jodi vance, al jazeera, vancouver. ♪ >> i am with the headlines from al jazeera. envoys from several western countries have met with the prime minister at his residence. that comes a day after the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken spoke to him. international pressures growing on suydam's military leaders. african union has suspended khartoum from meetings. the united nations says there's

a cause for all government officials to be released. >> what's important for the secretary-general and for all of us is to see the immediate and unconditional release of all of the government officials who continue to be unlawfully detained as well as activists, anyone else who has been detained arbitrarily by the authorities, and everyone's human rights, of course, must be respected. the secretary-general has been on the phone, and his advisers have been in touch with relevant people. >> the european court of justice has ordered poland to pay a daily find of -- fine of 101 million dollars in a row over judicial reforms. ecuador's president has called for dialogue as protests in the country continue for a second day.

people are demanding the president reversed his decision to increase fuel prices. those are the headlines. stay with us on al jazeera. "inside story" is next. ♪ >> how exactly will you plan to roll all sri lankan communities under one law that will represent everyone? while also trying to help heal divisions within society. the decision to appoint a buddhist monk to oversee these sweeping reforms is stoking controversy. this is "inside story." ♪

hashem: hello, welcome to the program. sri lanka has a long history of ethnic and religious tensions, and with the new plan, the president hopes to heal those divisions by carrying out a series of reforms. he has just reported a task force to establish a blanket system for all communities. the so-called one country, one law concept aims to end discrimination across sri lanka, but the panel will be headed by a controversial buddhist monk known for his anti-muslim stance. he will be leading a 13 member committee that includes four muslim representatives, but no tamils. muslims make up almost 10% of sri lanka's 22 million people, who are predominantly buddhist.

gotabaya rajapaksa was elected in 2019 with the backing of the buddhist majority. critics say the president promoted the plan during his presidential campaign to secure their support. president good tobias --president rajapaksa, more than 250 people were killed in a series of well coordinated attacks on churches and hotels. the incident was blamed on an isil-linked group. since then, there's been an uptick in violence against muslims on the island. minorities are suffering from consistent harassment over the years of sentiment. the tamil minority has also played a part in these tensions. separatists from the community fought a violent insurgency against government forces for decades, until the civil war

ended in 2009. we will get our guests shortly, but first, a report from colombo. reporter: people are waiting to see what exactly this means. the presidential task force on one country, one law, as it's being described, is something that the president says will be required to look and review existing laws as well as to recommend and draft new laws that feed into this concept of one country, one law. that is very much in keeping with one of the pillars of gotabaya rajapaksa's presidential campaign, to bring the country under one umbrella. for minorities, they are looking at this with mixed feelings, waiting to see what exactly it contains and what exactly the government's plans are. one concern though, right at the outset, is the leadership of that presidential task force, a

controversial figure. >> a notorious monk has been appointed as the chairperson of this task force. it is worrying because the monk has been instigating violence against minorities in the country in the past and was at the forefront of some of these racist attacks that happened in the past. in the last few weeks, he has come on state media and has been talking about a new set of attacks that have happened in sri lanka, which is worrying, because a person who has been delegated to execute power, it looks like gotabaya rajapaksa's delegated powers to this notorious monk. it's very worrying as to what can happen in the future. reporter: as indicated by the parliament, the inclusion at the head of this task force of a controversial buddhist monk is something of a sense of concern. this is about the bona fide is

of what the government is trying to do. for most minorities, what they were asking for and calling for is that every single citizen, no matter what race, what religion, is treated as equal before the law. it should not matter what political ideology or religion. that is the concern the government will have to allay. we asked the government for a comment or reaction to answer questions, but at this stage, they said they are still reviewing the news and would comment at a later stage, but far minorities, they are waiting to see. sri lanka has always been a diverse fabric of communities that have lived side-by-side for centuries. this has also been its strength. what it is hoping, that this is not going to be a one country,

one law where all of that unique difference is forced to be sort of second to a majoritarian kind of law, but the government will have to allay these fears. "inside story", colombo. hashem: let's bring in our guests. in colombo, bhavani fonseka at the centre for policy alternatives. in nottingham, thamil venthan ananthavinayagan, lecturer in the international human rights law at university of nottingham. also in colombo, shreen abdul saroor, cofounder of women's action network. welcome to the program. let's talk about the one country, one law concept. is it an attempt by the government or by rajapaksa in particular to bring all the nation under one legal code

irrespective of religious identities and ethnic affiliations? bhavani: thank you for having me. we realized a few hours ago that the government, the president has issued someone appointing this task force. one looks at the mandate of the task force, and it is clear, to take forward this policy of one country, one law. there are a couple of issues one needs to factor in. this is not a new thing. we have heard these things in 2019 with the election manifesto gotabaya rajapaksa o, and since he came into office, we heard this rhetoric of one country, one law policy. it is not new. what is new is it is now being driven through this task force and cultural taskforces.

