Lawyer's Collective explains about video clip released by Presidential media unit
-Status Report of Lawyers Collective-
(Lanka-e-News -14.Jan.2013, 11.30PM) The letter of removal of the Chief Justice was received by her on 13th January 2013.

The President has summoned judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court 13th, 14th and 15th January respectively. There is no Constitutional tradition in Sri Lanka authorizing the President to do so. In the present circumstances, the Judges are compelled to meet the President ignoring the constitutional tradition.

The Bar Council of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) meeting held on 12th January 2013 decided to make a final attempt to halt the impeachment process, by sending a BASL Delegation to meet the President. An appointment was given for the BASL delegation but prior to the meeting the President had issued the removal letter. Therefore, several members of the delegation urged the BASL not to meet the President as the mandate has expired. Nevertheless some members of the delegation had met the President at 11 a.m. on 14th January 2013, (also attended to by several other lawyers/ politicians). At the meeting the President had been very critical of the protests of lawyers and had also made false allegations that the lawyers’ who had protested had received foreign funds to do. The Presidential media unit thereafter circulated a video clip prepared by them to all electronic media institutions, which was telecast today. It contained damaging and adverse material on the unity of lawyers, suggesting that the Bar has not been part of the protests. It has also failed to state that thousands of lawyers who participate at the protests are active members of the BASL.

The Lawyers’ Collective held a Press Conference today and highlighted the following key points.

a) The entire impeachment process was unconstitutional and the Hon. Shirani Bandaranayaka remains the Chief Justice. Whatever the decision she takes tomorrow (15th January) the Lawyers’ Collective stands by her.

b) The initial struggle by Lawyers led by the Lawyers’ Collective was to prevent the impeachment. The next phase would be a broader but long term struggle involving clergy, political parties, trade unions, intellectuals, academics, students and civil society groups.

c) The Lawyers, Judges and civil society activists who have stood up for the Independence of the Judiciary and against the unconstitutional impeachment may be subjected to victimization in future. The Lawyers’ Collective along with its network would not hesitate in making appropriate interventions, if such victimizations take place.

d) The Lawyers salute the Chief Justice for her courage. The Lawyers’ Collective also commends those who took a public stance for justice courageously notwithstanding an unprecedented hate campaigns and threats, unleashed by the Government.
Mr. Mohan Peiris’ name has been forwarded to the Parliamentary Council, which is expected to meet tomorrow (15th January) at 10.00 a.m. He is also expected to take oath immediately.

Vicious hate campaign against the lawyers who stood up against the impeachment continues to date. There is information that in addition to the state media, several groups connected to the government are engaged in a defamatory campaign against identified lawyers, making their life and professional practice vulnerable.

Canada condemns dismissal of Sri Lankan Chief Justice, urges Commonwealth action

13 January 2013

Ottawa, Ontario

Stephen Harper today issued the following statement regarding the dismissal of Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake:

"Canada is deeply concerned by Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa's decision to remove the Chief Justice from office following an impeachment process which appeared to be highly politicized and lacking transparency and respect for the guarantees of due process and fair trial.

"We call on the Government of Sri Lanka to respect the country's constitution and the independence of its judiciary and change course immediately.

"Canada continues to have serious concerns about the human rights situation, the need for reconciliation, and the democratic deficit in Sri Lanka. We will continue to raise these concerns forcefully, without equivocation both directly with the Government of Sri Lanka and through resolutions at both the United Nations and the Commonwealth.

"We will push for this latest troubling development to be addressed at the next meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group."

Statement by NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Paul Dewar on the impeachment of Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake
2013 01 13
The Official Opposition unreservedly condemns the recent impeachment of Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake as a politically motivated attack on judicial independance and human rights.
This indefensible act has unfortunately demonstrated that the Sri Lankan government is not committed to improving the respect and realization of human rights. We strongly urge the Canadian government to now state unequivocally that Canada will not attend this October’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

The Sri Lankan government has consistently attempted to undermine judicial integrity and independence. Chief Justice Bandaranayke was impeached in a process that lacked basic transparency and is widely considered to be retribution for making decisions that displeased the government. New Democrats stand in solidarity with Chief Justice Bandaranayke and people of conscience around the world in calling on the Sri Lankan government to demonstrate a commitment to honour and uphold values of good governance and respect for human rights.

