නිර්භීතකමේදි ඇයට හිමි තැන අසමසමය
For all her failings, Chandrika Kumaratunga was unmatched in courage. Ivan tells how he learned of the Suriyakanda mass graves from a young engineer who came to Ravaya in 1993, how the exposure unfolded, and reproduces the verse appeal to mothers, sisters and daughters that she signed; he concludes that Suriyakanda mattered to her for its usefulness rather than its meaning.
ශිෂ්ට සම්පන්න භාවයේ තරම
The Human Rights Committee has ruled against Sri Lanka again, this time over Nallaratnam Singarasa, jailed for 35 years under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, while Tony Fernando’s case is pending. Ivan holds President Kumaratunga responsible for appointing Sarath N. Silva as Chief Justice, and Ranil Wickremesinghe for allowing the system to take root.
රාජ්ය පාලකයන්ට රතු සංඥාවක්
During the President’s visit to the Netherlands, a lawyer for Tamil refugees sought a court order for her arrest under the Convention against Torture; the Dutch court rejected it only because it was not properly framed. The editorial draws the lesson that rights violations, attacks on democratic rights and plunder of public money are increasingly treated as international crimes, limiting where rulers can travel or flee.
External powers and internal undemocratic activities
It is welcome that the external powers interested in a solution are looking past Prabhakaran’s extremism to the anti-democratic conduct of the Chandrika government. The American Deputy Secretary of State has gone beyond refusing to recognise an Eelam state to saying his government wants free and fair elections and protected freedom of expression.