16, February 1997

It is when he guides you on the Golan Heights that your Israeli escort, Foreign Office or Information Ministry, gets most nervous. The Syrian army was crafty enough to plant landmines in the most unlikely places before it was forced to pull out from the Golan, Syrian territory, in the Six-day War another scintillating victory for the I.D.F. Though Israel still argues that the Golan should remain in I.D.F. hands (or neutralised?) the Golan Heights will probably be returned to Syria (Israel's toughest enemy ) when Israel signs an Egyptian-type ''peace accord'' on the land-for-peace formula. The trouble with this formula as President Anwar Sadat realised is that the Israeli part of the deal is to return what it has taken by force in the first place!

Just last week we had a characteristic demonstration of Israeli policy, double-think and double-cross. There was this advertisement, a full page, which offered to sell homes in the Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. This move wrote Achilles, reporting from Jerusalem, "could complicate Middle-East peace moves.'' Of course. PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat - he prefers the more majestic President of the Palestinian Authority - had told his people (and the international press ) that '' the recent Israeli withdrawal from 80% of Hebron in the West Bank had signalled a revived atmosphere of reconciliation '' wrote correspondent Avi Machlis in Jerusalem. The advertisement in the mass-circulation MAARIV offered homes for sale in a list of 30 settlements in the (Israeli) occupied territories. The Ministry confirmed it had '' completed plans'' to offer plots for 5,000 homes in existing settlements this year.

Extremist Groups

Of course it was the Labour administration of General Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres which constructed these houses. And yet it was the selfsame government that decided to '' freeze'' sales to Jewish settlers, a gesture greatly appreciated by Yasser Arafat and the PLO leadership, both under fire from Palestinian hard-liners who felt that the Arafat-Rabin deal was in fact a sell-out. These groups wanted an independent Palestinian state, not a bantustan. Both Arafat and Rabin were targets of the extremists, Islamic and Jewish. Yigal Amir, the young man who shot Prime Minister Rabin, a decorated war hero, point-blank at an election rally, was no ''nut''. He had been a member of a secret cell, and attended ''classes'' organised by Jewish fundamentalists. And of course, in Jerusalem, the moderate Labour government of Rabin-Peres was defeated by a '' grand coalition'' led by Ben-jamin Netanyahu, an alliance that included extremist Jewish groups as well as recent migrants from Russia. Jobs and housing were their main demands. The character of Israeli society was changing just when the elections produced a Likud-led coalition in which the Prime Minister had to accommodate miscellaneous pressure groups while pursuing the ''land-for-peace '' policy of the Labour party - a task made more difficult by the Clinton administration. The U.S. has two important concerns - oil, as always; its production and price, and a new ''security'' (global?) threat, not communism but Islamic fundamentalism, recognised as dangerous an ideology as the Marxist-Leninist menace. Organisations like Hizbollah (party of God) outside, and SHAS (Jewish) inside Israel represent the new danger. Israel is finding it increasingly difficult to cope with this new threat. And since Israel, like ancient Sparta, has been a '' garrison state'' the recognition of vulnerability has proved a traumatic shock.

Garrison State

The invasion and annexation of others' territory was one of the basic strategies of the garrison state. One obvious example is the so-called security zone carved out of territory in southern Lebanon. Over 70 Israeli soldiers including 13 officers died when two I.D.F. helicopters crashed in the Galilee panhandle. For Israel, surrounded by hostile ''Arab hordes '', the death of one soldier is a deadly blow.... 73? Crashed? How? A missile? Whatever the explanation it was described by the mass-circulation Maariv as the ''worst military air disaster since the founding of Israel in 1948, on the basis of a U.N. resolution and an American initiative. What would the U.S. do? Traditionally, the Jewish community in the US vote Democrat, and the powerful Jewish lobby helps the party of which Mr. Clinton is a member.

But he has won his second - and final - term.

Only the Lebanese Government can check Hizbollah, which Israel says is helped by Iran. But the ruling LIKUD's foreign and defence affairs spokesman Uzi Landau M.P. argues that both Syria and Lebanon should made to pay for the anti-Israeli'' terrorism''. Mr.Landau neglects to mention that President Assad would be more receptive to such Israeli requests, if the Israeli army withdrew from Syrian territory.... the Golan Heights now under Israeli occupation for 20 years. But official voices for a pull-out are growing reports correspondent Judy Dempsey: ''But the defence minister Yitzhak Mordechai rejects calls for a pull-out. '' The problem is the vacuum.... who will fill it? ''

From a more long-term perspective, the real guarantee for Israel is a new relationship with Lebanon, and that means the so-called security zone which Israel carved out in southern Lebanon. The days when Israel could invade at will, and if necessary annex, have gone, because the new enemy or the same enemy is using new modes of armed struggle. Israel must pull-out of the Golan Heights, and that would encourage President Assad, a major player in Lebanese affairs, to keep a tight rein on Hizbollah. In any case, Israel must withdraw from its so-called ''security zone'' in southern Lebanon, if only because it has not guaranteed security.

