No Tears For Departed Attorney Generals
By Basil Fernando -November 7, 2013
C.R. De Silva
Why I have no tears for departed Attorney Generals:
Do we feel sorry for ones extinguishing the light
Leaving everything in the dark?
Is there any crime worse than
Killing the soul of a nation?
Is not justice the soul of the nation?
Subverting justice was raised
To an art.
Molding the young to lie
Without compunction.
Teaching the abductors and murderers
In uniform to lie under oath
And crafting them false affidavits
To subvert the writ of habeas corpus.
Cynically putting into wastepaper baskets
Thousands and thousands of letters
Written by mothers in tears.
Eloquently lying in august international forums,
Defending the indefensible.
All this for a post or a promotion,
For the proverbial 30 pieces of silver.
Turning upside down
The house of justice.
No, I have no tears
For departed Attorney Generals.
They killed the soul of my nation.
We are all dead now
Roaming in a justice-less nation.
Tears are for the citizens, the living
And those yet to come,
To the desolate nation.
No, I have no tears for departed Attorney Generals.
C.R. De Silva
Why I have no tears for departed Attorney Generals:To an art.
Molding the young to lie
Without compunction.
Teaching the abductors and murderers
In uniform to lie under oath
And crafting them false affidavits
To subvert the writ of habeas corpus.
Cynically putting into wastepaper baskets
Thousands and thousands of letters
Written by mothers in tears.
Defending the indefensible.
All this for a post or a promotion,
For the proverbial 30 pieces of silver.
Turning upside down
The house of justice.
LLRC Chairman Passes Away
November 7, 2013
Chitta Ranjan De Silva, fondly known as ‘Bulla’ in the legal fraternity, who chaired the Government’s Reconciliation Commission passed away following an illness this morning.
C.R. De Silva
C.R. De Silva served as Solicitor General and then Attorney General of Sri Lanka.
He was appointed to chair the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2010, and delivered a strong report and progressive recommendations, despite fears the Commission would toe the Government line on alleged rights abuses during the war.
Earlier this year when the Government moved to impeach Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, the President urged De Silva to accept the position as CJ 44. De Silva repeatedly rejected the offer.
Mohan Pieris who is also a former AG was the choice of Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa, while ‘Bulla’ was the President’s preferred choice, Colombo Telegraph learns.
