Features

What we must say at the UNHRC in Geneva

Published

4 years ago

2021/01/24

by JAYANTHA GUNASEKERA, PC

Under the Presidency of Donald Trump the USA quit UNHRC alleging that the Council is biased and unreliable. It was the USA that sponsored Resolution 30/1 against Sri Lanka. With the USA leaving the UNHRC this Resolution necessarily lapses as there is no sponsor now, and it is therefore not valid.

We must, at any cost, withdraw from the co-sponsorship of this Resolution of March 2019 which was done without the approval of the Cabinet and of the then President. According to our Constitution, no foreign judges or foreign prosecutors are permissible in the judicial mechanism. Though not strictly relevant, we should also apprise the delegates of the reasons why General Shavendra Silva is being hounded and prohibited from entering the United States 11 years after the war. He did his duty by his country. As a result, 21 million people today live without fear of terrorist attacks.

It is necessary that we should go back to the period where the whole UNHRC exercise originated after the war ended in may 2009. One of the people who started the inimical exercise was the then Head of the UNHRC – Navaneethan (Navi) Pillay of Tamil descent.

We must apprise the delegates in Geneva that the US, UK and European Union politicians are making a desperate attempt to destabilize Sri Lanka not for human rights violations but because Sri Lanka refused to obey their dictates to save the life of Prabhakaran, their erstwhile friend, who not only bought stacks of their sophisticated weapons but also paid them millions of dollars in filthy lucre. These western politicians, in order to prevent their illegal sources of income completely drying up, continue to cater to the dictates of the LTTE Diaspora, who provide them fabricated and blatantly false information. The LTTE has billions of dollars stashed away, part of which is spent bribing westerners. The LTTE Diaspora lead an opulent life style in the West and continue to mount pressure on Tamils worldwide to collect millions of dollars, just as they did when Prabhakaran was alive.

Had our delegation in March 2019 consulted professionals we would not have been in this plight today. Most Lankans feel that the same old faces, the same old brains, the same old approach, the same docile manner in putting things across may bring the same old results as in 2012/2013.

Rather than depend on paid advisers only, many lawyers, diplomats, and those who have done an in-depth study should be consulted before our strategy is decided. I am confident that they will give of their best for the country ‘pro deo’. We must realize that there are good brains among the self employed that can be harnessed with no cost to the government.

We must, in Geneva, make a case against LTTE cohorts who have supplied weapons and given every possible ‘material support’ so that they could be brought before an International War Crimes Tribunal. The US, Britain, Norway and other western countries will oppose this tooth and nail as they will not want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. The LTTE Diaspora are bribing western politicians and delivering them votes at elections to remain in office and enjoy the consequent perks.

If these matters are intelligently and convincingly placed before the delegates in Geneva, not many will vote with Britain, US. the European Union, and Canada. We may have to change our tactics now and be on the offensive. In 2012/2013 it was a fiasco. A case in point is that a few years ago, Palestine defended herself very successfully, and all the countries in the UNHRC voted with Palestine. Only the USA backed Israel.

If we are to continue to remain a sovereign nation it is mandatory that new laws will have to be enacted to make any attempt of separation either in word or in deed high treason punishable with loss of civic rights, confiscation of property and death. The State must act swiftly. The present laws to curb traitors is totally inadequate.

We should move a counter resolution backed by some friendly countries against the glaring human rights violations by the US, UK and other western countries. Even if this fails, it will dawn attention of delegates that the US and UK who are against us are themselves violators of human rights; and they should be the last to use the human right stick to beat other countries.

In October 2009, five months after the war ended, the Western Powers at the behest of the LTTE Diaspora made a desperate attempt to punish Sri Lanka before the HRC in Geneva. There was ample time for the LTTE Diaspora and the Western Powers to make out a strong case. There was no Channel 4 then so they started making fictitious films to bluff unintelligent westerners. In the absence of cogent and compelling material, UNHRC exonerated Sri Lanka. Any lawyer knows that contemporaneous evidence has to be adduced to prove any allegation. Belated evidence is valueless and considered to amount to an afterthought. Also, once exonerated the country remains exonerated on the principle ‘Autrefoi acquit’ (an accused not being tried a second time for the same crime on the same facts). Then the LTTE Diaspora machinery started working, heavily bribing the Westerners and re-canvassing the same issue on evidence thereafter fabricated which was non existent in October 2009. Now we ourselves seem to have forgotten that we have already been exonerated.

