SRI LANKA: Why is Sri Lanka abandoning a court centered, law based system of justice?

November 6, 2012

A reflection on the 16th murder in Kahawatte, gruesome violence in Galle and the petition for impeachment

The 16th murder of a woman took place at Kahawatte last week. The woman is said to be 65 years old and was staying alone in the house until her son came back, when she was brutally murdered. Her body was found in the parlor of the house when the son returned. People of Kahawatte have been under the threat of these kinds of mysterious murders. The police from time to time claimed that they have solved the problem and the now the situation is under control. However, the credibility of such statements is then tested by new events like the one that happened last week. It was only three months back that a mother and a daughter were brutally murdered in their own house. 

There are also the incidents in Galle, which are gruesome and bewildering. One man was attacked, one of his arms and a foot was cut off, and then he was stabbed in the back and left on the road. A video published on the internet showed this gruesome and sad sight. It is said that he lay there for quite some time before an ambulance reached to take him to the hospital. The video footage shows that while there were many people nearby, no one even dared to come near him or to offer any kind of assistance. It was reported later that this man died due to his injuries. According to the reports, some persons came from behind him in a van while he was going on his motorcycle and knocked him down. And then after he felt he was cut and stabbed. Two policemen watched the brutal attack and his prolonged struggles as he bled out but they did not intervene. Read More...