A. Objective:

To understand the key factors that contributed to the success of Tony’s campaign and reflect on how they may be used in other campaigns.

The case of Tony is a special one, in that it brings together many of the best aspects of human rights campaigning, while highlighting the stance taken by an individual fighting for an issue bigger than himself. The following news briefs, statements and press releases speak for themselves:

"A Sri Lanka trade unionist who was jailed for contempt while challenging Sri Lanka’s controversial chief justice emerged a free man Friday to be rewarded with an Asian Human Rights Award... Fernando was jailed in February for a year for contempt of court while arguing a case he had filed against several supreme court justices, including Chief Justice Sarath Silva. He was released early for good behaviour. His imprisonment led the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Param Cumaraswamy, to express ‘shock?at Silva hearing a case against himself. "I am not going into the merits of the case. The question here is if it is proper for the chief justice after having been made a party to a case to sit on the panel and adjudicate on the matter," Cumaraswamy said in February. Fernando said his struggle had been for the freedom of expression and the independence of the judiciary..." (Agence France-Presse, Friday 17 October 2003) "When an injustice happens to us where else can we go other than to the Supreme Court or any other court? We go unarmed, we cannot take hand-bombs and grenades, and demand justice. We are in a democratic institution, the only weapon I took was the country’s supreme constitution and I read the country’s constitution in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka but I was sentenced like a criminal and sent to jail. I tried to explain myself after the sentence, and the chair looked at me in an angry manner and said ‘if you talk one more word we are going to extend your term of sentence for more than one year.?It was a threat. It was the threat for justice and fairplay." (Sunday Leader, 19 October 2003) "In this case, the fact that the man had been sentenced to one year rigorous imprisonment for contempt of court due to his insisting on proceeding with his fundamental rights application which he was supporting in the Supreme Court and ‘speaking loudly in court? marks this instance out in a very unique way from others. This case is also distinguishable by the fact that all those well funded civil society organizations based in Colombo lifted nary a finger in aid of this same litigant... Laws cannot replace principles of fairness, justice and respect for the rights of others. These are salutary thoughts that we would do well to ponder upon as this country’s policy makers prepare legislation codifying principles of contempt of court applicable to Sri Lanka." (Sunday Times, 19 October 2003)

The key factors to be gleaned from Tony’s case are the following:

1. An individual case (micro-study approach) addressing a larger, systemic issue;

2. Keeping the issue alive over an extended period of time;

3. Activism - actions undertaken by local groups, as well as by international agencies such as the AHRC, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.

These three factors are behind the success of Tony’s campaign, and can be used in effective campaigning for other human rights issues. They are addressed in more detail below.

1. An individual case (micro-study approach) addressing a larger, systemic issue

This is a very important point to be understood. Not only is it important in Tony’s case, but it is central to effective campaigning in general. The fundamental rights denied to Tony indicate a systemic flaw, which is the end issue to be addressed. Addressing it through a micro-study approach allows the violated rights of an individual victim to be redressed, as well as exposes the systemic flaws in a manner able to be understood by other lay persons, therein creating greater support amongst the ordinary people.

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Individual case: Tony is sentenced to one year rigorous imprisonment for contempt of court. However, contempt was not clearly established, and the chief justice, who was named a respondent in the case, was one of the presiding judges. Systemic issue: Lack of judicial accountability/impartiality.

2. Keeping the issue alive over an extended period of time

For the correction of any human rights violation to be successful and to result in systemic reforms, the interest in the issue must be kept alive until the intended results are achieved. This requires the consistent dissemination of information about the violation. It is important to do this without being too repetitive, so as to ensure that the public interest in the issue does not wane. Creative actions must be taken, which present the relevant information in different ways. For Tony’s campaign, some of the novel actions taken were:

• An online petition on behalf of Tony (with over 3,200 signatures)
• A communication filed at the UN Human Rights Committee
• A newspaper advertisement in Sri Lanka giving information about Tony’s case
• The sending of AHRC urgent appeals, press releases, statements

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In addition to the regular statements etc, Tony’s campaign relied on other methods to disseminate information and keep the interest in the case at the same time. Another effect of taking such novel actions is the different audiences the campaign can then reach; for instance, while the Sri Lankan newspaper advertisement targets the local population, the UN Communication targets a more international and government level audience. For a successful campaign or movement, it is important to bring together all the different groups of people.

Tony was sentenced on 6 February 2003 for one year on charges of contempt. He was released on 17 October 2003. Between this time a movement to release him, as well as a dialogue on judicial accountability in Sri Lanka was created.

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3. Activism - actions undertaken by local groups, as well as by international agencies such as AHRC, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers

Mass support is obviously essential for effective campaigning on human rights issues. Such support is not only useful in helping the victims of violations, but it can become the beginnings of a movement against the larger, systemic issues that allow such violations. This was the case in Sri Lanka; where previously silence had reigned against the judiciary, Tony’s case provided the impetus for dialogue about the judiciary’s lack of independence and accountability.

a. Local actions

• A local solidarity group launched a petition on behalf of Tony, which AHRC then put on their website;
• Activists and individuals wrote many letters regarding Tony¡¯s case, as well as supported Tony¡¯s family.

b. International actions

• At the onset of Tony¡¯s case, AHRC sent out an urgent appeal immediately, and continued to do so periodically, with updates and other information;
• Jana Sammathaya (or Folk Consensus), an AHRC e-newsletter on Sri Lankan issues, focused exclusively on Tony¡¯s case for several of its issues;
• AHRC took out a newspaper advertisement in Sri Lanka with information about Tony¡¯s case;
• AHRC declared Tony as a ¡®Prisoner of Conscience¡¯, and nominated him for an AHRC Human Rights Defenders Award (on the day of his release, Tony was awarded with the Human Rights Defenders Award);
• AHRC¡¯s sister organization, the Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) made an oral submission regarding Tony at the 59th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights;
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers described Tony as a 'victim of injustice,' and called upon the Sri Lankan Bar to rally support;
• AHRC also gave some financial assistance to Tony and his family.

The actions that were undertaken led not only to a movement petitioning Tony's release, but also questioned the integrity of the Sri Lankan judiciary. The result of this movement is the recent appointment of a select committee of Parliament to inquire into and report on the Law Relating to Contempt of Court and to make recommendations regarding the codification of the existing law.

B. Questions For Discussion

1. The Sri Lankan National Human Rights Commission mandate includes the defense and promotion of human rights, the education of the peoples in human rights issues and the defense of victims of human rights abuses; and yet, in Tony’s case the Commission stated that the issue was outside their mandate. Why do you think this was the reaction of the NHRC? Given their mandate, reflect on how the Commission could have intervened in Tony’s case, and how they could have used this incident as an avenue for human rights promotion and awareness.
2. Discuss how local groups and organizations could have increased the effectiveness of Tony’s campaign. As stated in one of the press reports quoted at the beginning of the lesson, why do you think the elitist human rights organizations in Sri Lanka did not take up Tony’s case, and what does this suggest about their concept of human rights?
3. Choose one or two of the actions undertaken by AHRC in Tony’s campaign and discuss how they can effectively be used for your own campaign.
4. Reflect on other micro-studies (i.e. individual cases) of human rights violations you are aware of, and discuss the systemic flaws they indicate/point towards.