Wednesday, December 19, 2012

மட்டக்களப்பில் வெள்ளத்தால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட இடங்களுக்கு பா.உறுப்பினர் சீ.யோகேஸ்வரன் விஜயம்!

[ செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை, 18 டிசெம்பர் 2012, 03:24.49 PM GMT ]

Batticaloa

மட்டக்களப்பில் வெள்ள அனர்த்தத்தால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட கிராமங்கள் பலவற்றை தமிழ் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பின் பாராளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் சீனித்தம்பி யோகேஸ்வரன் நேரடியாகச் சென்று பார்வையிட்டதுடன் அம்மக்களுக்கு அவசியமாக தேவைப்படும் பொருட்களை உடனுக்குடன் வழங்கியுள்ளார்.

மட்டக்களப்பு மாவட்டத்தின் பல பகுதிகளில் தொடர் மழையால் பல கிராமங்கள் வெள்ளத்தில் மூழ்கி உள்ளன. சித்தாண்டி, வந்தாறுமூலை, ஐயங்கேணி, தளவாய், ஏறாவூர்,கொம்மாதுறை, வந்தாறுமூலை,முறக்கொட்டாஞ்சேனை, தேவாபுரம், கோப்பாவெளி, ஈரளக்குளம், பெரியவட்டவான், பூலாக்காடு, பொண்டுகள்சேனை, இலுக்கு, சந்திவெளி, கிரான், பதுளை வீதியில் அமைந்துள்ள கிராமங்கள், மயிலவட்டவான், வேப்பவட்டுவான், செங்கலடியில் அமைந்துள்ள கிராமங்கள் பெரும் பாதிப்பை எதிர்கொண்டுள்ளன.

இதுவரை மட்டக்களப்பு மாவட்டத்தில் 154 கிராமங்கள் வெள்ளத்தால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாக தெரிவிக்கப்படுகிறது. அதில் 34753 குடும்பத்தைச் சேர்ந்த 135464 நபர் பாதிக்கப்பட்டதாக அனர்த்த முகாமைத்துவ மட்டக்களப்பு காரியாலயம் தெரிவிக்கின்றது.

வெள்ளத்தால் 154 வீடுகள் முழுச் சேதத்தையும், 607 வீடுகள் பகுதிச் சேதத்தையும் அடைந்துள்ளது. இவ்வனர்த்தத்தின் மூலம் இடம்பெயர்ந்த மக்கள் 17 இடைத்தங்கல் முகாம்களில் மக்கள் வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனர்.

இதன்படி கோப்பாவெளி அரசினர் தமிழ் கலவன் பாடசாலை, வேப்பவட்டுவான் அரசினர் தமிழ் கலவன் பாடசாலை, சித்தாண்டி சித்தி விநாயகர் வித்தியாலயம்,சித்தாண்டி அலைமகள் வித்தியாலயம்,மயிலவட்டவான் வித்தியாலயம்,வந்தாறுமூலை கணேசா வித்தியாலயம்,சித்தாண்டி மகா வித்தியாலயம்,சித்தாண்டி சமுர்த்தி கட்டடம்,சித்தாண்டி இராமகிருஷ்ணா வித்தியாலயம், ஈரளக்குளம் அரசினர் தமிழ் கலவன் பாடசாலை,பெரியவட்டவான் அரசினர் தமிழ் கலவன் பாடசாலை, பூலாக்காடு அரசினர் தமிழ் கலவன் பாடசாலை, கொண்டுகள்சேனை அரசினர் தமிழ் கலவன் பாடசாலை உட்பட பல இடங்கள் முக்கிய இடைத்தங்கல் முகாமாக உள்ளது.

இவ்வேளை, மயிலவட்டவானின் ஏற்பட்ட வெள்ளத்தில் மூழ்கி இருவர் இறந்ததுடன் ஒருவர் சார்பாக இதுவரை தகவல் இல்லை. பிரதான வீதி வெள்ளத்தில் மூழ்கியமையின் காரணமாக வாகனப் போக்குவரத்துகள் துண்டிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இதனால் பலரும் பல சிரமத்தை எதிர்கொள்கின்றனர்.

