The Lost Generation of Tamil Youth in Sri Lanka – latest issue of Torture Magazine

( December 5, 2015, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) “The surviving, present day youth in Northern Sri Lanka face a grim future. Society is just recovering from three decades of devastating civil war. In the current post-war context, the future of the community depends on rebuilding broken social structures in which youth can play a crucial role”, writes Dr. Daya Somasundaram, a well-known Sri Lankan scholar on Psychiatry in the cover story of Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives.

He continues, “to understand the predicament of today’s youth, it is necessary to understand their past, current psychosocial context and the educational system. There is a popular caricature of male youth, particularly among critical elders, that they hang around street corners, smoking, drinking and harassing females.”

In his latest essay, Dr. Daya Somasundaram analyses the impact of past war trauma, present psychosocial context, education and the globalisation of post-war society on the Tamil youth of Northern Sri Lanka. The full text of the essay will be available in the latest issue of the magazine.

The forthcoming issue also contains a contribution by Stephanos Bibas, Professor of law and criminology at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and a leading scholar of criminal procedure with expertise in criminal charging, plea bargaining and sentencing. He is the author of The Machinery of Criminal Justice.

Meanwhile, writing on Genocide, Bob Brecher, Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Brighton, and Director of its Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics & Ethics notes that, “Genocide is a paradigm case of denying our fundamental equality as people: my identity is fine; yours is impermissible. People like me are real people; people like you are cockroaches, lice. You must die on account of who you are. As with torture and with rape, so with genocide. They are the worst things we do to one another. ”

On the subject of the Magna Carta at 800 years, one of dominant minds on the issue, Professor Nicholas Vincent of the University of East Anglia, unearths fascinating historical insight behind the Great Charter:

“What was wrong with John? For a start, there was his name. He was born the youngest of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine’s many children, on Christmas Eve 1166 or 1167. The uncertainty here itself demonstrates quite how low John stood in the family pecking order. His four elder brothers William, Henry, Richard and Geoffrey had all been named after previous kings of England or dukes of Normandy. John was a cuckoo in this particular nest, named for no apparent reason save perhaps for the proximity of his birthday to the feast of St John the Evangelist (27 December), and as a male counterpart to his elder sister Joan, born a year or two before him.”

The issue also contains an article encouraging the reform of Myanmar’s legal system from within by Basil Fernando, Director Policy and Programmes of the AHRC and ALRC, as well as the work of Therese Rytter, Director of Legal Affairs & Advocacy at the Danish Institute Against Torture ( DIGNITY).

Tisaranee Gunasekara, Ron Jacobs, Binoy Kampmark, Ahlam Chemlali and Javeria Younes contribute their regular columns. Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives is a bi-monthly magazine which focuses on torture and its related issues globally. Writers interested in having their thoughts and research on this subject published, may submit their articles for consideration to torturemag@ahrc.asia

A Few Thoughts on Sri Lanka's New Court

Taylor Dibbert

-12/03/2015

Sri Lanka has recently announced that it will create a new court to examine abuses which allegedly transpired during the country's civil war. The government has noted that this is going to be a domestic mechanism, but hasn't ruled out the possibility of some international involvement. The abrupt announcement of this special court came as a surprise to many. Former president Chandrika Kumaratunga has stated that the court will commence its work either later this month or in January.

At this point, a few matters are worth considering. For starters, what does the creation of this special court mean in terms of the consultative processes surrounding transitional justice which remain in their incipient stages? A credible, thorough consultative process likely would have taken a number of months and yet the government has already come out and announced the creation of this special court.

In addition, Sri Lanka still doesn't have certain laws, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, on its books. Presumably, those laws would need to be incorporated into domestic law imminently. What are the government's expectations in terms of the timing and sequencing of this? Is it something that has already been discussed in detail? Since we've been told that the court could be set up in just a few weeks, would the government prioritize this issue over other elements of the reform agenda?