It has to be forcefully and convincingly urged that our forces saved 300,000 Tamils from the clutches of the marauding LTTE killers. This is not disputed. Some Tamils were killed by the LTTE when they were floeeing to army controlled territory for safety. The LTTE held them as a human shield without food and water. These facts are well known to the Westerners. Thousands of army personnel sacrificed their lives in the process of trying to save the Tamils.

According to these brainwashed Western powers, our forces are supposed to have killed 40,000 Tamils. Only those with a very low IQ will believe that the same forces that saved 300,000 Tamils were responsible for killing 40,000 in the last two weeks of the war. Those who make these allegations must ask themselves the question, will our forces kill 40,000 when 300,000 lives were saved by the same forces? They could have wiped out even these 300,000 or permitted Prabhakaran to kill them without putting their own lives in danger.

It is an accepted fact that the LTTE targeted and killed thousands of their own people for disobeying their orders by refusing to be a human shield and fleeing behind army lines for protection. Those who make allegations against the army must ask themselves the question: will 300,000 run for protection to the army if the same army killed 40,000 of the same Tamils? Our detractors claims not four, not 40, not 400 nor 4,000 but 40,000 dead bodies. Can 40,000 bodies be made to vanish into thin air? Where are these bodies and what are the names of the dead? Where are their graves and, if the bodies were burnt, where are the incinerators? Only those who want to believe such poppycock will do so.

The US and UK are under deep obligation to the LTTE Diaspora for the bribes they have accepted and the Diaspora votes delivered to corrupt politicians at various elections.

Britain, USA and France are heavily dependent on the sale of armaments for the sustenance of their economies. If wars are not encouraged and ongoing wars not prolonged, arms and munition factories will have to close down and those working in the arms industry will loose their jobs. So it is in the interest of arms manufacturing countries to propagate war elsewhere. They have already created chaos in Libya, Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia and Syria.

The USA and UK may be envious that Sri Lanka has eradicated terrorism while they are still grappling with the problem despite all their sophisticated weapons and superior forces. The history of US failures in military adventures in the 1950’s, when they got bogged down in the Korean war and had to retreat, is well known. Next, they had to leave Vietnam and pull out of Iraq; now they are leaving of Afghanistan in ignominy. Perhaps they should take a cue from the SL forces on how to wage a successful war.

Was Prabhakaran used by the British and Americans to kill Rajiv Gandhi? That is not an unreasonable question in a world full of intrigue. Was there a plan to use the LTTE not only to destabilize Sri Lanka but also destabilize and fragment India? The Western powers did everything to prevent India from becoming a nuclear power. We must remember how the US and UK treated India for quite some time when India developed nuclear weapons. India’s markets are enormous and the Indian economy has grown by leaps and bounds, while western economies are stagnant.

If Stephen Rapp, former US ambassador-at large for war crimes, was impartial, he should have visited the Dalada Maligawa where hundreds were killed by an LTTE bomb, Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura where many people died as a result of an LTTE bomb, Aranthalawa where several bhikkus were massacred, the Madhu Church where several Catholics were killed and a host of other places where many Sinhalese and Muslims were slaughtered. Instead, he visited only the North and says 40,000 were killed in these areas. Whom does he think he is fooling? How can Rapp tender a convincing report without a jot or tittle of convincing evidence that 40,000 were killed by the Lankan forces during the last two weeks of the war. We have not forgotten how Hillary Clinton sent David Milliband, former UK foreign secretary, and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner to twist Mahinda Rajapaksa’s arm to stop the war. Rajapaksa stood his ground. Hence their present attitude. Is there any doubt that Rapp too was strongly influenced not only by his ow government but the LTTE Diaspora as well?

American and British politicians must remember the hatred that the world had for Hitler’s Germany. They must be conscious of the hatred their politicians are bringing upon their people by various acts of omission and commission. It is time that the people of those countries took their politicians to task for their actions. Politicians may come and go but the hatred they attract towards their people will stick like glue.

