Puncturing pomposity

Insurgents are never going to want to go toe-to-toe in the conflict arena with a conventional military force, but rather, to emerge, briefly, from a community, then blend back in. The vast majority of countries regard that as the lesser of two evils: the greater evil would be to attack regardless. In Sri Lanka's "counter-insurgency" campaign it was the other way round.

That should caution us against attempting to learn lessons from the likes of Mr DeSilva-Ranasinghe. And we should keep a focus on the continuing suppression of government critics, civil society, and media; the restricted access for independent monitors to the northern and eastern parts of the country where the fighting occurred and the disturbing lack of information about an estimated 8,000 alleged Tamil Tiger fighters currently detained, without trial, in so-called rehabilitation camps that remain closed to outside observers.

Australia has been notably backward in joining international efforts to press these concerns. It never backed the call, by the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Judge Navi Pillay, for an independent international investigation of alleged war crimes. It did not join the European Union in making trade conditional on improved behaviour, or the US and some European countries which tried to apply a squeeze through the International Monetary Fund.

Instead, Canberra appeared preoccupied with securing Sri Lanka's cooperation in forestalling boat departures of refugees, and the political problems they might bring in their wake. Perhaps that is why blandishments of the kind likely to be served up with the vols-au-vents at the Rydges can be expected to go down well with many of the delegates.