State killing with impunity

Last week, Police shot dead two suspects ‘arrested’ over a murder in Kotahena when they reportedly ‘tried to grab a weapon’ of a policeman and escape. Police claimed the two suspects had been taken to show the location of a weapon hidden by them. This story of individuals under police custody being killed while ‘showing hidden weapons’ has become so common place and repeated that it is no longer believed by anyone.

It is code name for police carrying out extra judiciary killing of those it deemed need to be bumped off. The media takes these repeated explanations by the police at face value never questioning their validity; there is never an investigation on how so many individuals supposedly in State’s custody and in handcuffs can attempt to grab weapons knowing fully well what awaits them; and never has any public official ever been held accountable for what at best is negligence but probably cold-blooded murder. Neither the Attorney General nor the judiciary have found it necessary to demand accountability from the police for killing or letting someone in their protection be killed.

The most recent Police killings occur while Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath is in Geneva, supposedly arguing the case why Sri Lanka does not need an international accountability mechanism to address the country’s outstanding violations of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings carried out by the State. The only way this could happen is for the Government to prove that it and the institutions of justice can handle the tens of thousands of cases of State violence. When its own police are now carrying out extrajudicial killings, in the full glare of the media while the Attorney General and the judiciary merrily stand by there is little hope for such arguments having any credibility. 

Sri Lanka has one of the most abysmal human rights records of any country. It is a rare democracy that has not confronted its bloody past. In the 1971 southern insurgency, at least 12,000 mostly Sinhala youth belonging to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna were subjected to enforced disappearance or extrajudicial killings. This number is as high as 100,000 for the 87-89 period during the second JVP uprising. The number of people killed during the ethnic conflict from 1983 to 2009 is more than 100,000 with many of them subjected to enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and civilian deaths in violations of humanitarian law.

The legacy of a prolonged civil war and ongoing security concerns have undoubtedly contributed to a climate where extrajudicial actions may appear justified in the name of national security or public safety. However, history has shown that sacrificing legal and moral principles in the face of perceived threats only leads to further instability and injustice.

Moreover, the normalisation of extrajudicial killings, has been facilitated by a broader erosion of institutional integrity and accountability. Politicians and officials, instead of acting as guardians of justice and human rights, have often openly condoned extrajudicial measures as a quick-fix solution to complex social problems, including gang violence. Society at large has also accepted these State violations as part of the fight against crime. They have set dangerous precedents that are not corrected despite changes in political administration.

It is imperative for political leaders, including President Anura Dissanayake to demonstrate unwavering commitment to the principles of justice and the rule of law. This includes condemning extrajudicial killings unequivocally, upholding the principle of ‘innocent till proven guilty’ and supporting an independent judiciary and an Attorney General who can hold the police accountable for such heinous crimes.