SRI LANKA’S AL CAPONE SYNDROME THREATENS HUMAN SECURITY
Be it Al Capone, Pablo Escobar, El Chapo or any other crime boss, violence in the form of shootings or any other crime that happens with the blessings of drug lords, politicians or businessmen, cannot be tolerated in a country that calls itself democratic. Five incidents of shootings were reported within a span of four days during June and in one of these shootings a state witness too was killed. Many who are being killed in these shootings also seem to be in their youth; raising a further question on whether the youth have opted for drugs and underworld related operations as a result of the prevailing economic crisis.
The Daily Mirror therefore focuses on the distribution of weapons within the society, how outdated laws assist those engaging in crimes and how Sri Lanka can put an end to its escalating gun culture.
ALLEGED LINK TO ARMY DESERTERS AND DRUG ADDICTS
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, former Attorney General Palitha Fernando
said that sometime back weapons were issued to VIPS as they were vulnerable to being victims of violence. “Many didn’t return the guns to the state. Subsequently certain underworld gangs were formed. Prior to issuing a licence a person’s background, police records etc., are checked. But now there is no specified criterion required to be met to possess a firearm. On the other hand many Army personnel deserted the Army while still possessing weapons and we haven’t been 100% successful in getting back those weapons. Today’s underworld possesses firearms and there are hired assassins. Sometime ago we heard of the white van culture and this is something we cannot condone. Then there are weapons like Gal Katas; which are locally manufactured guns. Sometimes politicians are authorised to carry a gun for their own protection,” said Fernando.
Recalling certain incidents that took place at the time, Fernando said that whenever there was a bank robbery or other daring robberies, an Army deserter was involved. “But for petty thefts, it was usually a drug addict. Army deserters are trained to handle weapons. However, weapons cannot be smuggled into the country,” he explained.
HUMAN SECURITY OVER NATIONAL SECURITY
The National Commission Against the Proliferation of Illicit Small Arms (NCAPISA) was setup during President Chandrika Bandaranaike’s tenure. This Commission was setup to coordinate approaches related to small-arms related problems in Sri Lanka. “At the time the Commission Secretary was Gotabaya Rajapaksa and it was he who signed the document as the Defence Secretary,” opined Vidya Abhayagunawardena, Coordinator for the Forum on Disarmament and Development (FDD). “The reason to setup this Commission was that it was around that time that the United Nations setup the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons (UN POA) and Sri Lanka chaired this programme. It was a huge boost for us and the government got technical support as well as funding. We setup the commission ((NCAPISA) and the first thing we did was form a gun amnesty and collected around 30,000 Small Illicit Arms from various places except the North and East because at the time the war was going on. But it wasn’t a proper survey because the war wasn’t over, there were Army deserters and they brought weapons to the South and the LTTE was selling weapons here and there. For the first time in South Asia we destroyed Illicit Small Arms at the Independence Square during 2006-2007,” said Abhayagunawardena.
“In 2008 we produced this report and the war concluded in 2009 and the Commission was dismantled thereafter. We questioned the government on why they dismantled it because we should have ideally continued the commission with the support from the UN. After the war, only a few civil society organizations spoke about human security. But our number one concern regarding the country is human security. National security is part of human security,” said Abhayagunawardena.
Abhayagunawardena further said that previous regimes hadn’t touched upon the subject of illicit small arms. “This should continue every year with the situation. In a post-war situation we should have a focus on human security and it is part of reconciliation. If I don’t have a job and cannot have at least one meal, I will try to rob a house, try to kill somebody, become an agent to bring drugs and I will go against the state. This is why we need a proper system in place.
“The most recent incident was the Easter Sunday Attack. A week before the Easter Attack the Christchurch Attack took place in Wellington. New Zealand is one of the best countries in the world when it comes to human security. Within a week Jacinda Adern banned the particular assault weapon and by mid April they amended their Firearms Act. All people handed over their weapons to the government and the government paid them money. That is development. But what about Sri Lanka?” he questioned.
OUTDATED LAWS
There are certain acts with regards to firearms and explosives including the Firearms (Amendment) Act No. 22 of 1996, Offensive Weapons Act No. 2 of 2011, Explosives Act and the Dangerous Knives Act or the Knives Ordinance. “But the fine for carrying a prohibited knife is only Rs. 50! The fine for the possession of illegal explosives is Rs. 25,000. Stamp fee for a weapon used in agriculture is Rs. 50. These Acts have been gathering dust and haven’t been amended at all. How can we say we live in a modern society if our laws and systems have been outdated? If the system and laws are in place violence will reduce. People would be aware of repercussions of carrying an automatic weapon. Locally we should amend existing laws and fines and we are requesting the government to increase the fines. The fine for carrying an illicit firearm should be raised at least to Rs. 500,000 given that the weapon is not used in any murder, theft or illegal activities. We don’t have to put people in jail, but if there’s a high fine, people wouldn’t attempt to engage in gun violence. If the firearm is involved in a murder the fine could be raised to Rs. 5 million,” he suggested.
LEGAL ISSUANCE OF WEAPONS
He further alleged that the gun registry at the Ministry of Defence is not automated. “As long as the weapon is registered with the Ministry of Defence there is no problem. They are responsible and they know the number of bullets issued and why they were used. But then again Sri Lanka’s gun registry is not automated. It’s a big book. This Commission report says that the gun registry should be automated with regard to the firearms. This way people will be protected. Countries like New Zealand, Japan and Switzerland are following these methods. Even Philippines- that had a massive drug problem- now seems to have a system in place. The Philippine President was bold enough to sign international conventions such as the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT),” he said.
WHY SRI LANKA SHOULD RATIFY THE ATT
“Therefore, what the Government should immediately do is look at the Commission report which is freely available online and see where we can start immediately. There’s a lot of funding available for the Government if it looks at the POA and the ATT. Sri Lanka should become a party to the ATT. Afghanistan and Maldives are the only two countries in South Asia that ratified the convention. Bangladesh is still a signatory. We say we are a neutral nation, but what is our neutrality if we don’t adhere to these conventions,” he questioned.
“If we become a party to the Treaty we can get a lot of technical and financial assistance from western nations. In 2018 Japan was the chair of the convention and the Japanese Ambassador to Geneva visited Sri Lanka and invited us to become a party to the ATT and Japan was ready to help Sri Lanka with technical and financial support apart from the UN. We therefore lost many opportunities. Even China, which is one of the biggest Arms producers in the world has become a party to the ATT. Therefore the Government should seriously look at the Commission report, amending the laws and becoming party to the ATT and POA,” he said in his concluding remarks while reminding that Sri Lanka is committed to fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals and under SDG No. 16 one of the components is to reduce violence and the proliferation of illicit Small Arms.