Personal Perspective: Pursuing Absolute Power - 26 January 2003

....thus he came at length

To find a stronger faith his own

And Power was with him in the night (Tennyson)

A few weeks ago I wrote an article for LacNet, the internet journal of the Lanka Academic Network, about a document entitled the ‘Judicial Administration of Tamil Eelam’. This had been given me by one of the more enterprising of our politics students, brought back from their recent field trip to Jaffna. I had naturally assumed that this would be common knowledge in, if not the drawing rooms of Colombo, the offices of our decision makers.

I was wrong. It has not been published in any of our newspapers I believe, and I have since been supplying copies to various people who should, I thought, have better sources. Indeed I am astonished that Sihala Urumaya, or the EPDP, which sends out so much that is critical of the Tigers, have not disseminated this document widely. It was so preposterous that at first I thought it might well have been made up by one of those groups to provide evidence of the absolutist nature of the Tiger philosophy.

But the acquisition and provision of information is not a serious matter in Sri Lanka. After the debacle at Athurugiriya, those in the army who seem to have been doing a good professional job have gone to ground, in case they suffer the fate of their various informants whom the Tigers have so skilfully picked off. The number of those killed as a consequence of the Athurugiriya raid has not, I believe, been tabulated or brought to the attention of Mr. Marapana, let alone the public.

With regard to the document I obtained, I had not referred to it in this column, since someone had reproduced the LacNet article in the daily ‘Island’. However, assuming that the readership of the Sunday paper is different, and also that some information bears repetition, I thought I should draw attention once again to this extraordinary effusion. I should note that I cannot vouch for its authenticity myself, but my students assured me that they had been given it by leading LTTE administrators they met, as an indication of how organized they were to take on governmental responsibilities.

The document is quite unashamedly totalitarian in its judicial philosophy. It starts by describing the ‘Structure of Tamil Eelam Judicial Administration’ as follows:

1. It functions on the basis of the direct approval of His Excellency Mr. V Prabhakaran, the National Leader.’

And goes on to say

‘2. Only he has the authority to reduce or increase the sentences of the Courts wherever the need arises.

3. All laws are made with his approval.’

The Supreme Court ‘consists of three judges, appointed by the National Leader.’ All judges ‘must sit the examination held on Sunday in the last week of every month.’

Orwell’s Big Brother could not have done a better job of the section on Legislation —

‘1. Making of Laws.

Drafting new Laws in accordance with the needs of the time, and in terms of the attitude and conduct of the people.

2. Approving:

Whenever the need arises for new laws, in terms of the needs of the judiciary, adopting the appropriate laws of other nations.

3. State Attorney-at-Law:

Observation of their morals and functions guiding and directing their functions in terms of the needs of the court.

The Committee to review legislation consists of

‘1. Official in Charge of Political Field.

2. Official in Charge of intelligence and six others in charge of Finance, Police, Judicial Administration, Research Organization of women, "Chencholai’, Refuges Rehabilitation.

This committee for review after having discussed and reviewed the Legal drafts drawn by the legislation submits the final form of draft to the National Leader for approval. This Committee will meet as and when needed.

Then we have

‘13. Details of the Functions of the Judicial Administration and the Function of the Officials in Charge

In order to organize the functions of the Judicial Administration, and the functions and duties activities are distributed on the following basis In the manner, As to Hon the social justice should be to the people of Tamil Eelam as thought by the National Leader to execute that social Justice as thought by him, in such manner every officials must utilize their full skill and ability with sincerity to the National Leader in dedicating their skills, to the advancement of Judicial administration.’

The head of the judiciary seems to be someone called ‘Official in Charge (all) whose first duty is ‘Implementing the views of National Leader in respect of Judicial Administration Informing him’

Given these direct quotations, comment hardly seems necessary. Even the most idealistic Norwegian must see that there is nothing democratic or transparent or accountable about the structures and processes envisaged. And surely the Americans, who think and sometimes say that Chandrika is fussing unnecessarily, must recognize that this sort of language is of a piece with the rhetoric employed by their current bete noirs, Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong Il.

But, much as one admires the checks and balances of the American system, the sad truth is that Americans have by and large assumed that others do not need these. They were prepared to make use of Saddam Hussein in the past, and they may well believe that they can make use of Prabhakaran when they want to. The sadder truth, that authoritarian regimes are ipso facto dangerous, has passed Americans by. So we have now a steady stream of foreigners, making the ritual pilgrimage to Kilinochchi with their gifts of gold.

In one sense they cannot be blamed. When Rs 70 million of aid was pledged, and some of the donors made it clear that this had to go through the government, Ranil went around bleating that he could not use much of it since he had no personnel. The Tigers have the personnel, and the willingness to act, so those who want to lend, and even to give, will naturally be attracted to them. There are even those, sick to death of the way corruption and waste vitiates Sri Lankan borrowing, who would much prefer a judicial system that dealt summarily with officials who stole.

And Ranil himself, who sounds so mournful when talking about his ministers he thinks can deliver nothing, may well have a sneaking admiration for the absolute administrative and judicial power Prabhakaran will constitutionally enjoy. He like Prabhakaran is after all a child of the sixties, and those were days when concepts such as the National Will were bandied about with passionate conviction. Such amorphous concepts had then to be embodied, so they were identified with a Supreme Leader whose right to speak on behalf of all his people could not be questioned.

Ensuring democratic and truly representative government for Tamils, and indeed all our people, especially those at the periphery, is one thing. Creating monstrosities that by their very nature will perpetuate anarchy in pursuit of personal will is quite another. But Ranil, who unfortunately cut his political teeth under JR, who also thought he needed unbridled power to achieve his goals, whatever they might have been, may well dream of a time when he can exercise powers like Prabhakaran’s. If Tamil Eelam starts developing rapidly under authoritarianism, a Messianic leader on this side of the border might also seem desirable. That it won’t be Ranil may be obvious to everyone else, but the Strong Man ideal of himself is not something he can give up easily. The 19th amendment would, after all, have got through quite easily in a system such as Prabhakaran now enjoys.