THE MIRUSUVIL CASE: WHY SEARCHING REFORM IS URGENT AND NECESSARY
Image courtesy Daily News
- - on 07/02/2015
The High Court Trial at Bar’s recent conviction and sentencing of Staff Sergeant Sunil Rathnayake to death for what has come to be known as the ‘Mirusuvil massacre’ was met with the entirely expected and bellicose outrage of extremist nationalist Sinhala Buddhist elements. But a more interesting and nuanced response emerged from within the state apparatus. A military spokesman claimed that the judgment demonstrates the capacity of Sri Lanka’s legal system to deal with human rights violations – a view echoed by many others including officers of the Attorney General’s Department who handled the prosecution.