US Congressman Eni F.H. Faleomavega warned his government against taking sides on the Sri Lanka issue, urging it not to resort to double standards. He called upon the US to stop bullying a country strategically important to it, unnecessarily antagonizing 21 million Sri Lankans by catering to a few thousand criminal LTTE Diaspora agents.

We all remember what the then U.S. embassy defence attache in Colombo, Lt. Col. Laurence Smith, said in 2011 at a seminar on ‘Defeating Terrorism – the Sri Lanka Experience’. He made some outspoken comments that were widely reported. They included inter alia: ‘I have been the Defense Attaché here at the US Embassy in Colombo Since June 2008. Regarding the various versions of events that came out in the final hours and days of the conflict, from what I was privileged to hear and see, the offers for surrender that I am personally aware of seemed to come from the mouthpieces of the LTTE – Nadesan, KP – people who weren’t and never had really demonstrated any control over the leadership or combat power of the LTTE.

“So their offers were a bit suspect any way and they tended to vary in content hour by hour, day by day. I think we need to examine the credibility of those offers before we leap to conclusions that such offers were in fact real. It is not so uncommon in combat operations in the fog of war, as we all get our second, third, and fourth hand (information) from various commanders at various levels, that the stories don’t all seem to quite match up. But I can say that the version presented by the Sri Lankan Army at this seminar is what I heard as I was here during that time. I think I’d better leave it at that before I get into trouble”.

No sooner had he made this truthful statement, the US State Department dissociated itself with what their own Military and Defense Attaché had said. This is the way the USA and UK work. It clearly shows that the Pentagon and the State Department have two prisms through which they see the wars in the world.

It was very strange that the then Sri Lankan delegation co-sponsored this Resolution without authority from the cabinet from the then president. We must show indomitable courage in the face of daunting odds and overwhelming obstacles that will confront us in Geneva.

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Features

The Great and Little Traditions and Sri Lankan Historiography

Published

14 hours ago

2025/04/2

Sahan Weerasooriya

Prof. Obeyesekere

Power, Culture, and Historical Memory:

History, broadly defined, is the study of the past. It is a crucial component of the production and reproduction of culture. Studying every past event is neither feasible nor useful. Therefore, it is necessary to be selective about what to study from the countless events in the past. Deciding what to study, what to ignore, how to study, and how deeply to go into the past is a conscious choices shaped by various forms of power and authority. If studying the past is a main element of the production and reproduction of culture and History is its product, can a socially and culturally divided society truly have a common/shared History? To what extent does ‘established’ or ‘authentic’ History reflect the experiences of those remained outside the political, economic, social, and cultural power structures? Do marginalized groups have their own histories, distinct from dominant narratives? If so, how do these histories relate to ‘established’ History? Historiography today cannot ignore these questions, as they challenge the very notion of truth in History. Due to methodological shifts driven by post-positivist critiques of previously accepted assumptions, the discipline of history—particularly historiography—has moved into a new epistemological terrain.

The post-structuralism and related philosophical discourses have necessitated a critical reexamination of the established epistemological core of various social science disciplines, including history. This intellectual shift has led to a blurring of traditional disciplinary boundaries among the social sciences and the humanities. Consequently, concepts, theories, and heuristic frames developed in one discipline are increasingly being incorporated into others, fostering a process of cross-fertilization that enriches and transforms scholarly inquiry

In recent decades, the discipline of History has broadened its scope and methodologies through interactions with perspectives from the Social Sciences and Humanities. Among the many analytical tools adopted from other disciplines, the Great Tradition and Little Tradition have had a significant impact on historical methodology. This article examines how these concepts, originally developed in social anthropology, have been integrated into Sri Lankan historiography and assesses their role in deepening our understanding of the past.