The announcement of this new court means that Sri Lanka will finally begin adding a degree of specificity towards its transitional justice approach. Since the latest U.N. Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka was passed on October 1, a major unanswered question has been the extent that international actors will participate in the process. This is a delicate political issue and the administration of Maithripala Sirisena would never accept overwhelming international participation. Having said that, the forthcoming creation of this new court will compel the government to begin adding specifics about how it sees transitional justice working in practice. Colombo will need to clarify how foreign judges, prosecutors, investigators and lawyers will be involved. More specifically, how will these individuals be selected? How many will there be? Does the government already have certain people in mind? And will they have any real power?

Lastly, since it appears that Kumaratunga is overseeing this initiative, it's worth noting that she was president of Sri Lanka from 1994 to 2005. Will the court's temporal mandate include time when she was in power? Is so, what might that mean for truth and justice?

Indeed, there are many questions that will need to be answered -- and soon.

Follow Taylor Dibbert on Twitter: www.twitter.com/taylordibbert

Speaker Silent On Public Interest Questions Related To Consitutional Council

December 5, 2015

Despite being an avowed champion of the Right to Information, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has, up to now, failed to respond to several questions put to him by Colombo Telegraph in the public interest relating to the transparent and accountable functioning of the Constitutional Council of which he is the Chairman by virtue of office.

These questions sent by Colombo Telegraph to him on 20th of November are as follows;

1 Would you agree that the process whereby the CC nominates people to the President should be made public and that the public be allowed to have their say?

2 If not, why not?

3 In your opinion, is it not contradictory to refer to the CC as independent when it is primarily a political body in its composition?

4 When the CC nominates members as Chairman of a commission, could you clarify on the process that is followed, for example, how many names does it send to the President (one, two, three, five) and how long does it wait for the President to make the appointment?

5 Public displeasure has been indicated in the recent weeks regarding allegations that a person appointed as Chairman of one Commission was sent a letter of ‘withdrawal’, taking back that appointment and appointing him as member of the Commission while another person was appointed as Chairman. This change was due to the intervention of former President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Are you aware of these reports?

6 In principle, would you not agree that such an interference with the process is unconstitutional and goes against the government’s pledges of good governance?

Despite Colombo Telegraph sending these questions to his email address on record, Speaker Jayasuriya has apparently declined to respond.                                             Read More

Dismissing ‘magic formulas’ in restoring judicial integrity

• Sunday, December 06, 2015

In a major ironical twist unfolding before our eyes, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga has seen fit to wax eloquent on the importance of judicial integrity this week. Addressing a press conference, she is reported to have said that, over the last decade, the Sri Lankan public in general and she in particular, had lost ‘confidence in the judiciary.’ It was observed by her that ‘the Lokka’ had to give just one call to obtain whatever judicial orders that he wished.

Assessing the judiciary under Kumaratunga

These are richly farcical sentiments coming from a President under whose imperial command the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka commenced its ignominious descent into the worst post-independence controversies in the history of that once august institution.

The International Bar Association (IBA) put this very well in its first fact-finding mission to the country under the Kumaratunga Presidency. Concern was expressed regarding the undermining of the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary. The lack of accountability of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) was particularly worrying. The mission observed that ‘it was not confident that the JSC is acting entirely without outside interference’ (see ‘Sri Lanka: Failing to protect the Rule of Law and the Independence of the Judiciary,’ IBAHRI, November 2001).

Its second mission a few years later concluded with severe cautions in regard to the increased politicization of the judicial institution. Regardless, vociferous civil society critics and seniors at the Bar who had held forth on the misdeeds of the JR Jayawardene regime were silent during that period and suddenly became vocal again only after Kumaratunga was thrust out of power.

Has actual change occurred?

The results of this culpable and compromised silence were predictable. Under Kumaratunga’s successor, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Chief Justice after Chief Justice failed to strengthen the judicial institution resulting in the calamitous collapse of public confidence. Certainly Rajapaksa excesses far surpassed what had gone on before. Yet, this was to be expected, given the character of that political leadership.

