Uku Finally Responds: Sharma Did Not Meet GL
September 8, 2013 |
Commonwealth Spokesman Richard Uku in his first ever response to a series of articles about the Commonwealth Secretariat in the Colombo Telegraph, says that contrary to our report After Pillay: Sharma to do Damage Control for Lanka, Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma did not meet with External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris during his visit to London last week.
Sharma and Uku
“The Secretary-General was in fact in South Africa attending the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference for the entire duration of Minister Peiris’s recent visit to the United Kingdom. The two, therefore did not meet,” Uku said in an emailed response to the Colombo Telegraph.
Uku added that Sharma had not advised the Government to reverse judicial orders regarding the impeachment of “the former Chief Justice”. “Nor would he,” the Spokesman said.
“That the Secretary-General said anything on the subject is completely false,” he said. “The separation of powers between the branches of government is a fundamental Commonwealth value. This is clear from the Secretary-General’s earlier public statement. It is inconceivable that any Commonwealth Secretary-General would offer such advice,” the Spokesman wrote.
He added that the Commonwealth Secretary-General has publicly welcomed recognition in Sri Lanka of the need for change following the removal of the former Chief Justice. He has since made available to the government an expert analysis of the practice in all Commonwealth countries relating to the appointment and removal of senior judicial figures, and has offered further Commonwealth assistance, Uku concluded.
Editor’s Note: With reference to the story Richard Uku has responded to, Colombo Telegraph maintains that the article was based on Human Rights Commissioner of Sri Lanka, Prathibha Mahanama’s discussions with a group of lawyers and government officials. These sources reiterate that Secretary General has undertaken to give the Government support to mitigate the effects of Navi Pillay’s closing statement following her visit to Sri Lanka and her oral country report due later this month. Colombo Telegraph is at present unable to obtain information about what kind of expert assistance and analysis of the practice in the Commonwealth countries relating to the appointment and removal of senior judicial figures the Secretariat hopes to grant Sri Lanka. What is available in the public domain is only the suppression of the expert opinions already obtained by the SG from the CMAG. Colombo Telegraph will divulge more information about the meetings and conversations between the Secretary General and the Sri Lankan Minister and authorities as soon as it becomes available. Read More
