BMICH cancels BASL booking 

By Niranjala Ariyawansa-March 10, 2014

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), charged that a meeting which had been organized for 20 March by the Bar Council of Sri Lanka, having obtained the consent of the BASL in this regard, had been cancelled by the administration of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) for no valid reason.


President of the Bar Association, Attorney-at-Law Upul Jayasuriya, said the meeting was to be held to discuss the government's Gazette notification which stipulates that police powers of 22 districts will be handed over to the Army, as well as the collapse of the rule of law in the country.


Jayasuriya added that the venue had been cancelled by citing that a meeting headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa was to take place at the BMICH on the said date.
He noted that the venue had been booked and the cost of hire of the same had been paid by the BASL several months ahead of the planned date.

The BASL President added that, strangely, a meeting headed by the President had not been scheduled for 20 March at the BMICH. "We had planned the meeting months ahead, and sent out invitations to the guests.
"We paid for the venue and have the receipt issued for the same.

"Suddenly, we are being told that the hall has been reserved for a special meeting at which the President is due to preside. This is a lie. This is the sad state of affairs in the country with regard to the rule of law," Jayasuriya told Ceylon Today.
According to the President of the Bar Association, the participants of the meeting would include engineers, lawyers, intellectuals, trade unionists and retired judges.

He further said the government was intimidated by the fact that the agenda of the meeting was due to focus on the shootings of the labourers in the Katunayake and Chilaw Free Trade Zones, as well as the assault on the residents of Rathupaswala, which was carried out by enlisting the Army to quell the protesters.