The summary removal of (former) Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, (who was by no means, non-controversial in office) with less ceremony than that afforded to a common criminal was the culmination of that long and miserably subverted decline.

True, these were significant factors in compelling the January 2015 ‘peoples’ revolution.’ But has this actually led to concrete changes in structures and systems? President Maithripala Sirisena excels in pleasing rhetoric. And to give the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration due credit, it has not resorted to Medamulana strong-arm tactics in handling the judiciary. Yet does this suffice? This question can only be answered in the negative.

Silence of formerly vocal voices

And true to past patterns of behavior, where are the once vocal voices of the Bar Association? One exception was the Bar’s recent call upon the Government to reverse the special appointment of a Commissioner of the High Court to hear cases of detainees kept under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Such a special appointment was said not to be justified when there were pending vacancies in the regular High Court cadre. However this protest meekly subsided to kittenish mewling when the Minister of Justice with characteristic bravado, abruptly dismissed that call and went ahead with the appointment.

Indeed, the Bar should have taken a strong stand on the claim made by this Minister in Parliament that he had prevented the arrest of former President Rajapaksa’s brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in connection to the notorious Avant Garde controversy. Yet we saw nothing of the sort. In the result, the resignation of the former Minister of Law and Order following similarly scandalous statements in the House was rendered a mere superficiality.

Emphasizing certain home truths

But apart from this display of amusing acrobatics on the part of onetime strident advocates, there are certain home truths that need to be administered to our politicians. First and foremost, this Government and its drivers in power, including former President Kumaratunga, must not treat the Sri Lankan public as morons. This column’s weary revisiting of past travails of the Court in its opening paragraphs was necessitated by that airy talk of frolics by the Rajapaksa ‘Lokka’ while beautifully ignoring the decline in judicial integrity under her own Presidency. That is unacceptable.

So as the former President lectures all and sundry on accepting the mistakes of the past, some of that advice may well be directed towards herself. But honest contrition is unlikely to be manifested. Second, while the public is not asinine enough to swallow what amounts to political piffle, there are greater lessons in hand. Thus, this notion that all wrongs were limited to the Rajapaksa period is generally accompanied by the claim that ‘instant’ Special Courts will be a magic solution in restoring lost judicial integrity.

Unsurprisingly this was the connection again made this week by former President Kumaratunga. But this is a misconception that is in part dangerous and in part, foolish. Certainly this may suit the Government’s political agenda, enabling it to strike out ‘high risk’ individuals as well as satisfy the demand for accountability. Yet, failure to take collective political responsibility and embark on systemic reform of mainstream justice institutions will only aggravate a continuing legal vacuum that we see.

Not abstract warnings

These are not abstract warnings. The apathy of the Government in enforcing the law against gross corruptors flows from this same dysfunction. So is its inability to either charge or release long-time Tamil detainees under anti-terrorism laws or properly address the exponential rise in sexual violence.

For example, the enactment of the 19th Amendment does not automatically solve the question of the public accountability of the JSC. This is a safeguard that should be secured through well thought out reforms, rather than made to depend on the persona of a particular Chief Justice. Neither will ad hoc special courts restore judicial integrity. We have many illustrative examples from the past proving that point.

It is also difficult to believe that a ‘truth and reconciliation process’ will be a panacea, whatever that may conceivably mean to our skeptical ears. Over and above the rhetoric, political will must be evidenced to end impunity. The current law more than suffices for this purpose. Yet unfortunately, we are still to see this, in the North as well as in the South.

Karunaratne Paranavithana who entered parliament 3 months ago is deputy minister parliamentary affairs !

(Lanka-e-News -05.Dec.2015, 11.30PM) Karunaratne Paranavithana the Ratnapura district M.P. a newcomer to parliament who polled only 47257 votes and was last in the UNP list ,  was appointed as  deputy minister of parliamentary affairs and mass media last  (04) forenoon by President Maithripala Sirisena before whom he  was sworn in.

