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The government is also completely unwilling to take decisive steps to resolve the abysmal situation that the citizens face. It is a recurrent experience in countries that have allowed themselves to slip into lawlessness -- such as Burma, Cambodia and even some parts of India like the state of Bihar -- that when the rule of law collapses, human rights make little sense.
This senselessness was starkly manifest in many of the reactions of the government, as well as some ultra-nationalist elements, to the visit of the U.N. high commissioner for human rights. Government spokesmen are constantly telling the press that they will say no to the high commissioner's request for the establishment of a human rights monitoring mission to investigate human rights abuses by all parties to the present conflict. Such a request, the government spokesmen said, would be resisted as this would be an attack on the sovereignty of Sri Lanka.
Some others supporting the same view have described the high commissioner's efforts as diabolical and said she is nothing more than an agent of American and Western imperialism. All such surrealistic comments, which border on political lunacy, are nothing more than attempts to hide the complete lawlessness that is prevalent throughout the entire country. However, the reality of this lawlessness and the resulting abuses of human rights is no secret to ordinary citizens, who today feel utterly helpless in the face of the social conditions that have made their lives miserable.
The high commissioner's visit should be an eye opener to the local population as well as to the international community of the problems faced in dealing with human rights in countries where the ruling regimes and even some political groupings claim the denial of the rule of law as an attribute of sovereignty. All the experiences gained from the past in dealing with human rights problems are based on the premise of the willingness of the political authority of a country to accept external assistance to get out of a very bad situation it faces from within.
In 2005 the Nepalese government accepted the assistance of the United Nations to establish a High Commissioner's Office to monitor human rights in order to deal with the conflict that existed between the authoritarian regime of the king and the Maoist rebels who were locked in a prolonged and bitter crisis that lead to the collapse of the state and society in the country.
In the late 1980s Cambodia faced a devastating crisis as four factions were engaged in an armed struggle that lead to the collapse of Cambodian society. By 1989 all the parties had come to the realization that without the mediation of the United Nations they would not be able to normalize the situation in the country. The signing of the Paris agreements, followed by the establishment of the U.N. Transitional Authority, was the result of the political realization of the leaders of the country that there was no other way to return to normalcy.
In the same way, it was the realization of the East Timorese leaders and also the Indonesian leaders that ended the prolonged civil war in East Timor. This too required some form of mediation from the United Nations that lead to the U.N. mission for that purpose.
Dealing with situations of acute crisis requires political realism. Some nations look for the support of the international community because that is the most realistic option in resolving problems that exist due to an impasse within the local political situation. Like in times of physical disaster -- for example a tsunami, flood or other natural disaster that causes one nation to seek the help of others -- sometimes the only way out of political disaster is to seek assistance. Like a sinking ship that has to call for assistance from others, nations facing serious crises have to find assistance if they are not to perish.
Unfortunately, at a time when political realism is required, the people of Sri Lanka are getting only romantic rhetoric and the denial of the crisis. Sri Lanka's crisis is essentially a crisis of a political leadership that is unwilling and incapable of dealing with the situation realistically.
The political intellect of the country has sunk to its lowest depths. Whatever might happen to the people or to the local institutions, already suffering from a major collapse, as well as the sinking economy, the political intellect remains in a state of stupor. The nation's leaders continue to talk nonsense, quite oblivious of the political situation and its consequences to society.
Obviously, the high commissioner has reason to be upset and unhappy. However, the United Nations and the international community, as well as the politically sensible elements of the local population, cannot afford to resign themselves to the situation or to be demoralized. It is time for both the locally politically enlightened and the international community to assess the situation realistically and find ways to deal with the impasse created by the utterly irresponsible attitudes represented by the ruling regime and its supporters.
The quality of the enlightened people in local society and the caliber of the international leadership are tested in situations such as the one faced in Sri Lanka. This is the test they are facing now. To fail in this test is to fail the people of Sri Lanka.
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(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.)
