The Catholic Church is rightly concerned about the deaths of over 260 persons and injuries to 500 or more persons which took place as a result of the bomb blasts on 21 April 2019. It certainly reflects the wish of all the survivors of these deaths as well as the whole community when it demands full revelation about all that has caused this tragedy.
However, there is an even more fundamental issue that the Catholic Church as well as all other religions and all persons concerned with moral values should ask themselves. That problem is as to how a climate of disregard for the most basic norm of human civilisation, which is the precept against killing, has become such a trivial matter in Sri Lanka. And that raises far more important questions which may ultimately also help to resolve the killings which took place on that tragic Sunday.
Over the decades, the basic responsibility for protecting life from murder has been treated with the most careless disregard. And even the religions failed to assert strongly the most important moral precept that these religions have been preaching throughout their existence. When large-scale direct murders were taking place in the country, the churches and other religious movements remained silent.
We may discuss a few examples of a very blatant nature. Several commissions appointed in the 1990s to inquire into the involuntary disappearances at the time, mostly in the South, investigated and found that large-scale enforced disappearances had been taking place in the country. The details given in the commissions clearly established that most of these persons were killed after they were arrested. Thus, it could be surmised that their killings took place while they were in the custody of the security authorities. It is a fundamental norm even during a war that once a person has surrendered even in the battlefield that he/she should be given the protection by the enemy forces against whom he/she was fighting. Many of those who were killed by way of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka were not taken into custody in the battlefield. They were taken from their homes. There seemed to be authorisation to arrest and kill, purely on the basis of any flimsy suspicion; it would seem a false petition was good enough evidence to arrest people and to kill them. And later, a similar process also took place in the North and the East. Here, we are not talking about those who were killed in combat. We talk about persons who have been taken into the custody of the military or the Police and whose whereabouts are thereafter unknown. Even such most basic forms of denial of the protection of life did not become a matter of conscience for the churches or for other religions.
According to the commissions on involuntary disappearances which gave statistics about the numbers of persons who had disappeared, 15% of those persons were children below the age of 19. Such a large-scale killing of children did not become a matter of serious intervention for the leaders of the churches or of any other religions.
Over and over again, people have been killed inside prisons. Even these did not become a matter of serious concern or intervention on the part of those who represent these religions and who preach the basic moral values as the foundation of any civilised society.
We have merely chosen only one aspect of this problem but that is enough to illustrate the point of this essay. That point is that what happened on 21 April 2019 was not a random act. It happened in a society where there is a moral disinclination to defend even the right against murder. Had there been religious and social concerns expressed strongly against the killing of persons after they had been taken into the safe custody of the Police or the military authorities, this climate would not have developed in the country in the way that it has got widespread now. So long as this climate prevails, anything can happen. Thus, finding a solution to the Easter Sunday massacre, which itself is illusive, would not suffice even if it could succeed. Something more than a liability for this particular cruelty is needed if Sri Lanka is to have a moral climate within which the life of human beings can be protected. For that to happen, there needs to be a moral cry and that cry is absent in the country. When morality is not defended, crying over some immoral acts alone would not make much of a difference.
To allow the security authorities to kill, is, among other things, the best way also to destroy the discipline within these security authorities themselves. Those who have been used to carrying out killings cannot also at the same time try to protect law and order. And that is a fundamental problem that is facing the country. When those who are to enforce the law lack the moral credibility within the community, they simply are unable to carry out their most basic functions. When they cannot carry out their most basic functions, then there is social instability, disorder, and chaos.
Such a situation of disorder and chaos is the social climate which makes any horrendous crime like that which happened in the Easter Sunday massacre possible. Within the country today, there prevails a complete breakdown of the law enforcement function because the law enforcement agencies themselves have been used for illegal, immoral, and criminal purposes. There has been no attempt to repudiate that past and to bring about a fundamental reform of the law enforcement agencies themselves.
Those who should get involved in creating that debate for a morally responsible law enforcement capacity to be installed in the country, have failed in their responsibility and in some ways directly or indirectly connived to bring about this situation of instability and disorder.
The religions that directly or indirectly contribute to the prevalence of a culture of impunity for murder have failed all communities and the whole nation. They have also helped the culture to degenerate and civilisation to be fundamentally undermined. If the attempt to seek justice for the Easter Sunday victims is genuine and not fake, then the whole issue of the attitude relating to murder prevailing in Sri Lankan society now, and in particular in the law enforcement agencies, should be seriously brought into a public discourse. There is a lot of talk of the non-recurrence of similar events as the massacre of 2019. However, such talk will just be nothing more than hypocrisy unless the situation which tolerates murder and makes the whole issue of killings a mere matter of triviality, is not brought to a serious questioning with the view to have this situation changed.
That is a choice that is posed by the victims and the survivors of this massacre as well as all those others who are victims or survivors of alleged large-scale killings that have been going on and are going on in the country.
The prohibition against murder should be reinstated in the country with all the force and resources for the enforcement of the law within a civilised legal framework. To be legally uncivilised is of course the worst that could happen to any society.