Paranavithana is possessed of long experience in the media sphere but as regards parliamentary affairs he is an ignoramus. It is the consensus , such  an individual who entered parliament just three months ago being appointed as the deputy minister of Parliamentary affairs by good governance is a joke of the century .

While MPs like Buddhika Pathirana who entered parliament in 2010 and was at the top with the highest preferential votes in his district are languishing still as an M.P. , Paranavithana who came last in the preferential list being appointed as deputy minister cannot be justified under any circumstances, and is something the people cannot  understand ,for it is being widely questioned what was the criterion applied to make such a choice?

Let us make it known that Karunaratne Paranavithana is an old  friend of Lanka e news, and let us also make it clear  this criticism is not leveled against him personally , but it is simply that the criterion applied is erroneous, and we are  only   highlighting that error.

No matter what , the   actions taken by the government for and on behalf of  good governance , are being unheeded by the state media , and highlighting them are not being paid attention to by it , while publishing  distorted versions of news is  also on the increase. A good  case in point is :  The finalization of the 9 independent commissions  was something earnestly anticipated by the people of the rainbow revolution , and a great hope fuilfilled for them , however to  the print media of the government ,that  was not so much of an important news , but the song ‘sitha thadha karan’ of Wimal Weerawansa was of greater importance. 

If at least Karunaratne Paranavithana the new deputy minister  can rectify this situation , and show the right path to the State media  whereby the efforts and enthusiasm of the people to make good governance triumph  can be encouraged with the participation of the people which is most paramount  in this context , certainly that would be most salutary .

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by     (2015-12-06 00:59:53)

Will Justice Prevail For Murdered Wasim Thajudeen

By Hilmy Ahamed –December 5, 2015

Hilmy Ahamed

Mohammed Wasim Thajudeen died or was murdered on the 17th of May 2012. He played rugby for St. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia, Havelocks Sports Club and Sri Lanka National Rugby team. He was a brilliant rugger-rite- and a much loved human being.

Wasim’s death is surrounded in mystery with rumours that members of the security division of a certain VVIP killed Wasim. There are also unverified reports claiming that the police investigations into Wasim’s death had been shelved due to political wheeler dealing. God forbid that Yahapalanaya has cut deals.

Just prior to the August 2015 elections, the CID made bold statements that there had been attempts to hide evidence of the murder of Thajudeen during the initial police investigation. This is due to the initial investigator’s failure to produce the police CCTV footage, phone records and testimony from neighbours and security guards at Shalika grounds. The fire fighters who were called in to douse the fire of the burning car were also not questioned. The Police also failed to investigate as to why Wasim’s body was found on the passenger side of his car, when no other body or human remains were found on the driver’s side or in any other part of the wreckage. Did Wasim’s ghost drive the car? The post mortem report indicated that there was carbon monoxide in Wasim’s lungs, but the Government Analyst is supposed to have confirmed that he found no evidence of carbon monoxide. Wasim’s wallet was found, without any signs of being burnt, in Kirulapone a few days after his death. His mobile phone was found intact many months later in Nuwara Eliya. The Daily Mirror newspaper, in one of its reports, claimed that an eyewitness to the incident saw two Land Rover Defenders at the scene of Wasim’s accident/death.                                                        Read More

Beware: Many ministers, MPs suffer from bipolar disorder!

- Dec 05, 2015

The ‘Sathhanda’ newspaper stresses in its banner headline article that many ministers and MPs of the present parliament do suffer from the bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness.

This has been revealed to the newsapaper by a local specialist psychiatrist who has done a research in this regard.

 

The report says,

 

The doctor says several ministers have come to him to obtain treatment, but there are more MPs who do not know yet that they suffer from bipolar disorder, adding that their conduct and talk have convinced him about their illness.