We urge Commonwealth members to step up action to condemn this attack on judicial independence. International diplomatic pressure must focus on the implementation of the recommendations of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka, which found credible allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Dismissal of the Chief Justice in Sri Lanka

13 January 2013

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma today expressed deep disappointment at the dismissal of the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.

The Secretary-General recalled his earlier statements about this matter, in particular his statement following the decision by Parliament on 11 January to impeach the Chief Justice, in which he had urged the Executive to pause and reflect carefully on the constitutional ramifications of the differing positions taken by the country’s Judiciary and Legislature.

Reiterating the Commonwealth’s profound collective concern at the recent developments and noting the deep divisions this had caused in Sri Lanka, the Secretary-General said, "the dismissal of the Chief Justice will be widely seen, against the background of the divergence between the Judiciary and the Legislature, as running counter to the independence of the judiciary, which is a core Commonwealth value.

"I have been in touch over recent days with the Government of Sri Lanka at the highest levels and had offered Commonwealth assistance to find a way forward from the constitutional impasse. I will continue to remain engaged with the Sri Lankan Government following today’s developments. I will also consider further Commonwealth initiatives and responses as are envisaged in situations that could be perceived to constitute violations of core Commonwealth values and principles," he concluded.

The Secretary-General will be visiting Sri Lanka in February.

A face-lift to the entire North is not a substitute for finding a just solution to the festering ethnic problem

A face-lift to the entire North is not a substitute for finding a just solution to the festering ethnic problem

• Letter from Jaffna Diocese Justice and Peace Commission to all Bishops in the island of Sri Lanka

”Three and a half years have passed since the 30 year war ended. As the people in the North who had to bear the brunt of the war especially during the final stages of the war we hoped that the situation would improve and in fact we were promised that a solution would he found for the ethnic problem and that there would be a peaceful future. Unfortunately the Government is paying more attention to the annual ‘Victory Day’ celebrations and ignoring a genuine pursuit for peace and reconciliation”

The President & Members

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka     

Sri Lanka

Your Excellencies,

May God bless you. We are happy that you have come once again to the North and visit certain places to hnd out the situation here and see for yourselves the real difficulties and anxieties of the people here. We would take to bring to your kind notice certain facts which may not be visible during a short visit.

General Situation

Three and a half years have passed since the 30 year war ended. As the people in the North who had to bear the brunt of the war especially during the final stages of the war we hoped that the situation would improve and in fact we were promised that a solution would he found for the ethnic problem and that there would be a peaceful future. Unfortunately the Government is paying more attention to the annual ‘Victory Day’ celebrations and ignoring a genuine pursuit for peace and reconciliation.

The developments during these three and a half years indicate that no serious effort is made to bring about peace with justice. The actions of the Govemment and the Security Forces so far are only alienating the people and making them lose confidence in a peaceful and just Sri Lanka. ’ There is no doubt that externally a lot of development works are undertaken with international assistance such as laying carpet-roads, railway-tracks, putting up new buildings for hospitals, schools etc. and launching a number of development projects. A visitor here now will get an impression that the North is developing fast after a long period of stagnation due to the war. But such a face-lift to the entire North is not a substitute for finding a just solution to the festering ethnic problem.

Many issues which need to be attended still remain unresolved and the day to day developments do not in any way help to bring about peace and reconciliation.

There are some long-standing issues for which no effort has been made to resolve since the end of the war as well as some recent developments which have contributed to the deterioration of the general situation.

Some long-standing issues:

Occupation of lands by the security forces

•  The Security Forces still occupy large portions of civilians’ lands and they continue to acquire new lands also. Still there are 24 G.S. divisions in the Valikaamam region under army occupation. Most of these lands are red-soiled and arable. Thousands of families displaced from here are still living in welfare-centers and in the homes of their friends and relatives. Further civilian lands are being occupied by the Security Forces in Jaffna Peninsula and in Wanni. In some places the original inhabitants have been told that their lands will not be returned to them and that they will have to settle down in areas indicated by the Security Forces. Eg. Keppapulavu people in the Mullaitivu district.