இதேவேளை, மட்டக்களப்பு ஏறாவூர் பிரதேச செயலகத்திற்குட்ட மயிலவெட்டுவான் கிராமத்தில் நேற்றிரவு தொடக்கம் வெள்ளத்தினால் சூழப்பட்டிருந்த 103பேர் இன்று காலை படகுகளை அனுப்பி மீட்கப்பட்டதாக பிரதேச செயலாளர் உ.உதயஸ்ரீதர் தெரிவித்தார்.

இவர்களை மீட்கும் பணியில் கடற்படையினரும் பிரதேச சபை மற்றும் இடர் முகாமைத்துவ அதிகாரிகளும் உதவியிருந்ததாகவும் அவர் தெரிவித்தார்.

இதேவேளை ஏறாவூர்ப்பற்று செங்கலடி பிரதேச செயலகப் பிரிவில் வெள்ளத்தால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட மக்கள் 13 முகாம்களில் 1098 குடும்பங்களைச் சேர்ந்த 4400 பேர் தங்கவைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாகவும் ஏனைய சேத விவரங்கள் திரட்டப்பட்டு வருவதாகவும் அவர் மேலும் குறிப்பிட்டார்.

இது தொடர்பாக உதவி செய்ய விரும்புவோர்களுக்கு:-

தொலைபேசி இலக்கம் : 0094652228273, 0094652228018, 0094776034559, 0094653656608
தொலைநகல் இலக்கம் : 0094652228273

மின்னஞ்சல் முகவரி : btdymha@gmail.com / yoheswaran.mp@gmail.com

வங்கி சார்பான தகவல் : மட்டக்களப்பு மாவட்ட இந்து இளைஞர் பேரவையின் (Federation of Young Men’s Hindu Association) என்ற பெயரில், மட்டக்களப்பு கொமர்ஷினல் வங்கி (Commercial Bank) கணக்கு இலக்கம் 1105040264. SWIFT CODE : CCEYLKLX, Bank Code : 7056-105 இதில் பணங்களை அனுப்பிவைக்கலாம். அத்தோடு உதவி வழங்குபவர்கள் மின்னஞ்சல் மூலம் தங்கள் விபரங்களை அனுப்பி வைத்தல் அவசியமானதாகும்.

தாகும்.

24 hour warning – Beware of landslides & floods

TUESDAY, 18 DECEMBER 2012 22:

Ampara, Batticaloa, Kurunegala, Polonnaruwa, Hambantota as well as Nuwaraeliya, Matale, Badulla and Kandy districts have been adversely affected due to torrential rains experienced in these areas during the last few days.

According to Disaster management Center more than 5000 people have been affected due to inclement weather.

Many roads in the up country have been blocked due to earth slips and flooding.

There is a 24 hour warning of earth slips in Kandy, Nuwaraeliya, Badulla, Matale and Kurunegala districts.

Meda Dumbara, Patha Hewaheta, Gangawata Korale in Kandy District, Walapane, Hanguranketha, Kotmale and Ambagamuwa Korale in Nuwaraeliya District have been identified as landslide areas.

Simulated Buddhists, Sinhala-Buddhist schools to accelerate colonisation, genocide

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 December 2012, 05:19 GMT]
Following the construction of Buddhist stupas with the deployment of ‘Army and Archaeology’ where there were no practising Buddhists at all, the genocidal Sri Lankan state occupying the country of Eezham Tamils is now bent upon creating a Buddhist population in the North by the conversions and simulations of a ‘Tamil Buddhist’ community and by the construction of Sinhala-Buddhist schools to attract and facilitate a colonising community from the South. Already achieving the demographic genocide in the East and in the Northwest over the last several decades, the idea of the Sinhala-Buddhist state now is to fully use the ‘once in a millennium opportunity’ provided by militarisation and ICE-abetment, to irrevocably complete the annihilation of the territoriality of the nation of Eezham Tamils, as envisaged by the LLRC blueprint.

Colombo has now engaged a person, Mr. SL Ramachandran, a native of Vara’ni in Jaffna and Mr. Ravikumar a trader in Jaffna to organize a ‘Tamil-Buddhist’ community in Jaffna. They are fully backed by the occupying military and the Sinhala-Buddhist priests deployed in the North.