 

A matter for concern is that among them are the powerful leaders of several parties, he said.

 

Serious tragedy

 

If they themselves or their close ones do not identify the symptoms and not obtain treatment, this situation will take the country to a serious tragedy, the doctor warns.

 

Among these ministers is a most powerful minister and his son, and both come to him for treatment, he says, adding that the MPs suffering from the disorder are recommended to take the drug called ‘Tramadol.’

 

Sometimes, a person with severe episodes of mania or depression has psychotic symptoms too, such as hallucinations or delusions. The psychotic symptoms tend to reflect the person's extreme mood. For example, if you are having psychotic symptoms during a manic episode, you may believe you are a famous person, have a lot of money, or have special powers.

 

Minister and son

 

People with bipolar disorder experience unusually intense emotional states that occur in distinct periods called "mood episodes." Each mood episode represents a drastic change from a person’s usual mood and behavior. An overly joyful or overexcited state is called a manic episode, and an extremely sad or hopeless state is called a depressive episode. Sometimes, a mood episode includes symptoms of both mania and depression. This is called a mixed state. People with bipolar disorder also may be explosive and irritable during a mood episode. The abovementioned minister and son are a case in point that this disorder can affect other members of the family of a person already suffering from it.

 

Politicians suffering from this disorder say that they were the ones who had saved the country, talk about saving the country, claim to be the leader of the nation, say that they toppled a government to take power, that he will become the prime minister or the president of the next government, and show others that they know everything, refuse to respect others’ views and disregard them etc.

 

Claim to be important person 

 

According to medical opinion, until the patient returns to normal, the disorder could last a few days to several months.

 

The abovementioned young MP has been behaving so while saying that he was the hero who defeated the Rajapaksa regime. The minister too, behaves in such a manner to convince others that he himself is the country’s law.

 

These insane thoughts may suddenly give way and the patient could even attempt suicide. It has been found that many who had committed suicide had suffered from this disorder.

 

Renowned businessman 

 

Several leading businessmen in the country too, have obtained treatment for this disorder, reports say. One of them, who had held a top government position had boasted that he would become the Central Bank governor and the finance ministry secretary.

 

Later, the ailment was diagnosed and he obtained the necessary treatment at a hospital in Singapore.

 

However, if ministers and MPs who suffer from this disorder do not obtain treatment, but continue to take political deicisons for the country, the entire country will be in serious danger, the specialist doctor stresses.

 

According to him, two former presidents and a prime minister, too suffered from this disorder.

 

(Subhash Jayawardena)

 

Further information about bipolar disorder 

 

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml

HRC full report on HNDA student assault : compensation to 9 students and new methodologies to be evolved

(Lanka-e-News - 05.Dec.2015, 3.40PM) The police had violated the fundamental rights of the students as stipulated in sections 11, 12 (1) of  the constitution  in the incident at Ward place where the students of Higher National Diploma (HND) were allegedly assaulted by the police , based on the report released today by the Independent Human rights commission (HRC) which also states that compensation shall be paid to the victims , and a new system to combat riotous situations be introduced . This report was released by the HRC following its investigations into the Ward place episode.

Accordingly , the victim Sashini Sandapani Kumarasinghe who was hospitalized is to be paid Rs. 25,000.00 while the other 8 victims are to be paid Rs. 15000.00  each as compensation as recommended by the HRC.

It was the view of the HRC that the police has used its powers in excess of what is needed reasonably to control the riotous situation. The HRC also  does not agree with the police statement that after using the water hose and tear gas , they  had to go behind the students  and attack  to control  because they saw the students unlawfully assembling again .

It is the conclusion of the HRC that after the tear gas attack , the students did not assemble again , and therefore the attack of the police the second time was in excess of its legitimate powers to control the situation.The students  did not obtain prior permission to go in procession , but why did the police allow them to reach as far as  Ward place , the Commission has questioned.

