Bengaluru, India
Sub:- (i)- Present Buddhist – Muslim riots in Sri Lanka needs new solution (ii)- Sri Lanka has history of minority-majority serious conflict still being probed by UN (iii)- Like India Sri Lanka also does not use security forces to control communal riots (iv)- UN should pressurize Sri Lanka to enact two laws to use security forces and Human Rights Commission to control riots.
-----A state of emergency has been reportedly imposed in Sri Lanka due to civil war following days of communal violence between the Buddhist and Muslim communities of Sri Lanka. Though riots between religious or linguistic or ethnic minorities with majority community happen in many countries but Sri Lanka is a special case. Tamil uprising disturbed Sri Lanka for decades and resulted in alleged genocide of Tamils when LTTE was eliminated by Sri Lankan Army and which is under the investigation by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Communal riots (or massacre of minorities by majority) repeatedly happen in SAARC region because it is projected more as a communal problem and less as administrative problem, whereas in reality these are more of administrative problem than communal problem.
In the interest of stopping such communal rights in future the UN should intervene and ask Sri Lankan Government to enact the following two laws:-
(1)- Sri Lanka should enact laws generally similar to Sections 129, 130 and 131 of CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code) in India, the title of which reads as Section 129 - Dispersal of assembly by use of civil force. Section 130 - Use of armed forces to disperse assembly. Section 131 - Power of certain armed force officers to disperse assembly.
“[Here it is pertinent to mention that:-
(i)- This law will eliminate dependence of executive magistrates (responsible for maintaining peace in their jurisdiction) on Ministers of the Government for maintaining peace in their areas hence will ensure speedy control of riots.
(ii)- Sri Lanka will be successful in controlling and stopping the riots only when (unlike India) it will prosecute the executive magistrates and officers of armed forces who derelict in their duties to stop the riots. In India the massacre of Sikhs at Delhi in 1984 and of Muslims at Gujarat in 2002 happened because the executive magistrates and officers of armed forces (who were derelict in their duties to stop earlier riots), were not prosecuted.
(iii)- Sri Lanka should make it the legal responsibility of executive magistrate to know (at the time of taking charge of their office), the detailed information about procedure and the nearest place from where they will requisition, if necessary, the armed forces for maintaining peace as per this law. This will avoid a situation as happens in India where riots happened in State of Gujarat but military was called from capital Delhi despite the fact that military is stationed in every State of India]”
(2)- Sri Lanka should make Laws so that –
(A)- If in the opinion of Sri Lankan National Human Rights Commission (SLNHRC) the Security Forces of Sri Lanka (Military, para-Military, Police) are unable to control the riots then SLNHRC should be able to request UN to provide United Nation Peace Keeping Force (UNPKF) to maintain peace in Sri Lanka.
(B)- Whenever armed forces are called to maintain peace it should be the responsibility of executive magistrate and the concerned officer of the armed forces to keep SLNHRC informed about it.
The minority community in Sri Lanka should take SPECIAL interest in getting said two laws enacted and should not behave irresponsibly as Muslim minority is doing in India as mentioned at http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/detail.php?articleid=3096 OR https://www.alwihdainfo.com/Sri-Sri-half-right-rather-Muslim-leaders-already-conspiring-to-make-India-another-Syria_a61893.html
It is hoped that not only UN but the people of Sri Lanka will also constrain the Government of Sri Lanka to enact above mentioned two laws so that peace is never disturbed in Sri Lanka by riots especially between majority and minority communities.
Regards
Hem Raj Jain
(Author of ‘Betrayal of Americanism’)
Bengaluru, India
-----A state of emergency has been reportedly imposed in Sri Lanka due to civil war following days of communal violence between the Buddhist and Muslim communities of Sri Lanka. Though riots between religious or linguistic or ethnic minorities with majority community happen in many countries but Sri Lanka is a special case. Tamil uprising disturbed Sri Lanka for decades and resulted in alleged genocide of Tamils when LTTE was eliminated by Sri Lankan Army and which is under the investigation by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Communal riots (or massacre of minorities by majority) repeatedly happen in SAARC region because it is projected more as a communal problem and less as administrative problem, whereas in reality these are more of administrative problem than communal problem.
In the interest of stopping such communal rights in future the UN should intervene and ask Sri Lankan Government to enact the following two laws:-
(1)- Sri Lanka should enact laws generally similar to Sections 129, 130 and 131 of CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code) in India, the title of which reads as Section 129 - Dispersal of assembly by use of civil force. Section 130 - Use of armed forces to disperse assembly. Section 131 - Power of certain armed force officers to disperse assembly.
“[Here it is pertinent to mention that:-
(i)- This law will eliminate dependence of executive magistrates (responsible for maintaining peace in their jurisdiction) on Ministers of the Government for maintaining peace in their areas hence will ensure speedy control of riots.
(ii)- Sri Lanka will be successful in controlling and stopping the riots only when (unlike India) it will prosecute the executive magistrates and officers of armed forces who derelict in their duties to stop the riots. In India the massacre of Sikhs at Delhi in 1984 and of Muslims at Gujarat in 2002 happened because the executive magistrates and officers of armed forces (who were derelict in their duties to stop earlier riots), were not prosecuted.
(iii)- Sri Lanka should make it the legal responsibility of executive magistrate to know (at the time of taking charge of their office), the detailed information about procedure and the nearest place from where they will requisition, if necessary, the armed forces for maintaining peace as per this law. This will avoid a situation as happens in India where riots happened in State of Gujarat but military was called from capital Delhi despite the fact that military is stationed in every State of India]”
(2)- Sri Lanka should make Laws so that –
(A)- If in the opinion of Sri Lankan National Human Rights Commission (SLNHRC) the Security Forces of Sri Lanka (Military, para-Military, Police) are unable to control the riots then SLNHRC should be able to request UN to provide United Nation Peace Keeping Force (UNPKF) to maintain peace in Sri Lanka.
(B)- Whenever armed forces are called to maintain peace it should be the responsibility of executive magistrate and the concerned officer of the armed forces to keep SLNHRC informed about it.
The minority community in Sri Lanka should take SPECIAL interest in getting said two laws enacted and should not behave irresponsibly as Muslim minority is doing in India as mentioned at http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/detail.php?articleid=3096 OR https://www.alwihdainfo.com/Sri-Sri-half-right-rather-Muslim-leaders-already-conspiring-to-make-India-another-Syria_a61893.html
It is hoped that not only UN but the people of Sri Lanka will also constrain the Government of Sri Lanka to enact above mentioned two laws so that peace is never disturbed in Sri Lanka by riots especially between majority and minority communities.
Regards
Hem Raj Jain
(Author of ‘Betrayal of Americanism’)
Bengaluru, India