The heuristic construct of the Great and Little Traditions first emerged in the context of US Social Anthropology as a tool/framework for identifying and classifying cultures. In his seminal work Peasant society and culture: an anthropological approach to civilization, (1956), Robert Redfield introduced the idea of Great and Little Traditions to explain the dual structure of cultural expression in societies, particularly in peasant communities that exist within larger civilizations. His main arguments can be summarized as follows:

a) An agrarian society cannot exist as a fully autonomous entity; rather, it is just one dimension of the broader culture in which it is embedded. Therefore, studying an agrarian society in isolation from its surrounding cultural context is neither possible nor meaningful.

b) Agrarian society, when views in isolation, is a ‘half society’, representing a partial aspect/ one dimension of the broader civilization in which it exits. In that sense, agrarian civilization is a half civilization. To fully understand agrarian society—and by extension, agrarian civilization—it is essential to examine the other half that contribute to the whole.

c) Agrarian society was shaped by the interplay of two cultural traditions within a single framework: the Great Tradition and the Little Tradition. These traditions together provided the unity that defined the civilization embedded in agrarian society.

d) The social dimensions of these cultural traditions would be the Great Society and the Little Society.

e) The Great Culture encompasses the cultural framework of the Great Society, shaped by those who establish its norms. This group includes the educated elite, clergy, theologians, and literati, whose discourse is often regarded as erudite and whose language is considered classical.

f) The social groups excluded from the “Great Society”—referred to as the “Little Society”—have their own distinct traditions and culture. The “Great Tradition” represents those who appropriate society’s surplus production, and its cultural expressions reflect this dominance. In contrast, the “Little Tradition” belongs to those who generate surplus production. While the “Great Tradition” is inherently tied to power and authority, the “Little Tradition” is not directly connected to them.

g) According to Robert Redfield, the Great and Little Traditions are not contradictory but rather distinct cultural elements within a society. The cultural totality of peasant society encompasses both traditions. As Redfield describes, they are “two currents of thought and action, distinguishable, yet overflowing into and out of each other.” (Redfield, 1956).

At the time Redfield published his book Peasant Society and Culture: an Anthropological Approach to Civilization (1956), the dominant analytical framework for studying non-Western societies was modernization theory. This perspective, which gained prominence in the post-World War II era, was deeply influenced by the US geopolitical concerns. Modernization theory became a guiding paradigm shaping research agendas in anthropology, sociology, political science, and development studies in US institutions of higher learning,

Modernization theory viewed societies as existing along a continuum between “traditional” and “modern” stages, with Western industrialized nations positioned near the modern end. Scholars working within this framework argued that economic growth, technological advancement, urbanization, and the rationalization of social structures drive traditional societies toward modernization. The theory often emphasized Western-style education, democratic institutions, and capitalist economies as essential components of this transition.

While engaging with aspects of modernization theory, Redfield offered a more nuanced perspective on non-Western societies. His concept of the “folk-urban continuum” challenged rigid dichotomies between tradition and modernity, proposing that social change occurs through complex interactions between rural and urban ways of life rather than through the simple replacement of one by the other.

The concepts of the Great and Little Traditions gained prominence in Sri Lankan social science discourse through the works of Gananath Obeyesekere, the renowned sociologist who recently passed away. In his seminal research essay, The Great Tradition and the Little in the Perspective of Sinhalese Buddhism (Journal of Asian Studies, 22, 1963), Gananath Obeyesekere applied and adapted this framework to examine key aspects of Sinhalese Buddhism in Sri Lanka. While Robert Redfield originally developed the concept in the context of agrarian societies, Obeyesekere employed it specifically to analyze Sinhala Buddhist culture, highlighting significant distinctions between the two approaches.

He identifies a phenomenon called ‘Sinhala Buddhism’, which represents a unique fusion of religious and cultural traditions: the Great Tradition (Maha Sampradaya) and the Little Traditions (Chuula Sampradaya). To fully grasp the essence of Sinhala Buddhism, it is essential to understand both of these dimensions and their interplay within society.

