Relevance of Freedom of Association in

1992 and today: Ratawawi Peramuna

and its players
by Lakshan ias
! on "#$2#$2"1%
&on 'overnmental (r)ani*ations
+&'(s,- are the popular punchin) ba) of the 'overnment of .ri Lanka
+'(.L,- when its actions are challen)ed by any individual and$or
or)ani*ation/ &ame!callin)-
brandishin) circulars to warn &'(s and now a draconian law to prevent
them from raisin) public issues has been the modus operandi of the re)ime
to curb and crush dissent/ 0he conte1t of the sudden and hei)htened attack
on &'(s is also relevant/ 2ostilities between the '(.L and the L003 have
ended in the decisive victory of the former over the latter/ 0here are no
emer)ency laws in force and reconciliation e4orts are purportedly takin)
place/ 34orts are nevertheless bein) made- to undermine the contributions
of &'(s/ 5onse6uently it is time to re7ect on an important case to consider
the importance of non)overnmental or)ani*ations or civil society
or)ani*ations and the si)ni8cance of the contributions of &'(s- particularly
at a time when those who bene8ted from 9associations: with them have
chan)ed sides and lose si)ht of the value and utility of &'(. to the country
at lar)e/
urin) the 199"s- .ri Lanka was di4erently poised/ 0here were insurrections
in the &orth and the .outh and emer)ency laws were in operation/ As a
result dissentin) points of view were sub;ect to suppression/ <et the 5ourt
system was upheld and courts reco)ni*ed the value of upholdin) the
Fundamental Ri)hts en;oyed by any citi*en/ A few e1amples of this sprin) to
mind/
=alinda 5hanna Peiris .eneviratne- Athureliye Rathana +Ran;ith,- Ranawaka
Arachchi)e Patali 5hampika Ranawaka are prominent personalities in
contemporary .ri Lanka/ >n 1992 they were amon) 1? other individuals who
moved the .upreme 5ourt in 1" Fundamental Ri)hts Applications- now
reported in +199%,- 1 .ri Lanka Law Reports 1- alle)in) that they were
detained by the Police under emer)ency laws and were tortured/ 0heir main
complaint however was that the Freedom of Association which they
e1ercised throu)h the Ratawesi Peramuna- a non political civil society
or)ani*ation was violated/ Le)al Aid unit of 0he @ar Association of .ri Lanka
+@A.L, and several other &'(s were at the forefront to protect the ri)hts of
the detainees at that time and they had coordinated preparations for this
case/ 0hese cases were 8led pro bono and .ri LankaAs foremost 2uman
Ri)hts Lawyer =r/ R/B/C/ 'oonesekere and Attorneys!at!Law =anori
=uttetuwe)ama- .uran;it 2ewamanne- =ethsiri 5oorey- L5=
.warnadhipathi and D/ 5 Celiamuna represented them/ Fortunately- unlike
today nobody 6uestioned the ri)ht of the 2uman Ri)hts activists and the
&'(s to raise these issues before the appropriate fora/
Around the same time- another case came up in the .upreme 5ourt- when
=r/ =ahinda Ra;apakse =P +now the President, was detained at the Airport
for 6uestionin) when he was about to board a 7i)ht to 'eneva to make
representation before E1st .ession of the Corkin) 'roup on enforced or
involuntary disappearances/ 0his detention was challen)ed with =r/ R/B/C/
'oonesekere leadin) the team of lawyers for =ahinda Ra;apakse
+.ee=ahinda Ra;apakse v/ Budahetti 1992 2 .LR 22E,/ All leadin) &'(s
condemned the detention of =r/ Ra;apaske/ 2owever- what is notable )iven
the current environment in .ri Lanka- is that no one 6uestioned the role of
civil society in support of =r/ Ra;apakshaAs visit to 'eneva/
>nterestin) back)rounds of di4erent petitioners in Ratavesi Peremuna
makes it important for us to understand how an association works- outside
the control of the 'overnment/ Accordin) to the case record- =alinda
.eneviratne +now 3ditor of &ation newspaper and close associate of .ri
Lankan efense establishment, had read Fundamental 0e1ts of =ar1ism
and then became a 0rotskyite/ 2e entered umbara Fniversity but went to
Fnited .tates of America on an 31chan)e to read sociolo)y at 2arvard
Fniversity/ Gen/ Ratana +now a =ember of Parliament from .ihala Frumaya,
was the ideolo)ical leader of the )roup/ 5hampaka Ranawaka +now a
=inister and a leadin) nationalist ideolo)ist,- a founder member of
Ratawesi Peramuna took an active part in anti DGP activities in the
universities/ 2e wrote articles to Ravaya and Lakbima/ 2e was opposed to
the )uns of both the DGP and 'overnment and wanted to prevent the youth
from bein) pushed to violent politics/ 2e also had a scheme to restructure
the Peramuna alon) the lines a political party/ =any other petitioners were
involved with 'overnment and held key positions in various ministries/
Petitioner @andara became a 'overnor of Fva and later a =ember of
Parliament from FPFA/
People chan)e but the principles do not/ 0he Ratawesi Peramuna case
record speaks volumes of the importance of human values and human
ri)hts/ >n deliverin) the ;ud)ment- Dustice r/ A/R/@/ Amerasin)he
considered- amon) others- several leadin) decisions of F. .upreme 5ourt
and made the followin) pronouncements- which is now part of our
constitutional law:
+a, &o person or )roup of persons- not even ma;orities- can claim to have
a monopoly of )ood ideas/ =any a stran)e and sin)ular idea as in time-
throu)h ar)ument and debate- had the power to )et accepted as truth/
+b, >t is beyond debate that freedom to en)a)e in association for the
advancement of beliefs and ideas is an indispensable aspect of liberty/
+c, Freedom such as ri)ht to association are protected not only a)ainst
obvious heavy handed frontal attack- but also from bein) smothered or
sti7ed or chilled by more subtle interferences/
+d, Le)itimate a)itation cannot be considered as incitement to overthrow
the )overnment unlawfully/
Chat is the situation todayH Freedom of association is under its worst
threats in independent .ri Lanka- despite the attempts by state media and
9Para state propa)anda units: to deny it/ 0hose who supply ideolo)ical
;usti8cation for this )overnment +includin) some of the Petitioners in
Ratawesi Peramuna and who were in fact bene8ciaries of the re)ime, will
soon reali*e that they will one day need to form an association to defend
themselves- independent of the state apparatus/ People chan)e but
principles do not/ Probably it is time for us to remember the words of
Laurence D/ Peter- 5anadian educationalist who moved into F.A and who
published the famous 90he Peter Principles:/ 90he devil could chan)e/ 2e
was once an an)el and may be evolvin) still:/
Posted by Thavam