Allocation of the lands in the North to the Southerners

• Besides this, lands belonging to the civilians, unoccupied so far and the vacant state owned lands are identified and these are being allocated freely to settle the families of soldiers and others from the South. We are not against individuals from anywhere in Sri Lanka buying lands in the North and settling down. What we object and note with suspicion is the state-sponsored and funded settlement of families from the South in the vacant lands in the North when there are many landless families in the North.

The plight of the political prisoners

• .. The plight of the political-prisoners continues. Hundreds of political-prisoners are still in detention with no cases filed against them for years. Eg. One woman named Thirumakal is in detention for more than 18 years and so far she has been produced in the courts more than 429 times till end of July 2012 and she is still there.

The safety and security of those in detention is a major cause of concern. Last year two youngsters Nirmalaruban and Dilruckson were tortured and eventually died of the wounds caused by the torture while many other were injured.

One lady Muththusamy Kathaye (68) from Badulla was arested in 1994 in Chenkkaladdy in Batticaloa for having links with the LTTE and detained. She died on 6.01 .2013 in the Welikkada prison due to lack of proper medical care. She was suffering from cancer and she had severe bed-sores when she died. Such incidents are not rare occurrences. After a spate of hunger-strikes and protests by political prisoners in Welikkada a promise was made by the relevant authorities to establish special speed-courts to expedite the hearing of such cases. So far very little action seems to have taken place.

Accountability

• The Government has still to come to terms with the huge number of civilian casualties .especially during the final stages of the war. Initially the position of the government was that there was zero civilian causality in this ‘war for peace’ or the humanitarian operation. The Bishop of Mannar Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph in his testimony before the LLRC said that about 146,000 people were still unaccounted for and he based his argument on the statistics provided by the Government sources. LLRC in its report admits that there were civilian causalities and later on the UN Commissions also admitted that a substantial number of civilians also died in the shelling and bombings.

The fate of some of the people (including some LTTE members) who had surrendered to the army and taken away in buses is not yet known. There were some who gave evidence in front of the LLRC that they had seen Fr. Francis Joseph (81) the former Rector of St. Patrick’s College. Jaffna and many others surrendering with white flags and their whereabouts are still not known.

Accountability for the large number of civilian causalities and the disappearance of the surrendees are very essential for a genuine reconciliation.

Recent developments

• Remembering the dear ones is a basic fundamental duty everybody wishes to fulfill. The people in the North have been denied this basic right especially during the past three and a half years since the war was over. During the earlier four-year ceasefire period the Tamils were not obstructed from doing so and the war-cemeteries of the LTTE were allowed to be maintained. Since the end of the war all these war cemeteries in the North have been bulldozed and defaced. In these places permanent army-camps, play-grounds etc for them have come up.

The people are forbidden to light lamps, candles, to ring bells and to have any memorial service in their respective places of worship to remember the dead during the war. Even the normal liturgical services on such days are not allowed to be ’ conducted freely. In this background a peaceful commemoration of the war victims on the 27th. of November, 2012 by the Jaffna University students was prevented by the Security Forces by force and then a peaceful demonstration of the students to protest against the use of force by the army on the following day was forcefully put down by the Security Forces during which several students were injured.

In the following days four of the students who were arrested were taken to the South for ‘rehabilitation’. Along with them 45 others from the Jaffna peninsula during the following days were arrested and sent for questioning and ‘rehabilitation’. Some of them had already been ‘rehabilitated’ and the others were accused of having had some contacts with the LTTE earlier.

In the midst of this, statements have been made by responsible authorities in the Security Forces that hundreds of others (a Sinhala newspaper Lakbima says about 1000) are under surveillance and they also will eventually be arrested and sent for ‘rehabilitation’. A1l these developments have sent shock-waves among the people in the North and they live in fear.

The recent recruitment of about 100 young girls in the Wanni region has caused a lot of concern among the general public as there was no transparency in the whole procedure. The promise given to the girls and their parents was that they will be given some training in computer-programming and given some office work. They were promised that they will get a minimum salary of 30,000 Rs. per month and it was very attractive for them.

