SRI LANKA: The ugliest attack in Sri Lanka’s history on the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice

October 27, 2012

Sri Lanka's judges and lawyers demonstrate next to a coffin which they said symbolized the death of independent judiciary as they protest outside a court complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012. (AHRC File Photo)

Mahinda Rajapaksha Regime has resorted to the ugliest attack in Sri Lankan on the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice this week by using the state media as a slander machine and being mean to introduce manufactured slanders letters to the parliament solely with the purpose of abusing the parliamentary privilege for based purpose. The government has within its position the schemers of lowest quality who could manufacture any lie, and there are others who will introduce such lies in the highest of the country Sri Lanka’s parliament, and people in the state’s media who will defy every rule in journalistic ethics to do whatever that the government demand. However the responsibility lies entirely within president Rajapaksha himself for allowing such a scheme to be carried out.

Manufacturing a slander sheet is an easy affair. Whoever to allow such a slander sheet in the country’s most august form requires unscrupulousness and carelessness regarding every form of decorum and public etiquette require in the use of materials in county’s parliament. This is one of the worst act of irresponsibility that defamed the parliament itself and the very tradition of parliamentary debate anywhere in the world. It is not just fools but criminals that could allow the abuse of parliamentary process in this manner.

Issue involve was an attempted abduction and an attack by four unidentified persons on the secretary of the Judicial Service Commission on 7th of October 2012. So far the police have file reports in the courts that they are unable to identify the culprits of this attack. And then the government introduces scrupulous letter stating that it was the chief justice’s husband who has organized the attack because he has suspected an illicit relationship between the chief justice and the secretary of judicial service commission. Countries criminal justice investigators have declared to the court that they do not know who the attackers are. And then the government introduces this despicable letter manufactured by some mean person to the countries august body. The question is what the place of criminal investigation in Sri Lanka is. Has is being taken over or by past by persons who write scrupulous leaflets.

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka was established on 1802. Up to this date there had never been this kind of mean attacks on the Supreme Court or the Chief Justice. It marked perhaps the lowest point of political culture when a government in power could abuse the parliamentary privilege in this fashion. And it is worse when a slander machine is utilized to attack the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice.

Strategy behind the government action is this. Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission in a press statement complained that the public media is carrying on a campaigned against the Judicial Service Commission and the independence of judiciary. Then the government retaliates with a thousand times worst used abuse of publicity and the public media in attacking the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice herself.

In doing this government resorts to the lowest forms of abuse by taking advantage of the vulnerability of Chief Justice being a woman. This is one of the worst sexist attack and the women movement in Sri Lanka and every woman in Sri Lanka and anywhere else in the world much revolt against this ugly abuse on a woman holding a public office. Does this mean that every time the government is unhappy with a woman holding public office it will resort to this kind of mean tactic in order to humiliate and defame such a person? This is shameful Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksha. Very shameful.

In functional democracy people would have demanded that the president himself and every one held who has participated in this shameful abuse of power, the abuse of parliamentary privilege and abuse of women should resign because they simply do not deserve to hold public office.

This episode only demonstrates the lowest depth that Sri Lanka has reached. No nation can avoid dire consequences to its societal moral when the government at highest level resorts to such lowest level of meanness.

If the people of Sri Lanka tolerate this level of immorality on the part of the government then they should blame themselves for all the societal ills that will rise from situation like this.
The greatest societal ill that will rise from this kind of abyss is very high level of criminality in every aspect of social life. There will be loss of respect for anything calls moral or ethical in a society like this. The children of such a nation will inherit culture that is ugly and stinking.

Asian Human Rights Commission is aware that there are many others such gimmicks being schemed. One such is to attacks the lawyers who appear for just causes and oppose the government abuse of powers in court by manufactured reports attacking them of all kinds of things for an example saying that they are being paid by drug loads. We are aware that there was an attempt to publish such a report in the government’s mouth piece Daily News last week against Mr. J C Weliamuna and another lawyer against whom the government somehow agrees with. It was because a particular news editor was a man who respects journalistic ethics that the report was not published. However possibly others who are willing to engage in any kind of abuse may be put is in the place and such reports against those whom the government select to slander may be publish in the future.

The Asian Human Right Commission is sadden by the attack on the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice not due to any personal attachment but due to respect for principals that when undermine harms the fabrics of society. Supreme Court deserves respect, Chief Justice whoever it is deserves respect and the Parliament deserves not to be abuse. History tells us that societies that do not respect these principals pay a high price for that disrespect.