that is one aspect. the others the composition of the task force, which is headed by a very divisive buddhist monk . there's a whole history to his background and what he has done in the past, but also very seriously, he's been convicted for contempt of court in the highest court in sri lanka. there's a lot of issues around this, but fundamentally, the question is, why do we need this task force, and what is the purpose of the task force at this moment? hashem: ok, that is really the question everyone is asking. why would you need this particular lot now when you have a diverse nation such as sri lanka? thamil: thank you very much. i'm very pleased to be here as well. to echo what bhavani just said,

what rajapaksa and his family ran on was this electoral base and they are just giving back with this electoral base once, mainly establishing a single hegemony in a country, and an atmosphere of majoritarianism that is deeply entrenched in sri lanka for decades. it is interesting enough that they are using and doing it now when they are at the very crossfire with the united nations. please consider mbo air that sri lanka has a vibrant -- and be aware that sri lanka has a vibrant interaction with the united nations, and the united nations in 2014 and 2017, before the you and -- u.n., asked to disavow the muslim laws.

the increasing thing now is international human rights law is used as a trojan horse to introduce this legal hegemony that is pandering to the electoral based in the country. hashem: usually, when you want to sell a law to the people or when you want to win hearts and minds, you bring about someone who can build bridges. this choice has been absolutely controversial from day one. why do you think that rajapaksa is putting the monk at the head of this committee? shreen: because i think rajapaksa's politics is about provoking anti-muslim sentiment and that is the only way forward to continue with this country right now, the country is almost collapsing with regards to the economy.

he has the buddhist ideal they talked about, one country, one law, is the rajapaksa campaign. the president is becoming very unpopular in the context of that and we see that this is all about anti-muslim rhetoric again. thank you. hashem: when you look at the supporters of the new panel, they will tell you basically, they have personal laws that are discriminating against women in sri lanka, failing to address domestic violence in forced marriages, and about a legal code that will be the fundamental law in sri lanka. for this reason, what rajapaksa is genuine and justified? bhavani: i think the question to ask is why is it being done by a task force?

i think those who are not aware of it, there are several committees set up by the minister of justice. there are several committees looking at law reform. the lawmaking crew says there's a particular systemic structure in sri lanka. . are we now seeing a task force headed by a buddhist monk is the base reform in terms of law reform in sri lanka? not just about gender, but any law should be drafted by a task force, and headed by someone who has no legal background? that is one question to ask. the other one is we also have experts that have been looking at other issues, and there are reports. what is this new initiative going to add to it? there are a lot of questions i would say, as a lawyer, i have in terms of a task force being given this mandate.

that is something that really needs to be questions. -- questioned. hashem: you read about cultural relativism in terms of minorities, sing this government has to understand that culture is to be respected the government says we are adhering to international order that is more in favor of implementing universal human rights. how do you respond to this? thamil: thank for this question. to echo bhavani as well again and unravel this a little bit further, the point of the matter is sri lanka is a postcolonial country, and has inherited many of the malays that the country inherited from the british, and the portuguese, and the dutch. there's an amalgam of cultures

in the country as a present, but using this argument of universalizing human rights, something the sri lankan lawmakers have always opposed, now using it for their own purpose to further legal hegemony and completely marginalizing and liquidating the identities of a multicultural country, is completely contrary to the point. i'm coming from a scholarship which is called the third world approaches to international law, and we have to consider that many fault narratives exist in the country rather than abolishing them, and that is the purpose of this task force. it is an trenching legal hegemony, cultural hegemony, but also further expanding the presidency of rajapaksa. that is a great threat, and being someone who is ethnically tamil, we don't see any tamil representation as well in the task force.

