Constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka

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Sri Lanka faces constitutional crisis as president sacks chief justice
 
Sri Lanka is facing a deepening constitutional crisis after President Mahinda Rajapaksa went ahead and sacked its most senior judge – a move that critics say undermines the independence of the country’s judiciary.
 
In step many have claimed was inspired by a desire to remove someone who had blocked several government bills, Mr Rajapaksa on Sunday ratified a vote by the parliament to remove chief justice Shirani Bandaranayake.

“President Mahinda Rajapaksa signed this morning the order removing chief justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake from office with immediate effect in accordance with the resolution passed by Parliament on January 11, 2013,” said a statement issued by the president’s office. “The removal order was delivered this morning to the official residence of Ms Bandaranayake.”

 
The move follows months of stand-off between Mr Rajapaksa and his supporters and an increasingly vocal judiciary and legal community which has claimed the moves are undermining the independence of one of the few institutions in Sri Lanka not under the pervasive influence of the government.
 
Critics say that since 2009, when the government defeated Tamil rebels, Mr Rajapaksa has squandered opportunities for reconciliation and instead intimidated and jailed his opponents and silenced much of the media. One critic, former general Sanath Fonseka, who led the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam but later challenged Mr Rajapaksa in a a presidential election, was jailed for three years.

Ms Bandaranayake, 54, has declined to make any public statement since the crisis began in
November, when the government began proceedings to remove her.

But her lawyer, Saliya Peiris, told The Independent, the chief justice had not recognised the legitimacy of the directive given to her by Mr Rajapaksa. “She has received the letter from the president and as far as she is concerned she is not going to recognise the legality of her ouster,” he said. “But as far as her next step, I cannot tell you at this stage.”

The decision to act against the chief justice has been widely condemned by Sri Lanka’s legal community as well as international bodies. Lawyers have boycotted the courts since last week’s vote by parliament to impeach Ms Bandaranayake and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka has urged the legal community not to recognise any new chief justice appointed by the president.
“The association strongly, unequivocally and with no reservations whatsoever condemns the decision to take up for debate the impeachment motion against...the chief justice,” it said in a statement,
 

Members of Mr Rajapaksa’s United People’s Freedom Alliance ruling coalition started efforts to impeach Ms Bandaranayake last year amid claims she had acted unconstitutionally. A panel set up by the parliament found her guilty of involving herself in a case focussing on a company from which her sister had bought an apartment.
 

Ms Bandaranayake said she did not receive a fair hearing and left the committee’s session. A Supreme Court bench subsequently found the panel had no legal jurisdiction to investigate the allegations levelled at the chief justice and another senior court said parliament could take no further action against her. In proceeding with a vote last Friday, the parliament has ignored the rulings of the courts.
 

“There has been a judgement, and the parliament has decided the judgement was wrong and has acted to ignore it,” said one lawyer, Manjuka Fernandopulle.
 

One leading opposition politician, Mangala Samaraweera, said the move underscored the “dictatorial nature” of the government.
 

“This is something we have been talking about for a long time. I think this impeachment has finally exposed the true face of the administration,” he said. “And this is something the international community should take note of, especially since the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting is due to take place in Sri Lanka later this year.”
 

Many observers believe the government moved against the chief justice after she stalled a series of government bills she claimed were unconstitutional. Among them was the so-called Divineguma bill, a piece of legislation that would have devolved certain powers held by the provincial authorities and handed greater political and financial power to Mr Rajapaksa’s youngest brother Basil, who is the economic development minister.
 

No-one from the president’s office could immediately be contacted for comment. However, Mohan Samaranayake, a spokesman for the Mr Rajapaksa, told the AFP that he had acted constitutionally after 155 of parliament’s 225 members voted to go ahead with the impeachment of the chief justice. He added: “The letter was hand-delivered to her by a secretary accompanied by presidential security staff.”