The HRC has also mentioned in the report what measures should be taken in such circumstances in the future to avert such situations.

The police are lacking professionalism in dealing with such situations . On par with methods used in Democratic countries in the world , a methodology must be evolved to combat unlawful riotous sutuations.Towards this with the assistance of the Commission ,keeping  abreast of  the latest trends and  with a view to strengthen human rights , a methodology shall  be evolved to control unlawful riotous situtations involving the public , and recommended to the Commission by March 1 st , the HRC  has instructed. 

The Commission has also recommended in order  to  make the methodology practical, on that day to give a report on the training  and booklets  that are necessary , while also insisting that the relevant officials should take immediate action to resolve such potential long term  conflicts of the public .

The final report of the Commission contained in 31 pages prepared under the chief Dr. Deepika Udugama its president , has been signed by its commissioners Dr. U. Vidhane Pathirane , Ambiga Sathkunanathan , and lawyers Hameed Gazzali Hussain and Saliya Peiris .

The full report of the HRC is hereunder for  downloading.
http://www.lankaenews.com/home/downloads/33/Human_Rights_Commission_of_Sri_Lanka_Report_on_Police_asults_on_HNDA_Students.pdf

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by     (2015-12-05 10:12:27)

Sri Lanka Police Score Own-goal in Rights Case

(HELP: File photo of another police attack.)

05/12/2015

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s police may have scored an own goal by trying to invoke the United Nation’s Universal Declaration on Human Rights as a defence against allegations they used excessive force in breaking up a student demonstration in October.

SSP Ajith Rohana, a former police spokesman, argued before the Human Rights Commission that students were in breach of an article in the UN declaration by causing disruption to motorists and others in the area.

After SSP Rohana drew attention to the UN declaration, the independent commission went into the question of international humanitarian law and found that in fact it was the police which violated article 5 and 7 of the universal declaration.

Article 5 says “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” while Article 7 guarantees that everyone is equal before the law, a provision in the Sri Lankan constitution too.

The Commission also found that the police were in breach of the Article 7 and 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Sri Lanka subscribes to. Raising the stakes clearly backfired. (COLOMBO, Dec 5, 2015)
ENS

Old-Age Income Insecurity: Reforming Pensions

By Hema Senanayake –December 4, 2015

Hema Senanayake

Global Economic Revolution Is Overdue; Part 5

New employees of the government who would be recruited from January 01st 2016 onwards will have to pay for their pension, in order to receive their pension entitlements when they retire. So, it is going to be a contributory pension program. This has been proposed in the Budget 2016.

The JVP has already denounced this proposal strongly. The National Trade Union Centre (NTUC), affiliated to the JVP stressed that, “the Budget 2016 had betrayed the working class, the NTUC has vowed to thwart controversial proposal to introduce a contributory pension scheme for those joining the public sector with effect from Jan. 1 next year.” (The Island, Nov. 24, 2015).

JVP is not alone in denouncing contributory pension scheme. Former President Mahinda Rajapakse too had rejected the proposal. He said that, “I am also opposed to bringing new recruits to the government service under a contributory pension scheme from 2016 onwards. The pension is a privilege that the government servants enjoy and it should continue.” (Colombo Telegraph, Nov. 29, 2015).

Whatever the case is, let us try to understand what kind of pension program is best for the people and the country. In this series of articles through which I have been discussing about a new economic model, pension planning is one of the items on which I wanted to discuss about, because there is a strong macroeconomic reason for it. Therefore, I approach this subject from a macroeconomic perspective not as a budgetary issue of the government.

What is a pension? A pension is an arrangement that is designed to prevent old-age poverty of the work force. Any issue or problem of poverty is a problem of income redistribution or more accurately, it is a problem of the distribution of distributable income (output). Is the problem of redistribution of income falls into the category microeconomics? No it is not; rather it falls into the category of macroeconomics. Businesses, investments and investment models do fall into the category of microeconomics. This means that pension planning cannot be resolved through business or investment models or in other words there is no market based solution in order to resolve the question of income insecurity during old-age.