When tirey went in they felt that things were different. Some of them had the courage to leave immediately and some of them fell sick and had to be hospitalised. The rest were not happy with the whole procedure, but opted to stay on. Of late as a kind of diversion they were taken to Trincomallee for an excursion and now they have been taken to Colombo for a week of sight- seeing tour etc.

In connection with hospitalization of some of these girls a Tamil doctor attached to the Base hospital at Anuradhaprra, Dr. Shivasankar who tried to help a girl of this group who was admitted in the hospital to retum home has been arrested under PTA. and he is still in detention. The real reason of his arrest, the interrogation details and the failure to produce him in the courts with substantiated accusations etc. remain a mystery

 

The serious attempts to appoint the uniformed soldiers to teach Sinhala in the schools in Wanni have caused alarm. There is a severe shortage of teachers in the Wanni schools for English, Maths, Science and even the mother-tongue, Tamil and filling up these vacancies is the priority and any such work has to be done by the Department of Education. Though this plan is not carried out now there is a fear that it may be resumed at a later stage. This is a phenomenon, pointing to the fact that the Security Forces are seriously trying to have a hold in all the civil departments.

During the past few weeks the Parish Priests in the R.C. Churches in the Wanni area have been approached by the Security Forces in the respective areas and were asked to submit their ‘year plan’ for 2013 consisting of all the functions and liturgical celebrations, feasts etc. to be celebrated throughout the year.

The schools also have been asked not to have any special function however small, without the explicit permission of the Security Forces. The Security Forces take it for granted that they can take the school-children anywhere for functions they consider important even at the expense of postponing the semester examinations leave alone the regular classes.

Even after three and a half years after the end of the war the Security Forces have failed to build up a good relationship with the general public. The attitude of the ‘victor and the vanquished’ is still very noticeable. About ten days ago at Paranthan in the A-9 road the two traffic policemen stationed there had tried to stop a speeding mo-bike to have a routine check. The mo-bike stopped a few yards ahead of them and policemen started attacking the two youngsters for not stopping the mo-bike in front of them. The beating they received was so bad that they had to be admitted in the hospital at Kilinochchi. In the meantime the situation there became tense as number of people started to gather there. The O.I.C. of the Kilinochchi Police Station had to come and pacify the crowd. Such high-handed attitude of the law-enforcing personnel is not rare in the North and this will in no way help to bring about peace and reconciliation.

Conclusion

• The above mentioned developments among other things are only some symptoms The external face-lift to the North especially in the city of Jaffna and other main towns does not indicate that the people generally are enjoying real peace without any fear.

•  It looks as if the entire North is kept in a state of ‘enforced rehabilitation’.

• We would like to urge the members of the CBCSL to use their good offices to give pressure to the Govremment authorities to manifest by their actions that they are sincerely interested in peace and reconciliation. Unfortunately the actions so far are not in the right direction. For this the people in the North should be allowed to be directly under civil administration as in the rest of the country. The Government must show that they are serious about peace and reconciliation by certain actions of owning ,unaccountability in certain burning issues. Some examples would be, bringing to books the reai culprits of the killing of the five students in Trincomallee una ugirn the massacre of the 17 aid-workers of the ACTION FAIM in Muthur in 2006.

• Systematic state-funded colonization of the Sinhalese of the South is changing the demography of the Tamil areas so that in course of time the Tamil community will become a minority in their homeland’

• If the present situation continues we fear that it will be paving the way for another cycle tf violence. The country cannot afford to pay such a heavy price as in the past.

We wish and pray that the CBCSL will do something substantial to build up a peaceful nation based on justice.

Thanking you

Yours sincerely

Fr. S.V.B. MangAlarajahl

President

Commission for Justice & Peace of the Catholic Diocese of Jaffna

Sri Lanka

Rule of ‘Aiya-Malo’ (Brothers), Instead of Rule of Law

Rule of ‘Aiya-Malo’ (Brothers), Instead of Rule of Law

by Laksiri Fernando

( January 14, 2013, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) It was in fact a sad day for the whole of Sri Lanka and all Sri Lankans even living abroad. Some may rejoice with short-sightedness or blindness because of some political affiliation or past loyalty on the order to remove the Chief Justice. The propaganda was so vicious and so venomous that some people must have believed that the Chief Justice was a villain or a conspirator. On the contrary her resistance and defiance were admirable in the midst of all the odds and vicious and violent campaigns.