About Mr. Ramachandran, who displays photos of him taken with Mahinda Rajapaksa, there are claims that Colombo would be giving him an important political position in the North soon. He was one of Hathurusinghe’s ‘civil society’ member invited to discuss the Jaffna University situation with the Vice Chancellor and Deans of the university, at the Palaali base of the occupying military earlier this month.

Last year he opened a ‘Hindu-Buddhist Cultural Association’ at Kantharmadam, a locality close to the Nalloor temple, university campus and the Indian consulate in Jaffna city. The commander of the occupying Sinhala military, Maj. Gen Hathurusinghe and some people associated with the Jaffna University as well, attended the event.

The organisation is now opening ‘Tamil-Buddhist’ schools in Jaffna. Sinhala is taught in these schools. The occupying military has helped in appropriating lands for the schools.

Full story >>

Colombo Night Race competitor released

WEDNESDAY, 19 DECEMBER 2012

A contestant of the Colombo Night Races who was in remand for causing injuries to workers of a road project while practicing for the races was released on bail by the Colombo Traffic Court Magistrate consequent to agreeing to compensate the victims according to the injuries sustained.

President’s Counsel C. R. De Silva appearing for the driver of the vehicle bearing registration No 18-5424 submitted that the suspect Dandeniyage Kamal Mohan Perera of 101, Buthgamuwa Rajagiriya, who is an expatriate Sri Lankan had caused the accident to seven road workers who were engaged in digging trenches at Cinnamon Gardens near the Nelum Pokuna Theatre.

Mr. Silva said on December 12 around 12.45 a.m. while his client was practicing to take part in the Colombo Night Races had met with the accident.

He said due to the accident seven men had sustained injuries of varying degrees. He said that his client was willing to compensate the victims according to the severity of the injuries. He also undertook to foot the bills for victims for the treatment they take for the injuries.

Cinnamon Gardens Police said the accident was caused due to the reckless and negligent manner the vehicle was driven by the accused. They said if the victims were compensated they would not object releasing the driver on bail.

Magistrate Jeyaraman Trotsky ordered the suspect to pay Rs 100,000 to S. M. Ratnapala, to pay Rs 50,000 each to L. A. Podi Mahatmaya; and S. Ramachandran; Rs 25,000 each to Jayaratna Sujeewa, B. M. Hemantha Kumara, M. J. Samarasuriya, and R.Rajendran.

The Magistrate released the suspect on Rs. 200,000 personal bail with two sureties. The suspect was restrained from leaving the country and ordered to surrender the passport to court. (T. Farook Thajudeen)

Chief Justice Must Step Down: A Media Show Is Planned For Tomorrow

By Colombo Telegraph -December 19, 2012

“There is information that a media show is planned for tomorrow (20th) for a protest in a different style. Golden key depositors with a new crowd would be in Superior Courts complex and for one person to climb a tree with a live coverage in State electronic media, demanding the Chief Justice to step down.” a member of the Lawyers Collective told Colombo Telegraph.

Mervyn Silva

Notorious Minister Dr Hewa Koparage Mervyn Silva is busy with planning the protest an informed police source told Colombo Telegraph.

Meanwhile the Writ Applications filed at the Court of Appeal by Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake will be supported before a three judge bench of the Court of Appeal at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

Public opinion cannot be suppressed by guns forever: Karu

by Dharisha Bastians

( December 19, 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The people are well aware of who is behind white van attacks against Government detractors, United National Party Member of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya charged yesterday, condemning the attempted assault on senior attorney-at-law Guneratne Wanninayake.

Wanninayake is also the Convenor of the Free March, a constituent association in the Lawyers Collective that is carrying out a vocal campaign to preserve judicial independence and stands against the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake.

Attorney Wanninayake was allegedly ambushed by a group of four armed men on his way home on Monday (17) who threatened him and attempted an assault. The assailants escaped in a white van, Wanninanayake claimed.