and as usual, these taskforces are running on the concept of representation of the majority, with some token representatives from minorities. this is the usual tactic that has been employed in postcolonial sri lanka. hashem: the general sentiment is this is an attempt to foment a buddhist supremacist rule in sri lanka. what would be the next move for the muslim minority? shreen: it's very difficult because it is coming at a time, as you pointed out, this reform has been discussed, and women for the last 40 years have been fighting for these reforms. it's also interesting, this particular committee can also look at the draft laws that are being drafted and some of the amendments being done by the justice ministry. it's very tough for those of us who have been fighting for women's rights and children's rights in the country, equality

before the law for all, and this convicted, extremist criminal has been brought in as the head of the committee. it is difficult to challenge moving forward, because the president has appointed the task force. he's also appointed other taskforces because the 20th amendment gives him that power. i don't know if you can go to the supreme court on the task force itself, but maybe we will be able to turn -- challenge committees. i'm thinking this is not only the muslim personal lot reform, but there are other things on the chopping board of abolishing the madrasa banning of hello food, and scrutiny of arabic script, and also arabic translation -- halal food,

scrutiny of arabic script and arabic translation, and probably there's a possibility of them bringing in de-radicalization processes also into this particular committee. it is very complex and we need to challenge this in whatever possible way, and at the same time, we have the muslim mp's who have crossed over. given rajapaksa's 20th amendment and the power he has against muslims, we have to look into this clearly. hashem: is it the buddhist nationalist sentiment that has pointed us to this, or was it the 2019 attacks that was the moment for rajapaksa to say,

this is my moment to implement the policies i would like to implement? bhavani: i think it is important to look at recent history. the attacks against the muslim community goes back years, really decades, but the more recent attacks in the postwar period, we've seen attacks in 2014, 2018, specific incidents where one particular buddhist monk is linked. if you look at that incident and individual, that individual now is heading a task force. there is a particular culture that has been built and impunity one individual enjoys under the rajapaksa regime. this task force legitimizes his role, the impunity he enjoys, but also sends a message to the

minorities in this country that they are second-class citizens, that the majority community and particularly buddhist monks, who are known and there's evidence of incitement, can get away with so much. not just that, not just the incitement and the racism, this is an individual who has been convicted for contempt of court. by appointing him to this particular task force, the president is sending a direct message that he does not care about the judicial process. he does not care about the lawmaking process. this has huge implications as to what the president has done. the implications are long-term and consent sri lanka back in so many ways. that needs to be recognized and taken on. that is an important point. hashem: the international

committee has been very critical of the atrocities against the tamil. by excluding a tamil or tamils from this task force, is the government, or is rajapaksa inciting ethnic and religious animosities once again? thamil: indeed. the current president was spearheading, he was the architect of the end of the war, the civil war that lasted for 26 years, in 2009, and not including now the tamils, although the rajapaksa family is making so-called efforts by speaking tamil in public or pretending to care for tamil issues on various fronts. the non-nomination of a tamil to this task force, which is only

circumventing the usual legal process, is just undercutting and undermining any credibility. in his presidency from the perspective of the tamils, but also as we pointed out, he is spearheading hate in the country and anti-tamil hate in the country. this is a new legal empire that favors the majority and sidelines the minorities in the country and is not leading any way to a real reconciliation. the united nations and international organizations have tried to strive for reconciliation on many occasions. i don't want to go into the details of such, but the failure

is evident. we don't see reconciliation nor nomination of the tamil as evidence. hashem: since 2019 these are some of the decisions made by the president, seen as anti-muslim, particularly the ban on burqas, the reclamation policy for the covid-19 debt and refusing to allow muslims to bury their dead according to their religion. is this interpreted by muslims as an indication that the government or rajapaksa in particular is adamant in his anti-muslim stance? shreen: definitely. we are made to feel that we are no more citizens of this country. minority communities in this country feel they are citizens and we have to stomach what the majority says to us, and if we

don't, we have to get out the whole one country, one law is about that it is a buddhist state. this is what the president said in his inaugural speech. this is a buddhist state, i am a president elected by a community of buddhists, but i will look after minorities as well. this was clearly indicated in his speech. he is indicating that ever since he took over office, and interesting, all of the taskforces he has been appointing are the military men, all the clergymen, and the women's representation is missing. he's not only imminen -- intimidating minorities, but women are left out of all the processes of what he's been doing. it's also interesting because at a time when women from various minority communities have been also in the forefront articulating for various reforms in the president comes up with a task force with criminals and

military men, and on this task force, we don't know who these muslims are also, so it can be one section of the muslim community. this also can divide the muslim community into pieces. if the president is giving only one section of the muslim community, one sect, and the rest of the community is being vilified, it is problematic. not too long ago, gotabaya rajapaksa, the monk, told the public media that it is a lot -- allah, that that is the reason terrorism is happening. hashem: thank you. we are running out of time. shreen abdul saroor, thamil venthan ananthavinayagan, and bhavani fonseka, i really appreciate your insights. thank you. and thank you as well for watching. see the problem and -- see the

program anytime. go to facebook.com/aj insidestory. for me and the entire team, goodbye for now. ♪

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