The indecent hurry shown by the regime to serve the impeachment order has already demonstrated the vicious political intentions behind the whole drama. Even in Saudi Arabia it took over a year to implement the execution order of Rizana Naffic. Within hours after the thoroughly unconstitutional Parliamentary debate, the President Mahinda Rajapaksa has signed the removal order in Sri Lanka. It is the same President who talked about appointing an Independent Committee few weeks ago before he takes any decision on the impeachment initiative. What happened to that Committee, Mr President, one may ask?   

No one has to believe that the CJ has been white as a lily, as SL Gunasekera has pointed out. That has never been the issue. She should have been given a fair hearing and a fair trial. That was the issue. That was her pleading also. Of course one can also look at the charges or the facts presented by the accusers. But no one could come to a final conclusion without a fair judicial process on such matters. Whatever the mistakes that she has been implicated of are not one sided. The government is equally responsible, if not more, for those deviations. This is a Chief Justice appointed by the President just one year ago and called Ape Minissu or our people. As Prof Tissa Vitarana, a Minster of the same government once correctly remarked, this questions the procedure or the validity of appointments by the President.

The whole governing system is full of ‘conflicts of interest’ and dubious dealings par excellence at the expense of public interest. If the interests between the CJ and her husband or the CJ and her sister were in conflict on several matters, no doubt, how you could resolve the conflicts of interest between the President and the Speaker, the President and the Defence Secretary and the President and a key Minister of the same family? How can the President or the others be impartial and fair to each other or to the public? How can you prevent them being cohort in misusing and abusing  political power as a clique or a family since many others in the same family have been appointed into key positions in the governing system?

No one can say that we need higher standards in the judiciary, but not necessarily in politics. This is not correct although politics has been overwhelmingly accepted in Sri Lanka as ‘dirty’ and dirty to the core. ‘Nepotism’ is more dangerous in politics than in any other public sphere especially when the networks created are to do with holding and amassing power if not wealth. This is exactly the case in Sri Lanka today. This is not simply a matter of few members in the same family engaging in politics or holding even some key positions i.e. DS and Dudley, JR and Ranil and Chandrika and Sirimavo etc. As we know, in the past, those members in the same family were not even ‘seeing eye to eye’ with each other i.e. Chandrika and Anura.

This family is however different. We have come to a new era in family politics surpassing all the others. This is perhaps what it meant by strengthening the ‘family institution’ in the Mahinda Chinthana Manifesto! It is right there at the beginning of the so-called Chinthana. There is a clear pattern of control by the family even far exceeding a country like North Korea. This is good for an illustrative organigram or organizational chart of this family rule although I don’t have time now to do so.

At the top of the ‘pyramid’ is the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, perhaps becoming only a figurehead or Bonaparte. Then on the left side you have the all-powerful Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, with ‘dwifungsi’ or dual-functions of the past Indonesian style military rule. He is encroaching into the economy and the public service and already his ministry is called the ministry of ‘defence and urban development.’ Kusal Perera has given a detailed exposition of the military encroachment in the system recently. Then in the middle is Basil Rajapaksa with newly acquired Ministry of Divineguma controlling virtually the whole of the economy. Even he can now expropriate private property under an act passed over a year ago in the name of development. This is something Dr Harsha de Silva time and again emphasized as a major danger. Property might be acquired for the family rule. Then on the right is Chamal Rajapaksa, as the Speaker, now virtually controlling the entire Parliament encroaching into the sphere of the judiciary. This is the rule of ‘Aiya-Malo.’      

What more to control? Only the judiciary is left. Could anyone dispute this? I am not the first one to say about the family rule, but had some restraints myself as an academic to say it so bluntly before. Tisaranee Gunasekara has elaborated on the matter several times quite eloquently. Now the circle is complete and the red-line is passed. I was also partly ashamed, to reveal frankly, as a former supporter of the UPFA to see the dramatic change aftermath of the victory over the LTTE. The victory of course was necessary but the nature of the victory indulging in war crimes and blatant human rights violations perhaps is one reason for the present dramatic change. These things could happen in politics and the important necessity is for the former supporters of the UPFA to understand the change and understand it as quickly as possible. It is a qualitative change and not a marginal one anyone could ignore. The family rule is their defence mechanism. At least three brothers might be directly responsible for many of the atrocities and the other brother is hell bent on saving the siblings.