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lanka-faces-constitutional-crisis-as-president-sacks-chief-justice-8449549.html

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Sri Lanka: Impeachment & Injustice

 

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.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/frances-harrison/sri-lanka-impeachment-inj_b_2466340.html

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President meets Appeal Court judges

 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa met judges of the Court of Appeal today, a day after he met judges of the Supreme Court and only hours after he had signed the warrant giving effect to Parliament's vote on Friday to impeach Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake.

President Rajapaksa explained to the judges the reasons why he impeached the Chief Justice. The judges made no comment except for one judge who was critical of the judgment by the same Court that held the parliamentary process to impeach the Chief Justice being illegal and therefore null and void.

The Sunday Times reported today exclusively details of the meeting on Saturday between the President and the Supreme Court judges. The Chief Justice had however not been invited for the meeting.

A constitutional crisis has arisen with the President sacking Sri Lanka's Chief Justice and the courts holding the removal process illegal.

 

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28947:president-meets-appeal-court-judges&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=547

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Crisis in Sri Lanka

 

Colombo seems to be enacting a scene from Islamabad’s yesteryears. The sacking of a top judge in Sri Lanka has parallels with the constitutional crisis that ripped Pakistan and resulted in chaos and misgovernance.

 

Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake’s dismissal is being contested tooth and nail by the judicial community, and is likely to act as a source of political instability in the days and weeks to come. The presidential decree to oust her was taken on the merits of impeachment proceedings conducted by parliament on the allegations that Justice Bandaranayake is involved in corruption — a charge she denies vehemently. But the point of discourse in the legal and political circles is the modus operandi that was adopted to get rid of the country’s first women top judge. The route, almost all agree, was ultra vires and the exigency exhibited unwarranted. This is President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second political assault after successfully sidelining his opponent and former chief of army staff, Sarath Fonseka, who underwent court martial on the charges of abuse of power and misconduct. It, however, remains to be seen what stance the deposed chief justice takes in due course of time and what impact it bears on the fragile political culture of Sri Lanka after decades of civil war, bloodshed and destruction.

 

 

Sri Lanka, of late, is passing through a critical phase of its political nurturing. The parliament, media, the civil society, the judiciary and the army have a responsibility to consolidate the gains of an infant democracy, especially the bounties of peace. At the same time, the country is yet to strike a new social contract between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamil communities, who had nursed grievances in the past. President Rajapaksa’s wisdom to rebuild the war-shattered country might get a serious jolt if the ongoing judicial controversy takes roots, and spills out on the streets in the form of a popular agitation. This is why the crisis should be minutely monitored and the presidential camp will be better advised to re-evaluate the entire case. As per the conventions of higher judiciary worldwide, there are inbuilt mechanisms to deal with such allegations and charges of unprofessionalism. But any attempt to coerce the judiciary through political means of parliament and the presidency are bound to trigger domestic and international dismay. Rather than opting for frightening dismissals by paralysing the institution of judiciary, it’s time for authorities concerned to take measures to subside the crisis instantly. The minimum options may include reinstating the honourable judge until a transparent judicial probe is conducted under impeccable eyes and hands.

 

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/editorial/2013/January/editorial_January29.xml&section=editorial&col=

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President of Sri Lanka Dismisses Chief Justice

 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka removed the nation’s chief justice from office on Sunday in the culmination of a widely criticized impeachment process that has crippled the nation’s courts and may precipitate a constitutional crisis.

 

Mr. Rajapaksa’s decision to sign a decree dismissing Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake came two days after Parliament, packed with Rajapaksa loyalists, voted to impeach her in defiance of a Court of Appeals ruling. The court had nullified the verdict of a parliamentary panel that had found the chief justice guilty of financial irregularities. Separately, the Supreme Court had ruled that the impeachment process was illegal.

 

 

Religious leaders, pro-democracy activists and lawyers groups have denounced the impeachment process as a naked power grab by Mr. Rajapaksa and members of his family who serve in his government. Lawyers across Sri Lanka boycotted courts on Thursday and Friday in protest.

