Ever conscious of the fact the entire world is watching Sri Lankas ongoing human rights crisis President Mahinda Rajapakse and his government are making comments and promises they do not appear to be either willing or capable of keeping.
In the first week of June the bodies of two Red Cross workers were found in Kiriella, Ratnapura a day after they had been abducted from the Central Railway Station by persons claiming to be plain clothed police officers. The two young men were returning home after attending a training course. Red Cross officials, suspicious of the two police officers immediately contacted the police and the Inspector General of Police. However, nothing was done to find these men.
It was, to all intents and purposes, just another abduction and killing. Unfortunately for the government of Mahinda Rajapakse the international community has had enough of such senseless killings and an international outcry was raised. The Red Cross vociferously demanded action and it was then that President Rajapakse spoke before considering the consequences of his actions. In an article published in the Daily Mirror on June 6, 2007 President Rajapakse assured representatives of the International Red Cross, who met with him at his official residence, that he was giving the Sri Lankan police seven days to find the perpetrators, after which he would call in foreign sleuths to assist.
It has now been three weeks since the president was reported to have made that statement and no perpetrators have been arrested; furthermore, there is no sign of the foreign sleuths.
Another incident occurred in which the president spoke without due consideration to the facts. On June 7, not even a week after the murder of the two Red Cross workers, the Inspector General of Police, with elements of the military, forcibly evicted hundreds of Tamils from Colombo. The eviction itself has been well reported and there is no need to go into the dreadful details here but once again there was an international outcry and once again, President Rajapaske thought to still the angry voices by announcing that those responsible for the eviction would be brought to book. It is now documented and public knowledge that the IGP was acting on instructions from the Secretary of Defense, Gotahbaya Rajapakse, the presidents own brother. This revelation was made public weeks ago and yet no action has been taken, as promised, by President Rajapakse.
It is now time for President Rajapakse to put his money where his mouth is. He must do this not only by bringing in the foreign sleuths but by allowing an impartial and open investigation. Likewise, as the president himself has promised, action must be taken against the Secretary of Defense for the debacle of the eviction of the Tamils.
The name of Sri Lanka has been severely tarnished both nationally and internationally by the presidents own actions and it is only by keeping his word on these two occasions, that he may, if at all, be able to salvage something.