“He is a senior lawyer who is very vocal about safeguarding the Judiciary. He was attacked in broad daylight by assailants who escaped in a white van – how do these groups manage to avoid the scrutiny of the security apparatus every time? How do they operate so openly?” Jayasuriya said, addressing the media from his private office in Kirulapone.

The senior Opposition politician said that the incident was eerily similar to the attack on Judicial Services Commission Secretary Manjula Tillekaratne in October. “We condemn this brutal injustice. It is no longer a secret that this Government seeks to perpetuate only its own viewpoint and it will use fair and foul means to do it,” Jayasuriya charged. The UNP lawmaker also criticised the Government’s extravagance in the face of crushing poverty that the common people were grappling with. “Last weekend were the night races. Thousands of people were inconvenienced, weddings in the city were not attended, road closures caused innumerable hardships – was this worth Rs. 200 million of public money?” he said. Jayasuriya said that the Government had displayed the same lack of responsibility when it came to spending on IIFA in Colombo and its disastrous bid for the Commonwealth Games 1918, which cost the state coffers millions in order to satisfy the whims of the rulers. “The Government wants to show off before the world – they are using our money to do it,” he said.

Tear gas, iron poles and guns will not suppress public opinion forever, the Opposition legislator said. “I would like to remind our current brutal rulers about that. They are blinded by power,” he charged.

Police Protection For Justice Shiranee T

By Colombo Telegraph -December 19, 2012

Supreme Court Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane entered Court 402 of the Supreme Court this morning with police protection. Justice Tilakawardane and the police officers providing her with security entered the Courtroom through the judges entrance.

Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane

A daily newspaper this morning expressed its ‘regrets’ to Justice Tilakawardane following a clarification that the two judges absent in Court on Monday had provided notice of their absence earlier. The two absentee judges Chandra Ekanayake and S.I. Imam had no intention of boycotting the bench, the Daily Mirror said in its front page.

Justice Tilakawardane on Monday delayed more than 20 cases because of the improper constitution of the bench owing to the absence of Justices Ekanayake and Imam. Speculation in Hulftsdorp was that the absence of the two justices was a silent protest against Justice Tilakawardane’s decision to give evidence against the Chief Justice before the parliamentary select committee.

After her decision to give evidence against a fellow judge several Supreme Court justices noted privately that they would prefer not to appear with her in court. Members of the legal fraternity said this was not because she gave evidence when she was summoned but because she chose to participate in a trial that was lacking in due process and did not ensure the rights of the Chief Justice to fair trial which was unbecoming of a supreme court judge.

However this morning Justice Tilakawardane appeared with Justices Sathya Hettige and Priyasath Dep at Court 402 of the Supreme Court.

Updated 08.55 am.

Meanwhile Justice Tilakawardane said in open court she had requested an additional police officer to control the crowd in her courtroom because she was scheduled to hear over 50 cases today.

*Photo courtesy Bussness Today |Photography by Mahesh Prasantha

Sri Lanka mass grave unearths ghosts from troubled past

A police officer covers part of a dead body at a building site in Matale, a central town 142 km (88 miles) from the capital, Colombo, December 16, 2012. REUTERS-Dinuka Liyanawatte

Marked dead bodies are seen at a building site in Matale, a central town 142 km (88 miles) from the capital, Colombo, December 16, 2012. REUTERS-Dinuka Liyanawatte

By Shihar Aneez

MATALE, Sri Lanka | Wed Dec 19, 2012 3:20am EST

(Reuters) - A mass grave unearthed in Sri Lanka has stirred memories of the country’s bloody insurgencies and sparked calls for an official inquiry in the island nation that has drawn global scrutiny for its chequered human rights record.

At a building site near a hospital in Matale, a central town 142 km (88 miles) from the capital, Colombo, excavators have found the skeletons, or parts of the skeletons, of at least 59 people.

It is possible they died of natural causes many years ago but in a country rocked by two different insurgencies beginning in the early 1970s, the assumption many people are jumping to is that they are some of the forgotten victims of the violence in which more than 150,000 people were killed.

Ajith Jayasena, the judicial medical officer at the hospital adjacent to the site, is keeping an open mind.

“We can’t exactly say when they have been buried. These could be missing people,” Jayasena said, using a euphemism for victims of political violence.