The Great Tradition represents the formal, institutionalized aspect of Buddhism, centered on the Three Pitakas and other classical doctrinal texts and commentaries of Theravāda Buddhism. It embodies the orthodoxy of Sinhala Buddhism, emphasizing textual authority, philosophical depth, and ethical conduct. Alongside this exists another dimension of Sinhala Buddhism known as the Little (Chuula) Tradition. This tradition reflects the popular, localized, and ritualistic expressions of Buddhism practiced by laypeople. It encompasses folk beliefs, devotional practices (Bali, Thovil), deity veneration, astrology, and rituals (Hadi and Huunium) aimed at securing worldly benefits. Unlike the doctrinally rigid Great Tradition, the Little Tradition is fluid, adaptive, and shaped by indigenous customs, ancestral practices, and even elements of Hinduism. These Sinhala Buddhist cultural practices are identified as ‘Lay-Buddhism’. Gananath Obeyesekera’s concepts and perspectives on Buddhist culture and society contributed to fostering an active intellectual discourse in society. However, the discussion on the concept of Great and Little Traditions remained largely within the domain of social anthropology.

The scholarly discourse on the concepts of Great and Little Tradition gained new socio-political depth through the work of Newton Gunasinghe, a distinguished Sri Lankan sociologist. He applied these concepts to the study of culture and socio-economic structures in the Kandyan countryside, reframing them in terms of production relations. Through his extensive writings and public lectures, Gunasinghe reinterpreted the Great and Little Tradition framework to explore the interconnections between economy, society, and culture.

Blending conventional social anthropology approach with Marxist analyses of production relations and Gramscian perspectives on culture and politics, he offered a nuanced understanding of these dynamics. In the context of our discussion, his key insights on culture, society, and modes of production can be summarized as follows.

a. The social and economic relations of the central highlands under the Kandyan Kingdom, the immediate pre-colonial social and economic order, were his focus. His analysis did not cover to the hydraulic Civilization of Sri Lanka.

b. He explored the organic and dialectical relationship between culture, forces of production, and modes of production. Drawing on the concepts of Antonio Gramsci and Louis Althusser, he examined how culture, politics, and the economy interact, identifying the relationship between cultural formations and production relations

c. Newton Gunasinghe’s unique approach to the concepts of Great Culture and Little Culture lies in his connection of cultural formations to forces and relations of production. He argues that the relationship between a society’s structures and its superstructures is both dialectical and interpenetrative.

d. He observed that during the Kandyan period, the culture associated with the Little Tradition prevailed, rather than the culture linked to the Great Tradition.

e. The limitations of productive forces led to minimal surplus generation, with a significant portion allocated to defense. The constrained resources sustained only the Little Tradition. Consequently, the predominant cultural mode in the Kandyan Kingdom was, broadly speaking, the Little Tradition.

(To be continued)

by Gamini Keerawella

Features

Celebrating 25 Years of Excellence: The Silver Jubilee of SLIIT – II

Published

14 hours ago

2025/04/2

Sahan Weerasooriya

Founded in 1999, with its main campus in Malabe and multiple centres across the country—including Metro Campus (Colombo), Matara, Kurunegala, Kandy (Pallekele), and Jaffna (Northern Uni)—SLIIT provides state-of-the-art facilities for students, now celebrating 25 years of excellence in 2025.

Kandy Campus

SLIIT is a degree-awarding higher education institute authorised and approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Ministry of Higher Education under the University Act of the Government of Sri Lanka. SLIIT is also the first Sri Lankan institute accredited by the Institution of Engineering & Technology, UK. Further, SLIIT is also a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and the International Association of Universities (IAU).

Since its inception, SLIIT has played a pivotal role in shaping the technological and educational landscape of Sri Lanka, producing graduates who have excelled in both local and global arenas. This milestone is a testament to the institution’s unwavering commitment to academic excellence, research, and industry collaboration.

Summary of SLIIT’s

History and Status

Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) operates as a company limited by guarantee, meaning it has no shareholders and reinvests all surpluses into academic and institutional development.

* Independence from Government: SLIIT was established in 1999 as an independent entity without government ownership or funding, apart from an initial industry promotion grant from the Board of Investment (BOI).

* Mahapola Trust Fund Involvement & Malabe Campus: In 2000, the Mahapola Trust Fund (MTF) agreed to support SLIIT with funding and land for the Malabe Campus. In 2015, SLIIT fully repaid MTF with interest, ending financial ties.

