboard attached to it, you have to write dumb comments like this.
We need back the LRRP and DPU unites in Colombo,If they could destroy targets in the LTTE area,wont it be a piece of cake to take out these fools within Colombo.
The good people all have dead,or gone. We are left out with fools in our Mother Land.
well said Abayratna-
Today in Srilanka what we see is a family rule. There is no democracy. The family is ruling the country and there is nobody in our country who challenge the Rajapakses. Family rule is not bad as long as there is democracy. President Rajapakse is governing the country as he is governing his home. When it comes to Tamil’s issue he wants PSC. I really don’t understand why? How long he can supress the Tamils and at what cost. Is it worth governing the minority and keep them as second class citizen. Who can help the poor Tamils. I never supported Pirabakaran and I always was against him. Now I feel Pirabakaran should have been there to protect the Tamils.
everything in this country doesn’t revolve round this Tamil issue, it is an overblown issue only good enough for the Tamil nadu and diaspora Tamils. They must realize they are a small minority here to ask for unreasonable demands. Country has to go forward so a strong government and a fearless leader is nessary. The country has suffered enoug from this Tamil issue.
I doent think MARAYA is popular anymore among any SRI LANKAN . I was in SRI LANKA recently and not a single person be from a town , village , singhalese , tamil nor muslim spoke in favour of MARAYA . Time will tell us sooner than later ……………
What does the Foto Tell us, Is this is a foolish or Childish act for being our Leder. Or a First time case as Children call it.