This is no longer a UPFA government in its true meaning. This is a Mahinda-Gotabhaya-Basil-Chamal (MGBC) government. All those who blindly supported the utterly unconstitutional unwritten ‘impeachment motion’ are mere puppets minus the two family members (Basil and Namal).

Let me give the most recent example in respect of the impeachment. According to the UNP General Secretary and MP, Tissa Attanaykae (Daily Mirror, 13 January 2013), there was no ‘impeachment resolution’ in the Order Paper of Parliament although there was a scheduled debate on the PSC Report. As reported by the Daily Mirror, “He [has] said Parliament had not made any request for the President to remove the Chief Justice, as such, a resolution was never included in the Order Book.” Then who requested the removal of the Chief Justice? Apparently it was the elder brother of the President, the Speaker, Chamal Rajapaksa! His word is the Order Paper or the Address of Parliament. This is the consequence of ‘Aiya-Malo rule’ and not the rule of law of the country or the constitution. 

This is not the first time when a key Rajapaksa appointee was demoted/removed after stepping out of line and then hounded upon. But this time it will be different. First it was the Army Commander, Sarath Fonseka and now it is the Chief Justice, Dr Shirani Bandaranayake. Both fell foul with two Rajapaksa brothers; first one with Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the next one with Basil Rajapaksa. There cannot be any doubt that it was the Supreme Court decision on the Divineguma Bill that decided the fate of the Chief Justice and even her husband. All the facts and charges are supplementary and subordinate. It was after the first decision that the husband was charged of corruption and it was with the second decision that the impeachment charges were brought before the Parliament. It is also not a coincidence that the impeachment debate unleashed in Parliament only two days after the clipped Divineguma Bill became passed with an uneasy two thirds majority.

But there are definite limitations for the Rajapaksa rule however much they rely on coercive power and extra-legal violence of the political goons. This is not Burma or Indonesia. The democratic traditions of Sri Lanka are more profound and long standing. Unlike when Sarath Fonseka was hounded, the judiciary backed their Chief Justice perhaps realising the dangers for their own survival and also as a matter of principle. This is quite unprecedented in a case of an impeachment anywhere in the world. Nothing similar happened when Fonseka was victimised. It was unfortunate that the judiciary could not back him. There have been many omissions and commissions on the part of the judiciary itself that have led to the present predicament.

As far as the present circumstances are concerned there are immense dangers for the rule of law that we and many others have discussed previously somewhat in detail. The most dangerous would be the appointment of a known stooge as the next Chief Justice. They are obviously short of a ‘Rajapaksa’ to be appointed as the next CJ but someone closer to them can be appointed; a Rajapaksa not by name but a ‘raja-paksa’ (royal loyal) by deed.

Some of the encroachments to the rule of law so far have come from the Parliament itself. The Parliament has refused to abide by the rulings of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal on the matters of the impeachment process. This has made the impeachment ‘illegal’ and ‘unconstitutional’ leading to a constitutional crisis although the President has endorsed the decision. Clamouring about the non-existent supremacy of Parliament is not going to resolve this situation and instead it would aggravate the conundrum.

No one is saying that the judiciary is supreme than the Parliament. None is supreme under the constitution other than the people of this country. Even otherwise the people are supreme who can change or create constitutions through peaceful and legitimate means. There appear to be considerable distortions in the representative character of the present Parliament leading to the present situation. This is apart from what has been said time and again about the distorted PR system in the present constitution. The major distortion has occurred through bribing and buying of opposition MPs to the ruling coalition contravening the letter and spirit of the representative system in the country. The present two thirds majority in Parliament is an artificial creation.   

The judicial rulings or reviews are a matter of checks and balances in the constitution that all Members of Parliament have taken an oath of allegiance to obey and follow. The Speaker has instigated the Members of Parliament to disobey the rulings that are part of the rule of law. Even the main opposition party, the UNP or its leader, Ranil Wickremasinghe, seems to be trapped in this government quagmire. No one can deny that it is the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court alone that can interpret the constitution according to the constitution. If there is a disagreement or a doubt about the correctness of such interpretation, an appeal can be made to hear the matter again with an enlarged bench and perhaps of all the judges of the Supreme Court sitting.