“It is better if we can investigate this thoroughly. That is the most important question,” he said, referring to when they were buried.

Politicians and officials have called for an investigation by a government under pressure from theUnited Nations to address human rights problems and the deaths of thousands of civilians during the final months of a three-decade war with ethnic Tamil rebels in 2009.

The government has been widely condemned by human rights organizations for failing to properly investigate alleged war crimes. It rejects all accusations of rights violations.

But there are also questions about much earlier troubles.

Marxist rebels of the Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna (JVP), or People’s Liberation Front, launched an insurrection in 1971. The rag-tag rebels seized some parts of the island before being crushed.

In the late 1980s, the group launched a second phase of its insurrection. The security forces responded ruthlessly and many rebels or suspected rebels were killed or disappeared.

The war against Tamil separatists begin in 1983 and was mostly fought in Tamil areas in the north and east. The insurgencies were suppressed by the government with both heavy loss of life and numerous accusations of rights abuses.

The United Nations said in March in a report on disappearances, that, in all, more than 5,600 people were unaccounted for in Sri Lanka.

“BURIED IN TIME”

Sectioned off with yellow crime-scene tape, the 125 square-meter (1,350 square foot) site for a bio-gas plant where the bones were found is under 24-hour police guard. The judicial medical officer and police are overseeing the excavation.

Residents of Matale, a hilly farming area, have their suspicions about who lies under their rust-colored soil.

“We believe this is from the 1989-era insurgency,” said one of the residents who gathered near the site to have a look. He was referring to the second phase of the JVP insurrection.

“There was an army unit one kilometer away towards the town,” said the resident, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

But other residents said the bodies could have been people killed in a landslide in the 1940s or a smallpox epidemic around the same time.

Police spokesman Priyashantha Jayakody said it was too early to say.

Unearthed skeletons not yet examined lay covered with white plastic sheets. Some bodies were buried individually while others were jumbled together, a hospital worker who has been at the site since the dig started on November 27 said.

Human rights group Amnesty International called for a thorough investigation.

“Other mass graves in Sri Lanka have uncovered the remains of victims of alleged enforced disappearances and exhumations have not always been carried out with the necessary care,” said Polly Truscott, the group’s deputy Asia-Pacific director.

The JVP, which transformed itself from a rebel group into a political party, also called for an inquiry.

“This incident should not be allowed to be buried in time and forgotten,” the JVP said in a statement.

(Additional reporting by Ranga Sirilal in COLOMBO; Writing by Henry Foy; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Domestic Violence: The Role Of Miss Sri Lanka, Sabrina Herft And SB Dissanayake’s Son

Miss Siyatha Lux Sri Lanka 2012, Sabrina Herft

By Members of the Sri Lankan Spring –December 19, 2012

In the year 2009 alone, the Sri Lanka Police recorded 94,000 incidents of Domestic Violence. 35 NGOs too received 12,000 complaints. If half of these 12,000 overlapped with the 94,000 recorded by Police, this would amount to 100,000 cases. This is a very high number yet on the increase according to the Police. Sri Lanka is one of the countries with the highest incidents of Domestic Violence as Regional Records show.

On 9th August in 2005, the Sri Lankan parliament unanimously passed the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (PDVA).

The Act does not create a new offence of ‘domestic violence’ but instead defines domestic violence, firstly, as acts of physical violence, which constitute only those offences already recognized under Chapter XVI of the Penal Code. Secondly it recognizes emotional abuse - defined as a pattern of cruel, inhuman, degrading or humiliating conduct of a serious nature directed towards an aggrieved person. The PDVA allows ‘any person’ who suffers or is likely to suffer such violence to seek a protection from a Magistrate’s Court, which is empowered to summarily issue an Interim Protection Order valid for 14 days.

A Nation in Denial

Despite this epidemic of Domestic Violence as well as other forms of violence against women, the country is in denial that such a problem exists. Domestic Violence is trivialized with the popular saying that “marital disputes only last until the rice is cooked”. This is a rank cultural myth. Women and children embroiled in DV have long lasting trauma and a difficulty to remain in relationships in the future. His Excellency the President is quoted as saying that he would like to study if the DV act has increased the number of divorces. This in fact shows a great degree of ignorance on the part of the highest in the land as to what DV really means.