Social change in Israel also strengthens the argument for a new attitude to neighbors. Unemployment is rising, and jobless new immigrants from the old Soviet Union could introduce new tensions. Finally, Uncle Sam, no longer threatened by the U.S.S.R. is not as generous as before. President Clinton has proved that. His second-term speech focused on the U.S, exclusively. The death of 73 soldiers may prove a blessing in disguise....if only Prime Minister Netanyahu places today's crisis in the wider historical perspective that Zeev Schief, the military correspondent of the reputed Israeli daily, HAARETZ, and his companion, Ehud Yaari of Israeli TV proposed in their book Israel's Lebanon War. Israel must play a humbler role in an Arab-Islami Middle-East. If the Hebron Agreement holds, it would be a good time for the Israeli elite to consider more seriously the challenges that the next century would surely bring.

The Golan must be returned to Syria; the IDF must pull out of its security zone in southern Lebanon.

By Mudliyar

The Bar Association elections will take place on Wednesday February 19, 1997. Nearly four thousand members will cast their votes to elect a president and a secretary. These two offices are the only two offices where the entire membership votes.

More than ever in the past, the necessity to elect an independent president looms large this time, not only in the minds of the members of the Bar but also of the general public, who have shown a great interest in the affairs of the Bar.

Some members who have their own interests to safeguard and to exhibit the amount of influence they wield over the membership, are striving to control the affairs of the Bar from afar.

They would very much like to have a puppet president, so that they can control him to ensure that the membership follows the political and other agenda, and if necessary sing hosannas in praise of their deeds or misdeeds.

The government is to introduce legislation which may affect the administration of justice, the members in particular and the public in general. It is only an independent president with an avid interest in the affairs of the association who would be in a position to protect the members from such sinister machinations of the government.

We remember how Felix Dias Bandaranaike, the then Minister of Justice, encouraged T. Sri Ramanathan to contest H. W. Jayewardene Q. C., brother of then UNP leader J.R. Jayewardene. Mr. Bandaranaike had many hidden political agendas like barefoot lawyers and other legislation which would affect the membership. He thought that through his candidate, Mr. Ramanathan, he would be in a position to control the affairs of the Bar. H.W. Jayewardene was elected as the first president of the Bar, though he had to struggle hard to win. Mr. Jayewardene lost both Jaffna and Galle branches

Mr. Jayewardene as the first president of the Bar achieved so much. As the busiest practitioner in the appellate courts, every one thought he would not have any time at all for the activities of the Bar.

But he turned out to be the only president who participated in the activities of various sub committees.

As the president, he was the ex-officio president of all sub committees. The last Saturday of every month, he was with the members of the sub committees giving them advice and guiding them.

Almost every afternoon, immediately after he finished his work, he used to walk into the office and work with the office staff. I can say without any doubt that no other president devoted his time so much as Dr. Jayewardene did for the Bar.

The other Presidents may have achieved more, this was mainly due to the combined efforts of their secretaries and the members of the Executive Committee .

After Mr. Jayewardene, the presidents did not achieve, as much for the Bar. The Bar Association met once a month to discuss some odd resolution. There were no controversies, life was more peaceful.

But the presidents had neither the sense of purpose nor direction to achieve anything for the general membership. It was the common lament of the outstation Bars that they give the membership and Colombo gives the leadership.

The Bar Council became a private club. The president as the leader of the Bar has a lot of glory for himself but there's little or no reward for the members, they felt.

The other president after Dr. Jayewardene who worked tirelessly for the membership was Nimal Senanayake. Unfortunately during his time there were a lot of internal squabbles between the president and the secretary, so little was achieved.

But it must be said that all the presidents were fiercely independent. They did not become tools in the hands of others. They did not hinder the cause of the members to satisfy their masters. In fact they were their masters.

No one would ever dare to tell them to subvert meetings, and permit members to talk about canteens and continue to make speeches for much more than the stipulated time and permit members to get on to the stage and point fingers at the president.

They did not act in a way that other independent members thought was a drama enacted with the licence of the chair.

When they had to condemn governments they did it. They did not uphold a silly objection like saying that a member had not got his notice in time because his postal peon's wife was delivering a child.

They did not permit the majority of the members, who are the silent majority, to be controlled by the uncouth behaviour of some members.

