By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Federation of Sinhala Organisation has faulted the current dispensation over its response to post-war accountability issues.

Dr. Wasantha Bandara and Yass Dharmadasa of the National Patriotic Front and the Global Sri Lanka Forum, respectively, lambasted the government for what they called the SLPP administration’s failure to realise the growing threat posed by those propagating war crimes accusations to pressure Sri Lanka to give in to their demand for a federal structure in the Northern and Eastern provinces. That would lead to the division of the country on ethnic lines, they warned at a zoom meeting on Saturday (29) organised by the civil society group ‘Children of 1956.’

The Island

(represented by the present writer at the virtual conference) commented on how foreign powers exploited some political parties represented in Parliament to advance their strategies and the failure on the part of successive governments to set the record straight at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as well as New York.

Dr. Bandara and Dharmadasa explained how the SLPP had contributed to the flawed Geneva strategy by entering into a dialogue with a section of the civil society here while offering to initiate a dialogue with the Tamil Diaspora. Alleging that the government was on the wrong path, they asserted that the present-day political leaders appeared to have conveniently forgotten their repeated assurances in the run-up to the 2019 presidential and 2020 parliamentary polls. The speakers questioned what they called ineffectual withdrawal from the 2015 accountability resolution.

Responding to queries from participants, Dr. Bandara emphasised that there was no point in staging protests in Geneva or any other foreign capital against the ongoing high-profile campaign against the war winning Sri Lankan military. Dr. Bandara emphasised that the current need was to pressure the government to change its strategy. Therefore, protests, if any should be in Colombo, to demand tangible measures to address the threat.”

The audience was told that the western powers had advanced their project in the absence of an appropriate response from Sri Lanka. Reference was made to Australia denying a visa to Maj. Gen. Chagie Gallage in 2016, the US refusing a visa to Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka in 2017—the war-winning Army Chief was to accompany the then President Mathripala Sirisena to UNGA—the US tagging Gen. Shavendra Silva, who is also the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as a war criminal in 2020 and the US blocking entry of retired Maj. Gen. Udaya Perera, who had a multiple US visa valid for a five-year period.

The audience was reminded that the Geneva crisis hadn’t received sufficient attention against the backdrop of a spate of other simmering issues, particularly the ruination of the Maha yield, the growing difficulties experienced in settling foreign debt and conflict within the ruling coalition over the Yugadanavi deal with the US and the agreement with India in respect of the Trincomalee oil tank farms.

Dharmadasa alleged that the military top brass hadn’t paid sufficient attention to the Geneva challenge. Referring to meetings the nationalistic groups had with several senior officers and in some instances with their wives as well as spouses of other military personnel, Dharmadasa alleged that they seemed to be of the view that the government was handling the issue at hand quite well. “Therefore, we’ll not seek to intervene in individual cases but explore ways and means how the government can be influenced to reassess their strategy.”

Both Dr. Bandara and Dharmadasa warned the government of dire consequences unless tangible measures were taken to counter the lies being propagated about Sri Lanka and its military personnel. Dr. Bandara explained that the Geneva project was meant to trap Sri Lanka over its people and pressure the government to grant the Tamil speaking people a federal structure in return for dropping war crimes proceedings. Once the TNA, the US and the yahapalana government had reached consensus on hybrid war crimes court, Dr. Bandara said, asserting that the West, Diaspora and India used war crimes accusations as a sledgehammer to pressure Sri Lanka to give up unitary status. He asked, “Would they create a situation where Sri Lanka faced war crimes proceedings or reached agreement on a constitutional arrangement that met the aspirations of the Tamil speaking community?”

Dr. Bandara revealed a recent opportunity they had received to make representations to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne and other senior members of the government as regards the challenges faced by the country.