Govt. toughens its stand on CJ issue as crisis grows
"Neethi Kekulu", the annual celebrations with children of lawyers taking part in various events was held recently with Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayke as the Chief Guest. Here Chief Justice Bandaranayke arrives for the event at the Tower Hall in Maradana. Pix by Susantha Liyanawatta
By Our Political Editor-Sunday, December 16, 2012
= JSA, BASL, Congress of Religions, Commonwealth and international groups issue strong statements
= President says he will act according to his conscience and appoint an independent committee to review proceedings, but expresses different view at meeting with media bosses
= President says he will act according to his conscience and appoint an independent committee to review proceedings, but expresses different view at meeting with media bosses
Cabinet ministers received urgent telephone calls last Wednesday to turn up at “Temple Trees,” now the official residence of the President, an hour ahead of the weekly meeting that evening.
Soon after they gathered at 6 p.m. a strategy session on how to cope with matters relating to the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake began. The immediate focus was a general membership meeting of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) scheduled for yesterday.
The BASL discussed further measures to oppose the impeachment and adopted resolutions. One of the resolutions adopted was not to welcome any new appointee to the office of the Chief Justice. The three resolutions are:
- �In the light of the speech made by His Excellency the President on 11th December 2012 to evaluate the report of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee of the impeachment against the Chief Justice through an independent committee, we urge His Excellency to re-consider the impeachment.
- �In the event His Excellency the President and/or the Hon. Members of Parliament who are signatories to the impeachment resolution wish to proceed with it further, we urge His Excellency the President, the Hon. Speaker and the Parliament to formulate and enact procedural laws in relation to removal of the Judges of the Superior Courts while ensuring a fair trail by adhering to principles of natural justice before further proceedings are taken on the said impeachment.
- In the event the incumbent Chief Justice is removed without giving an opportunity to have a fair trial in compliance with rules of natural justice, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka shall not welcome the newly appointed Chief Justice.
Coming in for serious criticism during the Cabinet discussion was BASL President Wijayadasa Rajapakshe. Hence, it was felt that lawyers backing the Government should move a vote of no-confidence against him. Minister Maithripala Sirisena said a co-ordinated campaign should be launched to counter the anti-government campaign by those opposing the impeachment. For this purpose, he said, Ministers and MPs would liaise closely with provincial and local government politicians. They would organise protests outside courthouses in the districts and hold other events to educate the people.
The strategy session was due to conclude when President Rajapaksa arrived for the meeting. In brief closing remarks, he said the Government should watch the developments carefully. What played out at the BASL sessions yesterday appears elsewhere today in the Sunday Times. Thereafter, Rajapaksa and his ministers adjourned to the cabinet room at “Temple Trees” at 7 p.m. for the weekly meeting. Since ministers had aired their views on the impeachment at the strategy session, events at the Cabinet were routine and devoted to the approval of memoranda.Among them was one titled “From Conflict to Stability – 2009 to 2012″ presented by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa. The report from the Presidential Task Force for Resettlement, Development and Security – a body which he chairs — spelt out matters relating to development activity in the North and the resettlement of displaced persons. It also dealt with major economic and social infrastructure required for long term-economic development in the area. Whilst tabling the English copy of the report, he said the Sinhala and Tamil texts would be released when ready.
Yet, the Government’s and the legal fraternity appeared to be preoccupied with the impeachment resolution. The findings of Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC)’s seven government MPs who held that Chief Justice Bandaranayake was guilty on three counts, continue to generate controversy. At least for a while it appeared that the Government was veering towards softening its stance in the backdrop of severe criticism and discontent.
However, soon the position was officially clarified thereafter and it turned out it had toughened once more. Between the softening and the toughening there appeared to be a political storm within the Government. Here is the sequence of events.
On Tuesday, President Rajapaksa announced that he would appoint “an independent committee and obtain a further report”. His remarks came during a speech he made in Sinhala after declaring open a new building complex for the Institute of Chartered Accountants at Dr. Gunapala Malalasekera Mawatha in Colombo 7. He was responding to the issue which was raised by a previous speaker, Consumer Affairs Minister Johnston Fernando. The announcement did cause ripples in many sectors. There was discomfort among government members of the PSC. They were unsure why another “committee” should conduct a probe on their own findings.
A larger concern was expressed by many parliamentarians, both government and the opposition.
Since the Parliament “is supreme,” they argued that, any other committee or body formally conducting a review of PSC findings would raise serious issues over the supremacy of the legislature. Hence, they contended that it ran counter to the Government’s repeatedly articulated position that Parliament was “supreme”. President Rajapaksa seems to have taken another about-turn towards the hard-line position. The Government’s original position was then re-iterated once more at his breakfast meeting on Thursday morning with editors of national newspapers, heads of television and radio stations.
Taking the centre stage at the event were PSC Chairman Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and its six government members. First to edited excerpts of an English translation of what Rajapaksa said at the Institute of Chartered Accountants: Read More
Since the Parliament “is supreme,” they argued that, any other committee or body formally conducting a review of PSC findings would raise serious issues over the supremacy of the legislature. Hence, they contended that it ran counter to the Government’s repeatedly articulated position that Parliament was “supreme”. President Rajapaksa seems to have taken another about-turn towards the hard-line position. The Government’s original position was then re-iterated once more at his breakfast meeting on Thursday morning with editors of national newspapers, heads of television and radio stations.
Taking the centre stage at the event were PSC Chairman Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and its six government members. First to edited excerpts of an English translation of what Rajapaksa said at the Institute of Chartered Accountants: Read More
