A stubby man in an open-necked shirt stands against the backdrop of a Buddhist temple in Kelaniya, on the outskirts of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, waving a thick forefinger threateningly in the air. Mervyn Silva, the minister of public relations, growls that traitors should be executed as in the times of ancient kings.
Only days before, Silva also volunteered to break the limbs of Sri Lankan journalists living in exile. He claimed they had campaigned for the US-led resolution initiative in the UN Human Rights Council urging the Mahinda Rajapaksa government to take steps for reconciliation and accountability for war crimes. This time the 'traitors' were members of civil society who help to sustain international focus on human rights issues.
Other ministers distanced themselves and the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa from Silva's murderous rhetoric. But tellingly, neither his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (of which President Rajapaksa is leader) nor the government has disciplined him. They well know that this 'traitor talk' sells among the public.
Thousands of civilians died in a bloody climax that ended 30 years of brutal war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and human rights activists have been demanding accountability for war crimes alleged to have been committed by government forces. But the Sri Lankan government insists that such demands are lopsided – given that there is not equal censure of the murderous Tigers – and asks the international community to help rebuild the country instead.