Sri Lanka’s history under threat

Several lies do not make a truth. The events that transpired in Nochchiyagama are disturbing for several reasons and serve as yet another reminder of the breakdown of law and order in Sri Lanka.

Predominant among these concerns is of course the fact that the whole incident smells of a massive cover up. No matter what the Police may say or do during the next few days, it will be difficult to convince the public that their explanation for the events that transpired is true and accurate.

The Police version of events that a secret Special Task Force (STF) mission was in operation to apprehend treasure hunters who managed to escape motivating the STF to dig for important artefacts on their own leaves several holes.

One doubt is that the local Police, whose job it is to capture criminals, were not informed of this raid. Second is that the Archaeological Department was not alerted. Even people of average intelligence know that digging for artefacts is a delicate process requiring special equipment and careful planning with proper documentation – at the very least it needs daylight. The fact that the STF was digging around in the dead of night without Archaeological Department permission makes the situation harder to believe.

The third point is the clash with villagers, which observed the STF and came to the conclusion that an illegal event was taking place. If everything was clear and above board, then such a misunderstanding would not have occurred. There are also statements that the STF attacked and injured several villagers, which even the reason of self-defence cannot entirely explain away.

The villagers can be faulted for taking the law into their own hands. But in a country that has no regard for the law, they cannot be blamed for preferring to extract their own form of justice. Despite the injuries of the villagers, there has been no statement from either the STF or the Police that investigations will be carried out to ascertain whether the STF personnel behaved outside of their duty. An apology for the “misunderstanding” would, of course, be too much to expect.

Without transparency and accountability in such incidents, the people will not believe the Police and STF; nor should they, given that public officials exist to preserve the law and protect the public, which has been overlooked in this instance. Treasure hunting is a popular pastime in Sri Lanka with 2010 recording 294 convictions, last year 220 and so far this year 92. These are just the numbers that make it into a Police station and from thence to the law courts. Dozens and perhaps hundreds more are taking place without any redress or punishment.

An inadequate law enforcement system worsens the situation. Fines alone will never make a dent in archaeological theft. The law needs to be given teeth and more funds are needed for entities such as the Archaeological Department to preserve and protect these sites.

It is indeed ironic that politicians who never miss the chance to display Sri Lanka’s rich history make absolutely no effort to preserve it. In the 2012 Budget, the Defence Ministry received Rs. 230 billion while archaeology received barely a fraction of this amount. Given this situation, together with the increased cost of living pressure and growing inequality among the population, Sri Lanka’s rich past will continue to be used as a passport to a richer future by greedy individuals.