Instead, the Parliament has opted to sit as a court of justice to find the Chief Justice guilty and ask the President to remove her. A Parliament’s role in an impeachment process is different to a court of law or a judicial procedure. It is only after a positive judicial finding that a motion of impeachment should be passed in Parliament. The Speaker has opted to interpret the constitution and ask the MPs to disobey the court rulings in this respect. This is not the rule of law but the rule of ‘Aiya-Malo.’    

Lawyers consider writ of quo warranto against ‘new’ CJ

MONDAY, 14 JANUARY 2013

The Lawyers’ Collective headed by Dr. JayampathiWickremarathne while claiming that they would not accept the 'purported' appointment of a new Chief Justice said  a writ of quo warranto could be taken against any person accepting such appointment.

Speaking at a specially convened press conference, Dr. Wickremarathne flanked by senior lawyers SrinathPerera PC, J.C. Weliamuna, Kumar Rathnawel, Chandrapala Kumarage and a host of other lawyers said the dismissal and appointment of a another person to the Position of Chief Justice was illegal.

“It is entirely illegal and any citizen can seek a writ against any person who accepts such an appointment. The writ is sought against the person benefiting from such appointment and not the President who is immune from such action under article 25 of the constitution” he said. “The writ is sought to question the authority under which the new person would be acting.”

Speaking further, Dr. Wickremarathne explained the consequences of such an unconstitutional appointment stating that the validity and legality of any decision made by such an appointee is questionable.

“The purported appointee will also be ex-officio Chairman of the Judicial Services Commission which has all the authority to effect transfers and take administrative actions affecting the judiciary. All of these actions can be deemed illegal because the appointment itself is illegal and unconstitutional” he said.

All lawyers present reiterated that they would continue to respect the Chief Justice Dr. ShiraniBandaranayake as the Chief Justice of the country and stated that the sacking and new appointment was illegal.

Lawyer ChandrapalaKumarage said according to rumours the new appointee was a person at the helm of the Attorney General’s Department.

“During the past few years the Attorney General’s Department took back cases against politicians accused of murder and other such activities. This is the sort of person that the government is considering to appoint to the helm of the judiciary” he said.

SrinathPerera PC, urged the country to unite in what he termed ‘the darkest hour of our lives”

J. C. Weliamuna  said  the current Chief Justice had faced the worst trial in history ever faced by a judge.

“We salute her for her courage and will stand by any decision she takes. She faced the worst trial in history which was faced by any judge. Nowhere in the world has this sort of trial against a judge taken place. We have faced threats and intimidation during the past few weeks.  The judges have also been intimidated but we will go on with this struggle towards an independent judiciary” he said.(By HafeelFarisz)

Sri Lanka: Impeachment & Injustice

 13/01/2013

It's been frustrating to watch the international reporting of the story of the impeachment of Sri Lanka's top judge. Some reports have got bogged down in the issue of whether or not she is guilty of corruption. That's not the issue at stake.

This is a story about rule of law - about whether the country's politicians will heed the ruling of the highest court in the land. If they don't, then there's little hope for the future.

The Chief Justice is an unlikely rebel. She interpreted the law in a way that challenged the growing powers of the ruling family. Her persecution thereafter has been clearly politically motivated.

An extraordinary Alice in Wonderland process was put in motion to teach her a lesson - with parliamentarians openly abusing the island's top judge as a mad woman and only granting her lawyers access to the huge stack of papers indicting her the day before the hearing.

Not surprisingly international watchdogs condemned the entire process as unfair. The Appeal Court and the Supreme Court in Sri Lanka also ruled that the impeachment procedure illegal and void. Lawyers went on strike, issued statements and unfurled black flags to mourn the passing away of justice.

The parliament which is controlled by the ruling Rajapaksa family moved to rubber stamp the illegal impeachment on Friday. Many of the MPs that made up the two-thirds majority had been elected on a different ticket but had been induced to cross over to join the ruling clique.