Many lawyers have vowed to oppose anyone appointed to fill the chief justice’s post. Ms. Bandaranayake was seen as a Rajapaksa loyalist until she ruled in September that Mr. Rajapaksa’s younger brother, Basil Rajapaksa, needed to submit a $600 million development bill to the nation’s nine provincial councils before it could be approved.

 

In November, the governing party filed impeachment motions against her, and in December a parliamentary panel appointed by another of the president’s brothers found her guilty.

The United States government has repeatedly expressed concern about the impeachment process. Ms. Bandaranayake has yet to announce whether she will accept the president’s decision to remove her from office. She had earlier protested the rapidity of the parliamentary proceedings and her inability to confront or cross-examine her accusers.

 

President Rajapaksa and his government ended one of the world’s longest and bloodiest civil wars in 2009 by defeating the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, bringing stability to much of the country and increasing opportunities for tourism. But he and his brothers have been accused of being involved in unlawful killings of civilians, and a United Nations panel ruled that accusations of war crimes against the Sri Lankan government were credible and should be investigated.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/14/world/asia/president-of-sri-lanka-dismisses-chief-justice.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

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Impeachment Sri Lanka: Chief Justice - 7th January 2013 Colombo Thugs with batons 

 

Sri Lanka's first woman to be appointed Chief Justice , Dr.Mrs.Shirani Bandaranayake is being Impeached by the Government Parliamentary group for The Supreme Court judgement against the Divineguma bill.

The Govt. of Sri Lanka wants this bill passed to wrest wider control for Basil Rajapakse(One of President Mahinda Rajapakse's brothers in theGovt :the other being Speaker of the Parliament Chamal Rajapakse) to carry out development in the country with Rs.90 billion(Usd $715Million) within his control.This bill opposed by also the northern minorities since development in effect will be far more centralized disadvantages& unfair by them.

 

 

 

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Sri Lanka at the crossroads

 

The world cannot continue to tolerate the oppression and terror activities directed at minorities and Sri Lanka is no exception

 

When Sri Lanka overcame the rebellious movement of the Tamil Tigers back in 2009, there was hope that the island nation would finally emerge stronger and more united.

 

The scars of the three-decade struggle by the Tamils had hurt the image of the country both politically and economically, as charges of unrestrained brutality and ethnic cleansing were levelled at the ruling party at the time.

 

The Tamil movement had led more than 150,000 Tamil Lankans to flee their country and seek refuge in other countries. Thousands of others — estimated between 80,000 to a 100,000 — lost their lives in the prolonged struggle, with some 40,000 casualties alone in the last days before the civil war was finally declared over.

 

With such deep wounds scarring the country, there were initial efforts by the government to forge reconciliation between the majority Buddhist Sinhalese and the minority Tamil Hindus and the Muslim population of the island.

 

Article continues below

 

Events lately suggest that all is not well in that country. There are signs that chasms are appearing, often in the form of violence against minorities. The island’s Muslim community is being targeted by race-inciting Sinhalese Buddhists, while the government

appears to be condoning such attacks with their inaction.

 

Some opposition political figures charge that President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government “is again giving tacit support to communal provocations against Sri Lanka’s minorities in a bid to divide working people amid the country’s deepening economic and social crisis”.

 

In that the victims happen to be the minority sects in Sri Lanka, the political price of winning favour among the Sinhalese Buddhist majority far outweighs the peace and tranquillity that has once again deserted the island’s minority communities.

 

The Buddhist Power Force, better known as Bodu Bala Sena, is accused of being the leading terror group, inciting and organising violence against Muslims in all corners of the country.

 

Allied with the JHU party in the ruling coalition, this terror group is now claiming that the island’s Muslims are a threat to Buddhism and their way of life. They also assert that they will “strengthen and defend the Buddhist religion and its heritage,” using all options.

 

Their obvious aim is, in fear of an uprising, to ensure the continued suppression of the Muslim minority. However, they should not be in fear as in truth the two million Muslim minorities in Sri Lanka, who make up 10 per cent of the population, have been sidelined for decades.

 

Muslim Sri Lankans are rarely recruited in the armed forces, police or offered equal opportunities and perks in government departments and other state institutions. In the commercial and trade sectors, Muslims have also been marginalised by their exclusion from government contracts, tenders and all such lucrative economic activities.