* True Independence (2017-Present): In 2017, SLIIT was officially delisted from any government ministry, reaffirming its status as a self-sustaining, non-state higher education institution.

Today, SLIIT is recognised for academic excellence, global collaborations, and its role in producing IT professionals in Sri Lanka

.A Journey of Growth and Innovation

SLIIT began as a pioneering institution dedicated to advancing information technology education in Sri Lanka. Over the past two and a half decades, it has expanded its academic offerings, establishing itself as a multidisciplinary university with programmess in engineering, business, architecture, and humanities, in addition to IT. The growth of SLIIT has been marked by continuous improvement in infrastructure, faculty development, and curriculum enhancement, ensuring that students receive world-class education aligned with industry needs.

Looking Ahead: The Next 25 Years

As SLIIT celebrates its Silver Jubilee, the institution looks forward to the future with a renewed commitment to excellence. With advancements in technology, the rise of artificial intelligence, and the increasing demand for skilled professionals, SLIIT aims to further expand its academic offerings, enhance research capabilities, and continue fostering a culture of innovation. The next 25 years promise to be even more transformative, as the university aspires to make greater contributions to national and global progress.

Sports Achievements:

A Legacy of Excellence

SLIIT has not only excelled in academics but has also built a strong reputation in sports. Over the years, the university has actively promoted athletics and competitive sports by organising inter-university and inter-school competitions, fostering a culture of teamwork, discipline, and resilience. SLIIT teams have secured victories in national and inter-university competitions across various sports, including cricket, basketball, badminton, rugby, football, swimming, and athletics. SLIIT’s sports achievements reflect its dedication to holistic student development, encouraging students to excel beyond the classroom.

Kings of the pool!

Once again, our swimmers have brought glory to SLIIT by emerging as champions at the Asia Pacific Institute of Information and Technology Extravaganza Swimming Championship 2024. They won the Men’s, Women’s, and Overall Championships. Congratulations to all swimmers for their dedication and hard work in the pool, bringing honour to SLIIT.

Winning International Competitions

SLIIT students have participated in and excelled in various international competitions, including Robofest, Codefest, and the University of Queensland – Design Solution for Impact Competition, showcasing their skills and talent on a global stage.

Here’s a more detailed look at SLIIT’s involvement in international competitions:

Robofest:

SLIIT’s Faculty of Engineering organises the annual Robofest competition, which aims to empower students with skills in electronics, robotics, critical thinking, and problem-solving, preparing them to compete internationally and bring recognition to Sri Lankan talent.

Codefest:

CODEFEST is a nationwide Software Competition organized by the Faculty of Computing of Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) geared towards exhibiting the software application design and developing talents of students island-wide. It is an effort of SLIIT to elevate the entire nation’s ICT knowledge to achieve its aspiration of being the knowledge hub in Asia. CODEFEST was first organised in 2012 and this year it will be held for the 8th consecutive time in parallel with the 20th anniversary celebrations of SLIIT.

University of Queensland – Design Solution for Impact Competition:

SLIIT hosted the first-ever University of Queensland – Design Solution for Impact Competition in Sri Lanka, with 16 school teams from across the country participating.

International Open Day:

SLIIT organises an International Open Day where students can connect with distinguished lecturers and university representatives from prestigious institutions like the University of Queensland, Liverpool John Moores University, and Manchester Metropolitan University.

Brain Busters:

SLIIT Brain Busters is a quiz competition organised by SLIIT. The competition is open to students of National, Private and International Schools Island wide. The programme is broadcast on TV1 television as a series.

Inter-University Dance Competition:

SLIIT Team Diamonds for being selected as finalists and advancing to the Grand Finale of Tantalize 2024, the inter-university dance competition organised by APIIT Sri Lanka. The 14 talented team members from various SLIIT faculties have showcased their skills in Team Diamonds and earned their spot as finalists, competing among over 30 teams from state universities, private universities, and higher education institutes.

Softskills+

For the 11th consecutive year, Softskills+ returns with an exciting lineup of events aimed at honing essential soft skills among students. The program encompasses an interschool quiz contest and a comprehensive workshop focused on developing teamwork, problem-solving abilities, leadership qualities, and fostering creative thinking.

