Rescue of the Republic from regimentry of the jackboot?

National Independence Day has come and gone, yet again, with the traditional fanfare one associates with our islandnation’s Independence Days of bygone eras. But amidst the customary celebrations – suitably low key and republic style, as in halcyon days, after a hiatus of several years – our nation’s governors may have missed a remarkable opportunity.

Because of the trends of recent national trauma-ridden years and the failure of the state to transition from a post-war to a post-conflict milieu, the military culture of our country is still in situ. There has been no change, despite the changing of the old guard and the eviction of the ancient regime. Not by might, nor by power; but by renewal of old familiar diktats, the present powers-that-be have shown that they are of a like mind with their predecessors when it comes to military policing of the state. The President’s “failure of fiat”– to abstain from calling out the security forces to police the country – is a sharp reminder that democratic-republicanism alone is no guarantee that our national destiny will inevitably be shaped along civilian lines.

On February 2, 2015, the presidential order issued by former Chief Executive and Commander-in-Chief, Mahinda Rajapaksa, calling out the country’s armed forces to exercise police powers, lapsed. It was last issued on January 2, 2015, under Section 12 of the Public Security Ordinance. It applied to every single district in Sri Lanka, and had been renewed every month since the war ended in May 2009.

This ordinance had been reinstituted every month for the past five years and eight months by the previous administration. It was effected on the premise that circumstances had arisen which endangered public order in the land. The police force was inadequate to maintain public order, it had been long maintained by the erstwhile war-winning regime. The order issued every month was the sole basis on which the military had been empowered to play the role usually reserved for the police. That the new incumbent Chief Executive failed to – or, chose not to – cease and desist from reissuing the order speaks volumes for the new administration.

In effect, the National Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic has opted not to send out a strong signal that this military rule – or what passed for it in a previous incarnation of power – has ended. It seems – appearances at the liberty-day commemorations notwithstanding – that our blessed isle has not yet been returned to, restored to, and re-commissioned as a civilian administration.

Hear ye! Hear ye!

For the notifications such as the one below continue to be issued – even under the administration that is making sweeping changes elsewhere:

“Gazette Extraordinary of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The Public Security Ordinance. By virtue of the powers vested in me by Section 12 of the Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40), I, Mahinda Rajapaksa, do by this order call out all the members of the Armed Forces specified in the First Schedule hereto ( the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force) for the maintenance of public order in the areas specified in the Second Schedule hereto ( every district in Sri Lanka including the territorial waters adjunct to the maritime districts).” [02.01.2015] Hooray! In a premature miscalculation of what he thought was a salutary development (namely that the new national government had proactively chosen not to call out the military yet again to police the state) one inveterate user of social media posted on Facebook, on 3 February:

“Yesterday, while we slept, the national government in the person of its Chief Executive chose not to re-issue a presiden- tial order by special gazette notification empowering the security forces to police the country.” “Tomorrow, with the powers of Section 12 of the Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40) a thing of the past, we will see the army, the navy, the air force, march-past in a purely ceremonial capacity at the Independence Day commemoration.” “Today, between those two happy days, we awake to a new dawn, where the potential of military rule – or what passed for it under the jackboot of the old guard and regime – has become a rapidly fading memory.”

Haiyo? But later, realizing that there were legal ramifications that had not been considered fully, and that the powers-that-be had missed an opportunity to end military rule, for whatever reason, the same post on FB was edited and reposted ( with the additions in italics):

“Yesterday, while we slept, the national government in the person of its Chief Executive chose not to re-issue a presidential order by special gazette notification empowering the security forces to police the country. Yet we have to hope that this was a deliberate first step towards demilitarization – and not a failure to act out of apathy, or ignorance, or worse.” “Tomorrow, with the powers of Section 12 of the Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40) still pending or pendulous over us, we could well see the army, the navy, the air force, march-past in a purely ceremonial capacity at our Independence Day commemoration.” “Today, between these two critical days, we can make the most of the new day, where the oppressiveness of military rule – or what passed for it under the jackboot of the old guard and regime – has the potential to become a rapidly fading memory. If only the powers that now be take a more positive step and rescind what had come to be regarded as ‘the usual orders’ of the post-war, post-conflict era.”

He was spot on in spirit, if slightly misguided in fact… President Maithreepala Sirisena – like his predecessor – used his presidential powers to call out the military for policing purposes!

In the same spirit, and responding to the potential of the missed opportunity while examining the state of the nation vis-à-vis the dreaded Emergency Regulations and the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act, someone I know wrote to me: “No more Emergency in force. But PTA is still part of the law of the land. That is one of the ways in which successive governments have pandered to the chauvinistic elements among the ethnic majority, while keeping the more radical forces among the ethnic minorities in check. Maybe some members of the present government still genuinely believe it is in the best national interest not to do away with the PTA.”

Be that as it may… This much is known. Every month since the end of the war, the Rajapaksa regime used special powers under Section 12 of the Public Service Ordinance (Chapter 40) to issue a gazette notice empowering the security forces to do the job of the police in maintaining law and order. The last such notice was issued by MR on January 2, 2015. It was due to lapse on February 2, 2015. That the new national government renewed it almost as a knee-jerk reflex reflected a failure to take a step in the right direction. By design or by default? Speculation about the state of security abounds…

But we live in hope, this Sunday after Sri Lanka’s 67th Independence, that the powers that be will be more proactive about the state of the military guarding our nation. Rescind the customary old order and/or challenge the previous presidential order, moving our blessed isle one more step away from the rule of military might over what is right in the eyes of the mundane law of the land? Yes, we hope.