SLFP Lawyers refuse to give pro impeachment statement: Lawyers jointly to stage protest on 4th March as scheduled
When the Executive Committee of the SLFP Lawyers met yesterday over extending support to the Govt. in respect of the impeachment , only 15 of them were present , while others kept away. Though desperate attempts were made to whip up support for the impeachment motion , none was disposed in favor of giving a statement supporting it. They had declared that they had to practice their profession in courts and not with the Rajapakses. Hence they cannot make an announcement against the judiciary , and if they do they will not be able to enter even the court precincts. What’s more ! even an SLFP national list ex judge has expressed the same sentiment and abhorred the impeachment.
Champani Padmasekera, Saliya Mathew, D P Mendis and some others had participated in this meeting.
Chamal Rajapakse who was until yesterday able to barely safeguard his reputation despite being of the Rajapakse family, ( that is carrying tons and tons of wrath and hate of the people) now after his announcement in Parliament as the speaker against the Supreme court , he had also lost that last trace of his prestige he was clinging on to precariously. The lawyers who were at the meeting had stated that they cannot commit the same indiscretion as the Speaker , for the speaker is full of remorse after his imprudent action not knowing what to do , as he knows even a hundred elephants cannot pull down the monumental blunder he had committed. Even senior Lawyer Nimal Siripala De Silva has lost the regard and respect he had in the court following the impeachment, the lawyers had pointed out.Some lawyers who did not wish to let down their party wholesale tried to defend MaRa by saying Mahinda Rajapakse was opposed to this move from the outset , but it was Basil who agitated in its favor. No matter what defense was advanced at this belated stage , the majority of the Lawyers who were more intelligent frowned on the whole episode.
Meanwhile , the massive protest demonstrations organized by Lawyers jointly together with the trade unions to be staged on the 4th of December against the impeachment and in support of an independent judiciary is to be held as scheduled. Nervous Basil whose efforts to break up the mounting opposition had been a flop so far, has organized another demonstration to counter the Lawyers cum trade unions campaign on the 4th, it is learnt.