Soon Sri Lanka may bizarrely have two Chief Justices. If the President appoints a replacement, lawyers say he or she will be a usurper. Reports suggest the existing Chief Justice is continuing to fill her diary as if it's business as usual.

Sri Lanka is not suddenly on an anti corruption drive - far from it. This is an executive not brooking any challenge - even from the Judiciary. It is the erosion of the checks and balances integral to democracy.

Arcane and legalistic as this story may seem to outsiders, the impeachment has become a turning point for Sri Lankan civil society groups in the capital Colombo. Most opted for engagement with the government after the brutal end to the civil war in 2009, hoping victory against the Tamil Tiger rebels would give them some space to improve human rights. Some even played down the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by their own army in 2009, preferring denial but calling it pragmatism. UN reports revealed first 40,000 deaths and then possibly 70,000 deaths but inside the country the priorities were development, reconciliation, land rights, rehabilitation, building roads - everything except truth and justice the bedrock of the future.

The mistreatment of the Chief Justice has brought home to Sri Lankans from the majority community that even the most senior lawmaker in the land cannot be guaranteed a fair trial. Suddenly the denial of justice seems closer to home. Unsurprisingly Tamils in the diaspora are saying that now the majority Sinhalese community are beginning to get a taste of their own medicine.

As an author of a book of survivors' stories from the appallingly brutal climax of the war in 2009, I wonder why there hasn't been equal alarm about the injustice then: deliberate shelling of hospitals and food queues, summary executions of bound and naked prisoners, gang rape in police custody, systematic torture in detention and disappearance of people who were seen surrendering to the army. The treatment of the Chief Justice is indeed a symbol of how bad things have got, but hundreds of thousands of Tamils went through far worse injustice and no lawyer or human rights activist unfurled black flags for them.

 

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SRI LANKA: Proposing Mohan Peiris as CJ belies the claim that the impeachment was all about integrity

January 14, 2013

It has been reported that the name of Mohan Peiris has been proposed as one of the names for the office of Chief Justice by the Sri Lankan government. If the role of the chief justice is to be that of a stooge of the government perhaps there is hardly anyone more suited to the post that Mr. Peiris.

The proposal of Mr. Mohan Peiris belies the government's argument that the reason to move for an impeachment against Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake was on the issue of integrity. 

What integrity can Mr. Mohan Peiris claim? He has worked hand-in-glove in almost every activity that has ended in scandal in recent times. Whether we are speaking about enforced disappearances or blatant abuse of authority to forgive criminals and to prosecute innocent persons or covering up any of the scandals relating to the government, Mr. Mohan Peiris has a hand in all these matters. The whole world is aware of his attempt to cover up the state's responsibility for the enforced disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda. He blatantly lied before the United Nations Committee against Torture and the world media saw him do so. Later, before a Sri Lankan court he stated the very opposite of what he had said before this august treaty body of the United Nations. 

The manner in which he abused his position as Attorney General is well documented, published and commented upon by many persons. We do not wish to repeat here the long list of wrong doings that are attributed to him. 

The attempt to place Mr. Mohan Peiris in the position of chief justice confirms the fears repeatedly expressed during the impeachment debate that the aim of the government is to destroy the Supreme Court altogether. What the public needs to fathom is the reasons for this scheme of the Rajapaksa government to destroy the Supreme Court altogether. 

It is obvious that the government is aware of what it is doing and what it intends to do in the future and that it will cause serious violations of the rights of all citizens. Naturally the citizens are going to be aggrieved and will want to seek protection. The habit of turning to the courts for protection has been well established in Sri Lanka and now the government wants to send the very clear message that the courts are no place for citizens to contest the actions of the government. 

The government also wants to suppress all judges who do not fall in line with the government and perform the function of frustrating the people's aspirations for justice.

The government wants the people to abandon all hopes of finding justice in the courts and cultivating this sense of hopelessness has become necessary for the very survival of the government. 

It was the will of the government to impeach the Chief Justice, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake by hook or by crook. It is the same approach that the government is following in trying to appoint their man to the post of Chief Justice. 

The people do not owe the obligation of obedience and cooperation for these kinds of schemes of any government and the only way the people can protect their own self interests is to withdraw cooperation for such schemes.