 

There is also the obvious indifference displayed by the government towards the 130,000 Muslim refugees from the north who were caught in the crossfire of the civil war and today continue to languish in refugee camps in appalling conditions three and-a-half-years after the end of the conflict. No substantial government effort is being taken to address their plight.

 

Meanwhile, the Bodu Bala Sena began a series of provocations recently against Muslims in the central province at Buwelikada, a small town about 15km from Kandy. The town’s predominantly Muslim population is mostly small shop owners and vendors.

 

According to eyewitness accounts, “a group of Sinhalese youth travelling in a bus began a quarrel with Muslims, claiming that a van had obstructed the road. Several Muslims injured in the clash were hospitalised. The government immediately deployed units of the notorious police special task force (STF), whose members did not arrest the culprits, but instead were sympathetic towards the thugs”.

 

Muslims charge that such acts of vandalism and terror are orchestrated to poison the minds of mainstream Sinhalese against Muslims “by a small but well organised group demonising Islam and Muslims through 19 Sinhalese and English language websites”.

 

They point to the recent destruction of a 400-year-old Muslim shrine in Anuradhapura, followed by the disgraceful attack on Dambulla Mosque by a mob of Buddhist vandals led by the chief Buddhist priest of the area.

 

Ironically, the inaction on the part of the government led to this incident being recorded as the first time in the history of the country that a frenzied mob prevented Muslims from performing their obligatory Friday prayers and since then there have been attacks on a number of small mosques all over the country. However, a blind eye has been turned towards these atrocities by the authorities and the perpetrators have not been brought to justice.

 

The island country is at a crossroads today. If it continues to yield to the few terror-crazed Sinhalese Buddhists, who want to rid their country of all minorities and turn the countryside into killing fields, then it may well open up fresh wounds and begin another long journey into internal conflict and unrest.

 

The world cannot continue to tolerate the oppression and terror activities directed at minorities and Sri Lanka is no exception. It cannot distort facts to disguise ethnic hatred and violence. The island state will not escape reprisal for its failure to preserve the rights of its minority citizens.

 

Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

 

http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/sri-lanka-at-the-crossroads-1.1131223

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Stand-off fear as Sri Lankan president sacks chief justice

 

 

The Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, fired the nation's chief justice on Sunday despite protests by lawyers, human rights groups and clergy members, including some concerned over the growing clout of the president and his family.

The dismissal of the Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayake, the first woman to hold the position, occurred when Mr Rajapaksa ratified a parliamentary vote on Friday to impeach her on corruption charges. She has denied the charges made by a Parliament dominated by Mr Rajapaksa's supporters.
 

The president's ratification follows a stand-off between the judiciary and the government over Ms Bandaranayake, 54, who in recent months has issued rulings against the government. Most notable was her ruling in September that a development bill proposed by the president's brother, the Economic Development Minister, Basil Rajapaksa, should be subject to approval by local councils. The government has denied the impeachment is related to her rulings against the government.
 

The three charges levelled by Parliament against Ms Bandaranayake in December, of the 14 originally considered, were related to financial impropriety based on non-declaration of assets and conflict of interest involving a case over a failed investment company.

 

Ms Bandaranayake did not comment on her dismissal on Sunday.
 

The government has encouraged supporters to demonstrate against Ms Bandaranayake.
 

Some analysts have warned that the dismissal could spark a constitutional stand-off and leave the courts inoperable. Lawyers boycotted court proceedings on Thursday and Friday over the impeachment issue.

Los Angeles Times

http://www.theage.com.au/world/standoff-fear-as-sri-lankan-president-sacks-chief-justice-20130114-2cpmx.html#ixzz2I0D1R9cF

 

 

 

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SRI LANKA: The president's choice for Chief Justice is no respecter of the law

 

This morning, according to reports, the main gates leading to the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka remained closed and heavily guarded in order to prevent the Chief Justice, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake from entering in order to continue to function as the legitimate holder of the post of Chief Justice. She has rejected the ouster by the president as illegal. Her view is supported by the judgement of the Court of Appeal delivered last week on the basis of the interpretation of the law regarding article 107(3) of the Constitution which deals with the removal of judges of the superior courts.

