Columns

When an agonized father, grieving over his children killed in the 2019 Easter Sunday jihadist controlled attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, roundly told President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in the precincts of the Katuwapitiya Church during the frenetic days of the National Peoples’ Power (NPP) election campaign last year that, he should not engage in ‘media shows’ but ensure ‘genuine justice,’ those words must surely haunt the NPP now passing its tenth month in holding the reins of State.

‘Dismantling divisive structures’?

Or maybe not. Being haunted by the agony of citizens requires more than the usual shadow games played by politicians. Certainly, the difference between this Government and its predecessors in this respect is increasingly becoming blurred as the gloss is rubbed off the newly minted shine of what was promised to be a fresh new ‘peoples’ revolution.’ To be blunt, that commitment requires more than political rhetoric, more than mere assurances of justice being delivered to victims despite ‘institutional challenges’ which is the usual mantra of Sri Lanka’s elected leaders.

A few days ago, those assurances were repeated by the President when addressing an event to mark fifty years of priestly service of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Ranjith. Mutual compliments were a-plenty as the Archbishop was lauded by the President as being a ‘beacon of integrity’ and the President was hailed for his attempts to ‘dismantle divisive political structures.’ But let us leave fulsome compliments and other pesky passing questions, (including why politicians should be invited to such religious events in the first place?), aside for the moment.

At a serious level, several questions abound as to the NPP’s commitment towards constitutional governance apart from ‘dismantling divisive structures.’ To the contrary, all the tools and weapons of the Deep State still appear to be used in full measure if we disregard optimum publicity given to selected arrests of political opponents. First, are there concrete results evidenced regarding the perpetrators of the Easter Sunday attacks and the ‘hidden political hand’ or the ‘grand master’ behind these barbarities?

‘Old news’ with a crisp new bow

Up to now, we have simply more of the tired ‘same old, same old’ allegations. This was exemplified by the President’s Public Security Minister repeating ‘old news’ during an adjournment debate in Parliament this week. That proclamation was that a former State Minister from the East known for his paramilitary activities including hundreds of enforced disappearances during the war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the State, had ‘prior knowledge’ regarding the 2019 jihadist attacks.

This para-military turned politician with whom state intelligence officers had worked willingly in a decades long war to undermine the LTTE from within, was arrested recently in regard to the enforced disappearances of an academic and others. Further, the Government announced that he was shown to have had ‘links with intelligence agents.’ But these ‘disclosures’ are hardly surprising, surely? They were the subject of (then) startling allegations floated over news media by an informer and an erstwhile associate of his, several years ago.

The former State Minister concerned, in fact, proudly wrote a book in which he displayed intimate knowledge of the spread of Islamist jihadism in the East and the training of women for suicide bombing missions a la the LTTE. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan public was informed that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is still pouring over the Commission of Inquiry report into the jihadist attacks and that further information could not be given as this process was ‘ongoing.’

What of that ‘grand conspiracy’?

This was despite the CID being privy to the findings of this body and evidence presented before it, from a while back with a former outgoing Attorney General pointing to a ‘grand conspiracy’ behind the attacks.  Second, what casts grave doubt on the President’s commitment to ‘dismantling divisive structures’ is his determined policy of signing detention orders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) despite the NPP unequivocally promising the repeal of the PTA.

What has made this even starker is the Government’s allowing hyper-energetic officers of the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID), the CID and the police to arrest ordinary Sri Lankans on grounds that range from the fantastical to the plainly ridiculous. The fact that a ‘committee’ is studying the PTA and drafts of the proposed Counter-Terror Act (CTA) put forward by previous governments in order to present a replacement law is neither here nor there.

The point is that, in face of repeated warnings issued by the Supreme Court and human rights oversight bodies such as the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) to the effect that the PTA is being thoroughly abused by state agents, the Government must demonstrate a concrete change in this obnoxious practice. Yet that is not evidenced in any shape or form. Youths predominantly of Muslim ethnicity are being arrested under the PTA in circumstances that make one ridicule the basic commonsense of arresting officers, apart from their obvious lack of knowledge of the law.

Accusations of ‘apartheid’ are not contrary to law

In issuing a stern warning to TID officers for arresting a young Muslim man for pasting anti-Israel stickers using an expletive to condemn Israel’s war in Gaza and labeling that policy as ‘apartheid’, the HRCSL embarked on an unusually long explanation of legally irrational acts. ‘The allegation that a policy of apartheid is being enforced in Israel may offend, shock, or disturb some persons, including Israeli citizens. However, the words used by the victim, i.e., a call to ‘end’ apartheid, do not amount to an offence under any legal provision in Sri Lanka, it was pointed out.

Such an exercise of the freedom of expression is protected under Article 14(1)(a) of the Sri Lankan Constitution and ‘cannot be considered incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence against any particular  community as prohibited by Article 3(1) of the ICCPR Act.. (this is a) call to end an impugned policy that amounts to a form of systemic discrimination, hostility and violence…the victim’s words are an expression of opposition to discrimination’ the HRCSL said in a suo motu investigation into the arrest and detention of Mohamed Rusdi (vide HRCSL case no, HRC/1072/25, ruling of 12.06.2025.

Mr Rusdi had been arrested on 22nd March 2025 and was detained thereafter on the basis of the stickers, the discovery of a ‘decorative sword’ at his home and the TID’s apprehensions that he had been ‘radicalised.’ This ‘radicalisation’ claim was found not to be based on facts. Interestingly, the officers of the TID had explained that they were only ‘erring on the side of caution’ as they had been subjected to ‘heavy criticism for failing to act on intelligence to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.’

‘How many more deaths will it take till we learn?”

Yet another case concerns another young man arrested for trampling the Israeli flag and for which act he has been detained under the PTA for more than nine months. And there we have the paradox of paradoxes to confound even the most surreal of thinkers. On the one hand, the State’s intelligence network has been already tried and found culpable of massive intelligence ‘errors’ if not complicity in one of the worst terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka.

On the other hand, the mea culpa (‘we are guilty’) plea offered to the public is to indiscriminate arrest, detain and issue ‘restriction orders’ on citizens exercising their constitutional rights? Are they not aware that this is precisely the most excellent policy for encouraging ‘radicalism’? The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna -led NPP should know this hard truth all too well.

Even after thirty decades and more of conflict in this country, salutary lessons on radicalisation have yet not been learnt by our Governments and their agents.