Last month, an unprecedented popular uprising in Sri Lanka led to the downfall of the authoritarian Rajapaksa family, which had dominated the island for nearly two decades. But the victory was fleeting and bittersweet. The choice of Ranil Wickremesinghe, Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s successor, by lawmakers suggests that the population’s demands will not be met. Indeed, within hours of Wickremesinghe’s inauguration, the country declared a state of emergency, leading to a large number of arrests of protesters and travel restrictions. Security forces carried out violent attacks on anti-government protest sites in Colombo and elsewhere, beating civilians, journalists and lawyers and destroying property. This suggests that the brutality and illegal acts of the previous dynasty may not end anytime soon.
The “people’s struggle” (Janatha Aragalaya) protests were sparked by widespread shortages of electricity, gas, fertilizer, food and medicine. Most of the blame can be placed on decades of bad economic policies, unchecked borrowing, corruption, militarization and authoritarianism. The country’s economic disparities were highlighted by protesters who stormed the presidential palace last month and revealed the luxury in which rulers lived.
The confiscation of money and illicitly obtained property by the Rajapaksa family and their allies has now become a fundamental demand of the Protestant movement. In recent years, family members and allies have been charged with offenses ranging from money laundering to arms trafficking and fraud, but so far, no one has been arrested.
It would be hard to find a more pro-Rajapaksa and illegitimate replacement than Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has served as prime minister six times and whose management has been repeatedly accused of impropriety for participating in events such as the 2015 Central Bank bond coup and the torture camps at the end of the 1980s. In the last election, Ranil lost the position of deputy and, therefore, should have lost his political legitimacy. During his term as prime minister, from 2015 to 2019, he made no arrangements for the Rajapaksa family to be investigated. Furthermore, it failed to establish an extraordinary judicial mechanism with international participation that would meet a landmark 2015 UN Human Rights Council resolution and ensure that those involved in atrocities committed during the war period are held accountable.
However, public opinion is shifting and demanding that the crimes of the Rajapaksa be investigated.
Last month, protesters held up posters with pictures of journalists and activists who disappeared or were murdered, such as Lasantha Wickrematunge, Prageeth Ekneligoda, Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganathan. Other crimes include the 2012 Welikada prison massacre, the discovery of a 1980s mass grave linked to a Sri Lankan uprising, and even the 2019 Easter bombings. All of these cases have one thing in common: a lack of solution and strong suspicions of involvement by the Rajapaksa regime, especially former President Gotabaya.
The cry for justice is being led by many of the former Rajapaska voters, most of whom are supporters of Sri Lankan Buddhist nationalism and have come to regard the Rajapaksas as war heroes who saved the country from terrorism.
Now, the biggest challenge facing truth and reconciliation is getting — and maintaining — the support of Sri Lanka’s Sri Lankan Buddhist majority, so that those responsible for atrocities committed against the Tamils ​​during the civil war are investigated and punished. Although the crimes have been committed by different governments and Tamil rebel groups for three decades, the UN and other organizations hold the Rajapaksa primarily responsible for the bloodshed in the final stretch of the war. Holding them accountable means bringing justice to the military that some Sri Lankans see as heroes. There has never been a better time to challenge institutions that were once seen as untouchable, and it is noticeable that there has been a change in attitude towards this.
The UN and major Western nations need to support the pursuit of justice, nationally and internationally. Last year, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution on reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka that requires the collection and preservation of evidence for legal proceedings. It is now necessary to strengthen and expand its functions to include gathering evidence of alleged financial crimes.
Our discredited former president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is now in hiding in Singapore. His brothers Mahinda (former president and prime minister) and Basil (former finance minister) will also be able to leave the country if travel restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court are lifted. Foreign governments must refuse any asylum claims from the family and its allies and support international accountability initiatives for crimes committed. In recent days, human rights groups and Tamil organizations have appealed to the Singaporean authorities to punish Gotabaya as he is in the country.
But fundamentally, it is up to the Sri Lankan government to persecute the Rajapaksa. There can be no endorsement or protection of the actions of the previous regime. One of the boldest steps any new administration could take would be to ratify the Rome Statute with retroactive effect, bringing Sri Lanka under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
The country owes this to its citizens of Sri Lanka, who are suffering the consequences of a combination of internal and external failures. The island must confront its past in order to have a future.
