Putting the lid on dissent and a cover-up in the making

Lasantha Wickrematunge, Mangala Samaraweera, Dinesh Gunawardena,
Ravi Karunanayake, Shivshankar Menon and Mahinda Rajapakse

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti  

Whilst the government was taking pains to shift the public opinion building against it at the outrageous murder of The Sunday Leader Editor, Lasantha Wickrematunge on January 8 in close proximity to a high security zone, it does not take a rocket scientist to identify the swift diversionary tactics at play, with the attack carried out on Rivira Editor Upali Tennakoon on Friday morning.

At a time when the murder most foul remains fresh in the memory of most, especially the intelligentsia, and media activists and civil rights groups remain vocal in their cry for a swift investigation leading to the arrest and successful conviction in connection with Wickrematunge's murder, comes the third major attack on the media, this time, an editor of a pro-government Sinhala publication bearing some resemblance to the style of attack that killed Wickrematunge.

With President Mahinda Rajapakse responding swiftly to the third serious attack on the media in this nightmare January by instructing the IGP to appoint a special police team of investigators to probe the series of attacks on the media on Friday, there is widespread belief that Tennakoon, with all due respect to him, in no way put his life at risk due to his journalistic pursuits with the editorial line being identical to that of the state media.

Prosecute

As for Wickrematunge's murder, there is no gainsaying that the only path left to the government is to get the police and the CID to investigate, arrest and find the culprits guilty in a court of law. Anything short of it wouldn't cut water as the country has seen the attempt by the police to draw a red herring in the MTV/MBC case.

The judiciary in this instance was quick to see through the paltry attempt and censure the police. Far too many such crimes have gone unsolved during the tenure of this government and those before. The swift solving of cases such as in the murder of a judge stands in stark contrast to those involving persons within the media.

Already there is much speculation, some of it fuelled by the powers that be, that offers multiple theories on Wickrematunge's assassination. The sad fact is, two weeks after his gruesome murder, there is not even consensus on the murder weapon.

Meanwhile, Wickrematunge's death inquest was held on January 21 but the much-awaited JMO's report was not produced in court which is now scheduled for submission on February 5, almost a month after the assassination.

Conflicting views are being expressed over the murder weapon and whether in actual fact multiple weapons were used, yet it is a fair assumption that the details would remain shrouded in mystery, like all other assassinations before. Eventually, if there is indeed a result, an alibi will be found as in the murder of the Papua New Guinean rugby player, Joel Pera.

Role of civil society

It is then that the role of civil society and specially the international community becomes important. Wickrematunge himself in his final interview questioned the role of the international community for not showing sufficient interest in Sri Lanka despite its flagging human rights record due to it being considered a country that is not 'strategically important.'

Wickrematunge's murder surfaced again in parliament when a listed oral question on the attacks carried out on the media from 2006 to date was answered in the House.

Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardena told parliament some nine journalists have been killed since 2006, some 27 attacked while five were reported abducted. He informed the House that relevant police stations were conducting investigations together with the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and identities of suspects were not being disclosed until the conclusion of investigations.

Raising the first supplementary question was Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe himself who inquired as to why, in the backdrop of investigations being carried out into the attacks on other journalists killed and/or attacked, the reason for Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse to refer to the slain Wickrematunge on state television and declare: "gerandiya maranna one."

Estimates

The MP who raised the query, Ravi Karunanayake then wished to know how the damage caused to the SLRC in the aftermath of an attack was merely Rs. 13,300 when the security hut of the Kotte Municipal Council that was dismantled by an opposition politician recently was assessed to be worth Rs. 50,000. Gunawardena had the grace to blush but claimed the valuations were done professionally and accepted by court.

A persistent Karunanayake then demanded to know why the CID was not handling the Wickrematunge assassination, to which the Chief Government Whip responded by saying that President Rajapakse has pledged a full inquiry and the MPs should stay calm until the findings are out.

"The President himself pledged an impartial inquiry. We are all very sad about this murder. We don't condone it," said Gunawardena, but a visibly moved Karunanayake demanded: "Is that why your MPs sang in parliament on the day after the murder," and lashed out further: "Can you bring him back to life?"

In the meantime, Chairman, Leader Publications Pvt. Ltd., Lal Wickrematunge has written to the IGP requesting police protection for the office premises in Ratmalana to which there has not been even an acknowledgement. Wickrematunge fired a second letter on January 22 listing out the series of attacks carried out on the newspaper establishment, underscoring the fact that this single newspaper is the one that had come under attack most with the final blow being the killing of its founding editor.

Alliance

The opposition parties that are now forming themselves together with civil society and trade unions into a 'colourless platform for democracy' are now planning on a series of protests to highlight the human rights abuses and the suppression of the media.

It is in this backdrop that SLFP (M) Convenor and a former foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera has taken it upon himself to canvass for international support to prevent Sri Lanka taking the path of the troubled African nation, Zimbabwe.

Samaraweera is now poised to seek an appointment with the new US administration and with the incoming Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to highlight the country's deteriorating human rights situation and draw full attention to Wickrematunge's murder. It is pertinent to note that a dossier that was in preparation on the Rajapakse brothers to be presented to the US for alleged human rights abuses by US citizens is to be completed and presented at such time.

As media suppression in Sri Lanka reached its zenith with Wickrematunge's murder, there was heightened interest over the visit of Indian Foreign Secretary, Shivshankar Menon.