Recently, the Faculty of Business at SLIIT organised its annual Inter-school Quiz Competition and Soft Skills Workshop, marking its fifth successive year. Targeting students in grades 11 to 13 from Commerce streams across State, Private, and International schools, the workshop sought to ignite a passion for soft skills development, emphasising teamwork, problem-solving, creativity, and innovative thinking. Recognising the increasing importance of these soft skills in today’s workforce, the programme aims to fill the gap often left unaddressed in the school curriculum.”

The winners of the soft skill competition with Professor Lakshman Rathnayake: Chairman/Chancellor, Vice Chancellor/MD Professor Lalith Gamage, Professor Nimal Rajapakse: Senior Deputy Vice – Chancellor & Provost, Deputy Vice Chancellor – Research and International Affairs Professor Samantha Thelijjagoda, and Veteran Film Director Somarathna Dissanayake.

VogueFest 2024:

SLIIT Business School organised VogueFest 2024, a platform for emerging fashion designers under 30 to showcase their work and win prizes.

T-shirt Design Competition with Sheffield Hallam University:

SLIIT and Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) UK collaborated on a T-shirt designing competition, with a voting procedure to select the best design.

SLIIT’s Got Talent

: The annual talent show, SLIIT’s Got Talent 2024, was held for the 10th consecutive year at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre on 27th September 2024. SLIIT’s Got Talent had the audience energised with amazing performances, showcasing mind-blowing talent by the orchestra and the talented undergraduates from all faculties.

Other events:

* SLIIT also participates in events like the EDUVision Exhibition organised by the Richmond College Old Boys’ Association.

* They hosted the first-ever University of Queensland – Design Solution for Impact Competition in Sri Lanka.

* SLIIT Business School also organised the Business Proposal Competition.

SLIIT Academy:

SLIIT Academy (Pvt.) Ltd. provides industrial-oriented learning experiences for students.

International Partnerships:

SLIIT has strong international partnerships with universities like Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), The University of Queensland (UQ), Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), and Curtin University Australia, providing opportunities for students to study and participate in international events.

(The writer, a senior Chartered Accountant and professional banker, is Professor at SLIIT University, Malabe. He is also the author of the “Doing Social Research and Publishing Results”, a Springer publication (Singapore), and “Samaja Gaveshakaya (in Sinhala).

Features

Inescapable need to deal with the past

Published

2 days ago

2025/04/1

Sahan Weerasooriya

The sudden reemergence of two major incidents from the past, that had become peripheral to the concerns of people today, has jolted the national polity and come to its centre stage. These are the interview by former president Ranil Wickremesinghe with the Al Jazeera television station that elicited the Batalanda issue and now the sanctioning of three former military commanders of the Sri Lankan armed forces and an LTTE commander, who switched sides and joined the government. The key lesson that these two incidents give is that allegations of mass crimes, whether they arise nationally or internationally, have to be dealt with at some time or the other. If they are not, they continue to fester beneath the surface until they rise again in a most unexpected way and when they may be more difficult to deal with.

In the case of the Batalanda interrogation site, the sudden reemergence of issues that seemed buried in the past has given rise to conjecture. The Batalanda issue, which goes back 37 years, was never totally off the radar. But after the last of the commission reports of the JVP period had been published over two decades ago, this matter was no longer at the forefront of public consciousness. Most of those in the younger generations who were too young to know what happened at that time, or born afterwards, would scarcely have any idea of what happened at Batalanda. But once the issue of human rights violations surfaced on Al Jazeera television they have come to occupy centre stage. From the day the former president gave his fateful interview there are commentaries on it both in the mainstream media and on social media.

There seems to be a sustained effort to keep the issue alive. The issues of Batalanda provide good fodder to politicians who are campaigning for election at the forthcoming Local Government elections on May 6. It is notable that the publicity on what transpired at Batalanda provides a way in which the outcome of the forthcoming local government elections in the worst affected parts of the country may be swayed. The problem is that the main contesting political parties are liable to be accused of participation in the JVP insurrection or its suppression or both. This may account for the widening of the scope of the allegations to include other sites such as Matale.