Beauty Pageants and advocating against domestic violence

At the Miss Universe 2012 pageant which will be held tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, imagine this question,

“Miss Herft, do you condone Domestic Violence?” What would Sabrina say?

Miss Universe 2012 On Danu’s Hot Sri Lanka Column Interview on the 21^st of November 2012, our Sabrina talks about 29 things people do not know about her.

The 28^th is: Once my reign has come to its inevitable end I wish to leave behind a legacy, a legacy and a footpath for our Sri Lankan women to travel on. Will this footpath be one of saying yes to Domestic Violence?

The writer says this in view of the 30^th fact that people do not know about and what Sabrina must guard against – spending her life with a wife beater.

Her fiancé, Narada Dissanayake, is none other than Minister SB Dissanayake’s son, who is well known for his violent ways and has now gone through a divorce from his first wife. His ex –wife has taken both violent physical abuse and severe emotional abuse and wanted a way out from her marriage. He has also been a part of many a brawl in public places especially at casinos and night clubs. Due to his reckless behavior fatal road accidents too had taken place.

His family has a history of harassing women, particularly Minister S. B. Dissanayake, who ruined the sports career of well known athlete of international repute, sprint queen Susanthika Jayasinghe by sexually harassing her when he was the Minister of Sports during Chandrika Kumaranatunge’s time.

Will Sabrina be subjected to the same treatment as Narada’s first wife? Once a wife beater always a wife beater and difficult to reform is what Global evidence shows.

Future Action that Sabrina needs to take:

Some of the questions and hard talk for Sabrina with Narada would be around the facts mentioned below: Statistically, the odds of an abuser changing are low. However, there are key indicators Sabrina can watch for in a Narada if he is taking an honest interest in changing his abusive behavior:

1) Beaters acknowledge that they are abusive, and that it is their responsibility, and not the fault of anyone else that they are they way they are.

2) They admit that they WANT to change, and that they know the process of change is very difficult

3) They undergo a violence/abuse assessment, delivered by a professional who focuses on these things. The abuser is willing and wanting to follow the recommendations of the assessment.

4) They voluntarily enter programs specifically oriented around addressing abusive and/or violent behaviors. These group programs generally are extensive, and may run from a minimum of 16 weeks to 52 weeks in length. Jointly, they should also attend individual counseling that is specific to the challenges they have in addressing their behavior and emotional challenges.

5) The process for change is hard, and can be long. How long depends on the individual, their readiness for change, and ability to integrate the change.

6) The individual will tend to this change in an ongoing process which may be lifelong.

The process for changing abusive tendencies is intense, very difficult (because it is rooted in learned behaviors that likely spanned significant portions of their childhood), and due to the extraordinarily low level of community support due to the morally reprehensible nature of this behavior, the individual will find the path to rehabilitation difficult to maintain despite their initial best interests and convictions.

If the individual is willingly able to endure this path to change, they can and will change.

Other Answers:

Unless they have gone through a lot of therapy, enough to cause a total sea change, then yes, I am afraid they will always abuse the next partner.

There is one exception: those people who vacillate between a need to abuse and a need to be abused. For them it is just as likely they will choose a partner who abuses them, not least to expiate the abuse they gave their last partner, and justify the abuse they will give the next.

Abusers CAN change, and lead normal lives, but that takes a lot of work.

Most abusers are serial offenders, abusing one partner after the other.

Where is the alleged massacre report?

WEDNESDAY, 19 DECEMBER 2012

While the Human Rights Commission said they were awaiting the report of the Commission appointed to inquire into the alleged massacre at the Welikada Prison on November 9,

Cold blooded murder - A prisoner shot deadopposition parties yesterday said many questions had been raised as to the progress of the report.

The Commission appointed by the Minister of Prison Reforms Chandrasiri Gajadeera initially told the media the report would be released within ‘three weeks’ of appointment which was done in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

However the contents or the progress of the report was yet to be made public with the Minister of Prison Reforms Chandrasiri Gajadeera and the Commissioner General of Prisons Pradeep Kodippili being unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts to contact them.