(The writer is the Director of Policy and Programmes of the Asian Human Rights Commission)
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.Defending the commandment ‘Thou shall not kill’
06 May 2021
Defending the commandment ‘Thou shall not kill’
06 May 2021
The Catholic Church is rightly concerned about the deaths of over 260 persons and injuries to 500 or more persons which took place as a result of the bomb blasts on 21 April 2019. It certainly reflects the wish of all the survivors of these deaths as well as the whole community when it demands full revelation about all that has caused this tragedy.
However, there is an even more fundamental issue that the Catholic Church as well as all other religions and all persons concerned with moral values should ask themselves. That problem is as to how a climate of disregard for the most basic norm of human civilisation, which is the precept against killing, has become such a trivial matter in Sri Lanka. And that raises far more important questions which may ultimately also help to resolve the killings which took place on that tragic Sunday.
Over the decades, the basic responsibility for protecting life from murder has been treated with the most careless disregard. And even the religions failed to assert strongly the most important moral precept that these religions have been preaching throughout their existence. When large-scale direct murders were taking place in the country, the churches and other religious movements remained silent.
We may discuss a few examples of a very blatant nature. Several commissions appointed in the 1990s to inquire into the involuntary disappearances at the time, mostly in the South, investigated and found that large-scale enforced disappearances had been taking place in the country. The details given in the commissions clearly established that most of these persons were killed after they were arrested. Thus, it could be surmised that their killings took place while they were in the custody of the security authorities. It is a fundamental norm even during a war that once a person has surrendered even in the battlefield that he/she should be given the protection by the enemy forces against whom he/she was fighting. Many of those who were killed by way of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka were not taken into custody in the battlefield. They were taken from their homes. There seemed to be authorisation to arrest and kill, purely on the basis of any flimsy suspicion; it would seem a false petition was good enough evidence to arrest people and to kill them. And later, a similar process also took place in the North and the East. Here, we are not talking about those who were killed in combat. We talk about persons who have been taken into the custody of the military or the Police and whose whereabouts are thereafter unknown. Even such most basic forms of denial of the protection of life did not become a matter of conscience for the churches or for other religions.
According to the commissions on involuntary disappearances which gave statistics about the numbers of persons who had disappeared, 15% of those persons were children below the age of 19. Such a large-scale killing of children did not become a matter of serious intervention for the leaders of the churches or of any other religions.
Over and over again, people have been killed inside prisons. Even these did not become a matter of serious concern or intervention on the part of those who represent these religions and who preach the basic moral values as the foundation of any civilised society.
We have merely chosen only one aspect of this problem but that is enough to illustrate the point of this essay. That point is that what happened on 21 April 2019 was not a random act. It happened in a society where there is a moral disinclination to defend even the right against murder. Had there been religious and social concerns expressed strongly against the killing of persons after they had been taken into the safe custody of the Police or the military authorities, this climate would not have developed in the country in the way that it has got widespread now. So long as this climate prevails, anything can happen. Thus, finding a solution to the Easter Sunday massacre, which itself is illusive, would not suffice even if it could succeed. Something more than a liability for this particular cruelty is needed if Sri Lanka is to have a moral climate within which the life of human beings can be protected. For that to happen, there needs to be a moral cry and that cry is absent in the country. When morality is not defended, crying over some immoral acts alone would not make much of a difference.
To allow the security authorities to kill, is, among other things, the best way also to destroy the discipline within these security authorities themselves. Those who have been used to carrying out killings cannot also at the same time try to protect law and order. And that is a fundamental problem that is facing the country. When those who are to enforce the law lack the moral credibility within the community, they simply are unable to carry out their most basic functions. When they cannot carry out their most basic functions, then there is social instability, disorder, and chaos.
Such a situation of disorder and chaos is the social climate which makes any horrendous crime like that which happened in the Easter Sunday massacre possible. Within the country today, there prevails a complete breakdown of the law enforcement function because the law enforcement agencies themselves have been used for illegal, immoral, and criminal purposes. There has been no attempt to repudiate that past and to bring about a fundamental reform of the law enforcement agencies themselves.
Those who should get involved in creating that debate for a morally responsible law enforcement capacity to be installed in the country, have failed in their responsibility and in some ways directly or indirectly connived to bring about this situation of instability and disorder.
The religions that directly or indirectly contribute to the prevalence of a culture of impunity for murder have failed all communities and the whole nation. They have also helped the culture to degenerate and civilisation to be fundamentally undermined. If the attempt to seek justice for the Easter Sunday victims is genuine and not fake, then the whole issue of the attitude relating to murder prevailing in Sri Lankan society now, and in particular in the law enforcement agencies, should be seriously brought into a public discourse. There is a lot of talk of the non-recurrence of similar events as the massacre of 2019. However, such talk will just be nothing more than hypocrisy unless the situation which tolerates murder and makes the whole issue of killings a mere matter of triviality, is not brought to a serious questioning with the view to have this situation changed.
That is a choice that is posed by the victims and the survivors of this massacre as well as all those others who are victims or survivors of alleged large-scale killings that have been going on and are going on in the country.
The prohibition against murder should be reinstated in the country with all the force and resources for the enforcement of the law within a civilised legal framework. To be legally uncivilised is of course the worst that could happen to any society.
(The writer is the Director of Policy and Programmes of the Asian Human Rights Commission)
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.Kapruka
Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!
Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!