Usually economic theory gives us more clarity to put new policies and programs in place. Hence, let us investigate the issue of old-age poverty or income insecurity with a little bit of economic theory.

                                                                  Read More

Mahinda who pillaged from wreaths has also defaulted florists

Dec 05, 2015

President Maithripala Sirisena said that the former president has pillaged public money in the name of sending wreaths. It was revealed that the President Secretariat has sent wreaths to funeral houses and issued bills from florists amounting to millions. Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe told in the parliament that the former president in order to express his condolence has spent Rs. 15 million.

These wreaths have been taken from Jayarathna florists Colombo and Rayland florists in station road Matara. Owner of Rayland florists say that his company has to get nine lacks from the presidents secretariat for the wreaths he has sold. He said he has informed the presidents secretariat many times but so far they have not paid the bills.

 

However the money the former president spent to send wreaths for deceased people is exceeding millions more than the official statistics 

Abrew's FR petition: Debate continues over instituting criminal proceedings 

2015-12-05
The Counsel for Justice Sarath de Abrew yesterday submitted to the Supreme Court that there was no proper investigation or no sufficient evidence against Justice Sarath de Abrew to institute criminal proceedings against him. 

President’s Counsel Manohara de Silva also submitted the Attorney General had refused to grant an opportunity to the Petitioner for an interview to give material evidences to counter the uncorroborative statement or evidences of the victim and maintained that the charges were incredible and fabricated. 

He further said that the materials available did not warrant any charges against him and contended that some influential power had compelled him to initiate criminal proceedings. 

He stated in the light of the contradictory positions taken by the victim, an opportunity for an interview should have been given to the petitioner but the Attorney General had not done so. 

He maintained that there was no due process followed and the statement of the witnesses of the petitioner was not recorded. He claimed the Attorney General could have succumbed to pressure and his decision was arbitrary and capricious. 

Additional Solicitor General Yashantha Gothagoda countered that the Attorney General's Department had not succumbed to any pressure or interference.
 He submitted that the complainant's version was tenable to criminal proceedings.

 He said the Attorney General acted with the volume of evidences in the affirmative and it was now a part of the domain material as the indictment with the attachments are filed in the High Court as well as in the Magistrate’s Court. 

He justified the decision to initiate the proceedings in the High Court and advised the police to initiate criminal proceedings in the Magistrate’s Court as well. 

He stated that he had to justify the decision of the Attorney General to institute criminal proceedings against the Petitioner and maintained that there had been due and proper process. 

The fundamental rights petition was filed by the Supreme Court Judge Sarath de Abrew challenging the decision of the Attorney General and the police to institute criminal proceedings in the Colombo High Court and Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court respectively. 

The Bench comprised Chief Justice K.Sripavan, Justices Priyantha Jayawardane and Upaly Abeyrathne. The Court fixed the matter to be resumed on Tuesday (8) at 2.00 pm. 

The petitioner cited Mount Lavinia Headquarter Inspector Chanaka Iddamalgoda, Chief Inspector Wanasinghe (CID), CID Director B.R.S.R.Nagahamulla, the IGP, CID OIC Karunathilake, ASP C.W.Wickremaserkera and the Attorney General as Respondents. 

President’s Counsel Manohara de Silva with Uditha Egalahewa PC, Senior Counsel Daya Gamage and Arinda Wijesurendra appeared for the Petitioner. Additional Solicitor General Yasanatha Kothagoda with Senior State Counsel Yuresha de Silva appeared for the Attorney General. J.C.Weliamuna with Pulasthi Hewamanne appeared for the interest of the victim complainant Nilusha Damayanthi. 
The Attorney General has already filed an indictment in the Colombo High Court against Sarath de Abrew for allegedly committing grave sexual abuse on a domestic aide on or around June 26 this year.(S.S.Selvanayagam)