09 October 2007
A Dutch journalist, Jon Bottis, learned a lesson about Sri Lankan policing when he made a complaint about the theft of his personal belongings from his apartment in the holiday town of Hikkaduwa recently. One policeman called him outside the station and asked him whether he needed a woman to have sex with.
Having arrived in the country with a view to do a travel story to promote Sri Lanka, he would have learned the lesson that what is important for the promotion of a country is the degree of its respect for human rights and the rule of law more than anything else.
There may be tourists who wish to obtain the type of information that the Dutchman received from the police officer, and it may not be the first time that the policeman has provided such information.
However, the very depravity of the image of a law enforcement officer turning into a pimp is what Sri Lanka has to change if tourists are to be attracted to this beautiful island, which was once known for the hospitality and decency of its smiling people.
Today, bedecked with corruption and failed state institutions, that smile has disappeared from the faces of the people, and the sinister smiles, like that of this policemen who tried to exploit the baser elements of some tourists, have emerged instead.
The Dutchman has written to the president of Sri Lanka to complain about this incident. However, whether his letter will result in any genuine investigation is quite doubtful.
Human rights organizations have been writing for a long time to the president and other Sri Lankan authorities, like the inspector general of police, the attorney general, the National Police Commission and even to the now virtually defunct Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.
There are no known examples of any serious investigations in recent times.
The presidential commission inquiring into some of the gravest crimes has not been able to make even an inch of progress. As the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons has pointed out, this commission's time is running out.
The state of Sri Lanka has virtually abandoned its duty to investigate and prosecute serious crimes and human rights abuses. As a result, the type of law enforcement officer like the one who made the offer to the Dutch journalist has been created.
For the purpose of future records and a demonstration of the extent to which law enforcement in Sri Lanka has degenerated, it is worth reproducing this short news report in full, as it ran in the “London Daily Mirror” (see box)
When the United Nations Human Rights Council did not produce any resolution to provide assistance to Sri Lanka for human rights monitors, the Sri Lankan government and some diplomats who are part of its propaganda machine were triumphant. Their strenuous actions, they claim, had paid off.
What have all these propaganda gimmicks achieved for the people of Sri Lanka?
The best people to answer this question are those Sri Lankans and others who are facing similar types of crimes, or worse, as the one experienced by the Dutch journalist and who invariably must cope with the same neglect.
Take the case of the family massacre in Delgoda on May 26, which shook the whole nation. What tragically occurred was the killing of two people, allegedly arrested for a crime, who were later shot in police custody for supposedly trying to attack the police.
About six neighboring houses next to the one in which the crime took place were burned by a gang that was sent by a leading politician.
There is one surviving member of the family, the rest of whom became victims of the massacre. She is the 12-year-old girl Denusha Madurangy, who is still in the hospital due to the injuries she suffered.
According to reports received by human rights organizations, neighbors fear for the life of this young girl as she is the surviving witness to the incident. The neighbors have also reported that the actual culprits have never been apprehended and the true story of the massacre has been swept under the carpet.
It is fervently hoped that the Dutch journalist will now understand that the best way to promote the interests of the people is not to write about the country's unsafe tourist resorts but to ardently expose the gross human rights abuses in the country with a view to improving its law enforcement and the rule of law.
Basil Fernando is director of the Asian Human Rights Commission based in Hong Kong. He is a Sri Lankan lawyer who has also been a senior U.N. human rights officer in Cambodia. He has published several books and written extensively on human rights issues in Asia.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