Retired High Court Judge Bandula Atapattu, former DIG Gunasena Thenabadu and former Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Prison Reforms and Rehabilitation, A. Lalith were appointed to investigate the incident

The Chairman of the Human Rights Commission Priyantha Perera said that they are awaiting the report of the commission on a request by the Commissioner General of Prisons,

UNP MP Harin Fernando said that there are many questions to which answers are yet to be provided.

“We initially believed that the commission appointed was ineffective, and to this day they are yet to provide the report despite the assurance that it would be submitted within 3 weeks” he said.

27 inmates were killed after an alleged shootout between the Prisoners and the STF after which thre were allegations of a massacre within the prison.
“There have been many allegations against the manner in which this was handled, and it is most definitely an issue that has raised eyebrows locally as well as internationally among human rights activits and organizations. Many questions are yet to be answered and we believe that even if the report was not credible a report nevertheless is of utmost importance” Fernando said.

Chairman of the HRC Priyantha Fernando said that the commission has put the inquiry on hold after a request made by the Commissioner General of Prisons.

“We wanted to visit the scene and speak to the inmates in order to gather concrete evidence of what happened. However, upon a request by the Commissioner General who insisted on us awaiting the Commission report before proceeding we decided to put the inquiry on hold” he said.

MP Fernando went on to state that the relevant Minister or any authority is yet to lay the facts and circumstances under which the incident took place.( By Hafeel Farisz)

International Standards Relating To Judicial Removal: Two Experts’ Views

By Professor Adrienne Stone and Laureate Professor Cheryl Saunders AO -December 18, 2012

The University of Melbourne

Mr Basil Fernando
Executive Director
Asian Human Rights Commission
E-mail basil.fernando@ahrc.asia
17 December 2012

Dear Mr Fernando:
Advice as requested by the Asian Human Rights Commission

We thank you for the opportunity to provide this advice in relation to the procedures and protections which regulate how Australian judges may be removed from office, and international standards relating to judicial removal.

We provide this advice in our capacity as academics who specialise in Australian and comparative constitutional law.

Australia forms a good comparator jurisdiction for Sri Lanka. Both nations share the same English common law arid parliamentary heritage. The rule of law forms the fundamental basis entrenched in the AustralianConstitution. The stability of the Australian polity, its economic growth and prosperity, and the wellbeing of its people depend upon respect for the rule of law. Central to the realisation of that ideal is that the independence of the judiciary be beyond question. Australian courts, and not Parliament, have the final say on the interpretation of the law. The High Court has general authority to determine the meaning of Australia’sConstitution, and its interpretations bind Australian legislatures and executives at all levels of government[1]The Court’s power of judicial review prevents any law or executive action from transgressing the principles and limits to government laid down in the Constitution. The Justices of the High Court of Australia are highly respected as the guardians and guarantors of Australia’s democracy: like all judges, they cannot fulfil these vital tasks without complete independence; in practice as well as principle.

These are the hallmarks of all successful and lasting constitutional democracies. Such a state cannot be achieved without entrenched safeguards to ensure judicial independence, chief among which is proper standards preventing the arbitrary or baseless removal of judicial officers.

Yours sincerely

Laureate Professor Cheryl Saunders AO

Professor Adrienne Stone

Director, Centre for Comparative
Constitutional Studies

I. AUSTRALIAN PROCEDURES FOR REMOVAL OF JUDGES

Judicial removals have been very rare in Australia. Of the four major examples of investigations and considered removals frequently referred to in the literature, only one — relating to a state supreme court judge[2] — was carried through to completion.[3] This rarity is attributable to the strong security of judicial tenure in Australia, as well as general good behaviour of individual judges ensured by close scrutiny from inside and outside the courts.[4]

Due to the small number of attempted or completed removals, many specific questions relating to the removal of judges remain undetermined by Australian courts. Nonetheless, the general procedures for removal and protections from removal are clear.

This section is split into two parts, relating to federal and state judges. Australia’s federal system of government means that the instruments and wording of protections may differ, however the principles and standards remain the same at both levels of government.

A) Removal of Justices of the High Court and Judges of the Federal Court Read More