As it happens today when the election comes near, the leaders of the Bar go in search of candidates who will be in a position to give leadership. At the request of Dr. H. W. Jayewardene, with great reluctance H.L. De Silva decided to contest.

At that time it was said that Mr. De Silva was a loner and did not know how to smile and was not a member who would sip a cup of tea in the canteen and listen to the gossip and other lamentations of those who spend more time in the canteen than in court.

Some said he was a Christian and others said he was a communist. The socialists said Mr. De Silva would be a tool in the hands of Jayewardena. Mr. De Silva had already gone to Thimpu to discuss with the Tamil groups how to settle the ethnic crisis, as a member of a delegation appointed by the Jayewardene government. Still he won with a large majority.

Unlike Dr. Jayewardene, he did not spend much time in office. That was not necessary as he had a very energetic secretary. Upali Gooneratne spent much of his time in office.

Then came the violence where lawyers who appeared in human rights cases were targeted by various groups as JVP suspects.

On the other hand the JVP killed or targeted lawyers who were pro-UNP. This is how the annual report of the Bar Association describes the most turbulent period in our recent history: "

As the crisis deepened it affected the lives and living of lawyers as well. Threats to individual lawyers came from more than one quarter. Soon lawyers became the victims of others hunting down subversives, of the forces of subversion and variously named but never identified killer squads carrying on their own blood vendetta against subversives and their alleged allies.

The forces of division had already driven sharp wedges between the arms of the law. The Police and the lawyers seemed to stand in different camps. The BASL was drawn into the struggle in defence of the rights of lawyers and their lives."

When Liyanaarachchi was killed, the Bar met at a special session. The entire membership was summoned. The invitation to attend the ceremonial opening of the Superior Court Complex, a project for which Dr. Jayewardene gave his spirit and soul, had been handed over to H.L. De Silva, the President of the BASL.

At that meeting the members unanimously adopted many resolutions and one amongst them was that no member of the Bar should attend the opening.

H. L. De Silva's preceptor, Dr. H. W. Jayewardene Q. C. used his exceptional forensic ability of persuasion to persuade H. L. De Silva to change his stance and attend the opening. H. L. De Silva did not relent.

He was not motivated by any political agenda.

He was not a chairman of a corporation nor a member of any legal association affiliated to any political party.

He had no hidden agendas. He refused to relent and did not attend the opening. H.L. De Silva is considered as one of most outstanding presidents the Bar has produced.

As the killers of Liyanaarchchi were not brought to book, it was decided that no member should appear for any police officer, until his matter was settled and the killers were charged in court.

This resolution was discussed at the council and adopted. Later at a meeting of the Executive Committee, Desmond Fernando (also one of the better BASL presidents and now the first Sri Lankan President of the International Bar Association) sought to amend or to repeal the resolution, as it affects the human rights of police officers to be defended by a lawyer of their choice, Mr. Fernando contended. Mr. De Silva pounced on Mr. Fernando and said the decision was a collective decision of the Executive Committee, and no member should now, after it has been passed, attempt to stifle it. It was these qualities of Mr. H. L. De. Silva that made him one the greatest Presidents of the Bar Association.

Yukthiya, a tabloid published by Suananda Deshapriya, in its issue of the 9th instant, discusses about a presidential candidate of the BASL. Yukthiya considered a pro-PA tabloid, has taken an independent stand on many legal issues.

Regarding the appointment of Dr. Shiranee Bandaranayake, the Yukthiya and Ravaya did not tow the government line in defending the appointment.

The meeting of the SLFP lawyers held at Darley Road shows how the politicisation of the profession has taken place.

Accusations are directed at persons in very high places for directing them to disrupt meetings of the Bar Association. The ' Pal Kavi' lawyers were branded as 'Pulannas' by no less a person than the Secretary of the SLFP lawyers' Association, Percy Wickremasekera, Director of the ANCL.

These members have sought to disrupt the meeting and were very angry that only a few SLFP lawyers are getting all the benefits and the others are remembered only when there is an important resolution before the Bar or before an election.

It will be interesting to find out how many lawyers who have been described as 'Pulanna's have been retained by the Chairman of an important corporation.

Whether it is the UNP Lawyers' Association or the SLFP Lawyers' Association, the common complaint is that officials share the plums and the members are given crumbs.

Therefore, the need of the hour is to elect a fearlessly independent president; a president who will not even be beholden to his supporters, a president who will not permit anyone to disrupt meetings, a president who will defend the right of free speech and expression even though he himself may not agree with the contentions of the speaker, a president who will maintain the dignity and the noble principles of the profession, a president who will support independent judiciary where Judges don't wilt at pressure from the State nor succumb to their viles; a president who will re-establish the Bar Association as the most powerful independent non-governmental organisation in the Island.

May the best candidate win.