POLITICAL IMPERATIVES

The emergence at this time of the human rights violations and war crimes that took place during the LTTE war have their own political reasons, though these are external. The pursuit of truth and accountability must be universal and free from political motivations. Justice cannot be applied selectively. While human rights violations and war crimes call for universal standards that are applicable to all including those being committed at this time in Gaza and Ukraine, political imperatives influence what is surfaced. The sanctioning of the four military commanders by the UK government has been justified by the UK government minister concerned as being the fulfilment of an election pledge that he had made to his constituents. It is notable that the countries at the forefront of justice for Sri Lanka have large Tamil Diasporas that act as vote banks. It usually takes long time to prosecute human rights violations internationally whether it be in South America or East Timor and diasporas have the staying power and resources to keep going on.

In its response to the sanctions placed on the military commanders, the government’s position is that such unilateral decisions by foreign government are not helpful and complicate the task of national reconciliation. It has faced criticism for its restrained response, with some expecting a more forceful rebuttal against the international community. However, the NPP government is not the first to have had to face such problems. The sanctioning of military commanders and even of former presidents has taken place during the periods of previous governments. One of the former commanders who has been sanctioned by the UK government at this time was also sanctioned by the US government in 2020. This was followed by the Canadian government which sanctioned two former presidents in 2023. Neither of the two governments in power at that time took visibly stronger stands.

In addition, resolutions on Sri Lanka have been a regular occurrence and have been passed over the Sri Lankan government’s opposition since 2012. Apart from the very first vote that took place in 2009 when the government promised to take necessary action to deal with the human rights violations of the past, and won that vote, the government has lost every succeeding vote with the margins of defeat becoming bigger and bigger. This process has now culminated in an evidence gathering unit being set up in Geneva to collect evidence of human rights violations in Sri Lanka that is on offer to international governments to use. This is not a safe situation for Sri Lankan leaders to be in as they can be taken before international courts in foreign countries. It is important for Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and dignity as a country that this trend comes to an end.

COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION

A peaceful future for Sri Lanka requires a multi-dimensional approach that addresses the root causes of conflict while fostering reconciliation, justice, and inclusive development. So far the government’s response to the international pressures is to indicate that it will strengthen the internal mechanisms already in place like the Office on Missing Persons and in addition to set up a truth and reconciliation commission. The difficulty that the government will face is to obtain a national consensus behind this truth and reconciliation commission. Tamil parties and victims’ groups in particular have voiced scepticism about the value of this mechanism. They have seen commissions come and commissions go. Sinhalese nationalist parties are also highly critical of the need for such commissions. As the Nawaz Commission appointed to identify the recommendations of previous commissions observed, “Our island nation has had a surfeit of commissions. Many witnesses who testified before this commission narrated their disappointment of going before previous commissions and achieving nothing in return.”

Former minister Prof G L Peiris has written a detailed critique of the proposed truth and reconciliation law that the previous government prepared but did not present to parliament.

In his critique, Prof Peiris had drawn from the South African truth and reconciliation commission which is the best known and most thoroughly implemented one in the world. He points out that the South African commission had a mandate to cover the entire country and not only some parts of it like the Sri Lankan law proposes. The need for a Sri Lankan truth and reconciliation commission to cover the entire country and not only the north and east is clear in the reemergence of the Batalanda issue. Serious human rights violations have occurred in all parts of the country, and to those from all ethnic and religious communities, and not only in the north and east.

Dealing with the past can only be successful in the context of a “system change” in which there is mutual agreement about the future. The longer this is delayed, the more scepticism will grow among victims and the broader public about the government’s commitment to a solution. The important feature of the South African commission was that it was part of a larger political process aimed to build national consensus through a long and strenuous process of consultations. The ultimate goal of the South African reconciliation process was a comprehensive political settlement that included power-sharing between racial groups and accountability measures that facilitated healing for all sides. If Sri Lanka is to achieve genuine reconciliation, it is necessary to learn from these experiences and take decisive steps to address past injustices in a manner that fosters lasting national unity. A peaceful Sri Lanka is possible if the government, opposition and people commit to truth, justice and inclusivity.

by Jehan Perera