There had been agitation in the south of India against a military solution to the ethnic problem and the Central Government in Delhi was at pains to take some action to appease their coalition partners. Other than the usual statements which don't amount to much, couched in diplomatic jargon, the visit ended leaving more questions than answers to the Indian thinking in relation to the status of the military push vis-a-vis the agitation in the south of India or the Sri Lankan polity at large.

Old hand

Menon, a senior career diplomat and one time India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka is closely associated with the Gandhi family. As he took wing to Colombo, a fast unto death was being carried out in Tamil Nadu by Thirumavalan, an act the central government chose to ignore.

With his visit evoking much interest President Rajapakse took extreme care to prepare for his meeting with Menon that took place in Kandy on January 17.

While many speculated that Menon was dispatched to Colombo to influence the government to abandon or scale down the war effort and to propose the initiation of a political dialogue, Menon managed to surprise them all.

He held meetings with Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapakse, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and a three member TNA delegation.

In preparation, President Rajapakse instructed Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga to get special reports prepared on the security situation in the north and on the civilians, anticipating that Menon's call would be largely to inquire about the prosecution of the war and the civilians.

Different agenda

But when Mr. and Mrs. Menon flew on special SLAF helicopter accompanied by Presidential Secretary Weeratunga to the President's House in Kandy 17th morning, none of the expected questions were raised. This non-plussed the President who had obtained special reports to meet a possible Indian inquisition.

 The visiting dignitary was warmly welcomed by the President and the First Lady and were treated to a mix of north Indian fare and Sri Lankan traditional food, beautifully laid out under a decorative canopy.

President Rajapakse during the discussion spoke of the war effort briefly and explained his plans to launch a massive rebuilding programme for the north when the war is concluded. Menon responded by stating that India would be happy to provide financial assistance for such a rebuilding effort.

The President also spoke of the infrastructural needs of the war-ravaged region. Next, the Menons expressed interest in visiting the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy and the Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura and the government promptly facilitated these requests.

His final meeting, before he flew via Chennai was with the TNA delegation. As is customary, Menon remained noncommittal on the issue of the prosecution of the war but offered a sympathetic hearing to the civilians' plight and the collateral damage. The Indian Foreign Secretary then promised to obtain an appointment for the TNA members with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh if they wished to make representations to the Indian government.

Closely watched

But it was not only Sri Lanka that watched Menon's movements with avid interest. As he arrived in Chennai, an emissary was sent to Anna International Airport by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi seeking an urgent appointment. The senior diplomat realising that this meeting would be largely to find out the outcome of the discussions held with the Sri Lankan political leaders, promptly instructed his security personnel to prevent anyone from coming into contact with him while in transit.

It is learned that Menon's stance has irked Karunanidhi but was soothed by a telephone call from Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee who explained that such a discussion would have amounted to a breach in protocol, something a seasoned diplomat like Menon would not wish to commit.

With more international attention being focused in this direction as the country's human rights record continues to take a weekly plunge, the election campaigns in Wayamba and Central Provinces are gathering momentum.

As February 14, the scheduled poll day draws near, UNP's Central Province Chief Ministerial Candidate, S.B. Dissanayake is said to be making waves. However, it is ironical that the provincial council system introduced into the constitution to help devolve power to the periphery as a solution to the ethnic problem has turned out to be another layer in the political fabric to test the popularity of the government of the day and more importantly to use state resources to ease the call of finances required by ruling party candidates and mobilise partisan officials to sway the results in one's favour.

Uphill task

It is an uphill task for the opposition UNP to counter the feel-good factor in the provinces with the gains made by the security forces in the north and east but the recent killing of the Editor of The Sunday Leader has injected a fresh impetus into their campaign which could be equally potent on the political stage.

Whether the opposition is equal to the task will be seen in the coming weeks. A joint effort towards building public awareness and leading to agitation was moved when opposition political parties, professionals, trade union heads, members of other civic societies and human rights groups gathered at the J.R Jayewardene Centre for Ethnic Studies on January 20 with Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe in the chair. A detailed programme was discussed to take awareness and agitation to the rural areas to bring about pressure on the government to curb oppression on the media and to call for urgent action to restore democracy.

While the state enjoys an undisputed free hand in the prosecution of the war, the LTTE appears to be confined to Mullaitivu with no ugly surprises being launched as yet. But whether the war alone is enough to sustain people's support in the long run is altogether a different debate.

Economy

With the country's economy on a nosedive, to cushion the economic fall out, the government announced a stimulus packages. With 20% interest being offered to all NRFC holders, it requires no economist to predict the further devaluation of the rupee. Nowhere else in the world has a country offered 20% on foreign funds and its impact would be finally borne by the migrant workers who would be further hit by this decision, unable to keep their resources in non resident accounts for long periods.

As the security forces close in on Mullaitivu, Malaysia launched a manhunt on Thursday for Velupillai Pirapaharan fearing the LTTE leader may have fled there. Malaysian Police Chief Musa Hassan has ordered a nation-wide alert, according to news reports.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived in Male, the Maldivian capital yesterday (24). He is on a two-day visit of the Maldives to pay a courtesy call on the newly installed Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed.

Wickremesinghe was invited by Nasheed to visit the country following his own visit to Colombo. The UNP Leader will also meet with Vice President Dr. Shaheed and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.