 

Meanwhile President Mahinda Rajapaksa has picked Mohan Peiris, who is known to be involved in the business affairs of the Rajapaksa family, as her replacement. Mr. Mohan Peiris who heads many business enterprises after his retirement as the Attorney General has been chosen for no other reason except for his expected blind loyalty to the president and his family.

Blind loyalty to the president is now the criteria and the question of legality has now been replaced with this imperative for such loyalty. With the president dismissing the respect for the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court as an irrelevant factor to the affairs of the state it is quite natural that he no longer wants any kind of loyalty to the law as a criteria to be followed by the Supreme Court as well as other courts of the country.

 

Mr. Mohan Peiris' record as the Attorney General has amply demonstrated his capacity to prefer expediency over legality. He has quite daringly withdrawn indictments against persons who were initially indicted by the Attorney General's Department on the basis that there is adequate evidence to proceed against them. He has also filed indictments against persons purely on political grounds which are well illustrated by the cases against the former general, Sarath Fonseka who contested the election as the common candidate against President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He has also glaringly abused the Attorney General's powers for personal purposes such as to help the clients he formerly represented. Above all he has abused the powers of noli prosecue in order to acquit persons who were undergoing investigations into serious crimes such as murder. He has a proven capacity to manipulate the law to suit the political requirements or requests by the government or those who are associated with the government.

His task as the Chief Justice would be, above all, to attack the judges who will still want to act independently and whose sole loyalty is to the law. His job will be to subdue them and create a consensus to support the president and those associated with the government unconditionally. An associated aim would be to ruthlessly suppress the lawyers who in recent times have risen to uphold the rule of law and to protect the dignity and the rights of the individuals as against the repression and suppression of the government.

 

It is quite symbolic that on the morning of the day of his appointment the gates of the Supreme Court were closed and locked. He is expected to keep them closed and locked to ensure that any citizens demanding justice should not enter the premises.

To daringly defy the rule of law in favour of the government is the task expected from him.

 

On the occasion of the signing of the letter of removal of Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake we stated that this marks the end of an era, the end of "the good old days" where the courts were expected to play the role of the protector of the freedoms and liberties of the citizens. The era that has now begun is when the courts are expected to be instruments of repression supporting the government at all costs.

Mr. Mohan Peiris would be rightly called the President's Chief Justice (PCJ).

 

The only path that is open for judges, lawyers and the freedom loving citizens is to resist and oppose this whole scheme of constitutional dictatorship.

 

http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-019-2013

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Sacked Sri Lanka chief justice says 'life in danger'

 

Sri Lanka's sacked chief justice Shirani Bandaranayake said on Tuesday she feared for her life as a defiant President Mahinda Rajapakse hurried her successor into office.

 

Speaking to reporters from her car as she sped away from her official residence in Colombo, Bandaranayake told reporters she also feared for the safety of her husband and son after falling foul of the government.

"My life is in danger. The lives of all three of us are in danger," she said in brief comments.

 

"I wasn't even allowed to say my goodbyes to the people whom I worked with at the Supreme Court for over 16 years."

Bandaranayake, the first woman to hold Sri Lanka's highest judicial post, was sacked by Rajapakse on Sunday two days after parliament voted to impeach her.

 

Despite a chorus of international criticism and threats of a legal challenge, Rajapakse swiftly filled the vacancy Tuesday by appointing the government's senior legal adviser Mohan Peiris as her successor.

The government launched the impeachment in November after court decisions went against the government of Rajapakse, who has tightened his hold on power since crushing Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009 to end a decades-long ethnic war.

 

Among other rulings, Bandaranayake stalled a bill that sought to grant greater political and financial power to the president's youngest brother Basil, who is the economic development minister.

The impeachment has drawn further criticism of the government, already accused by the West of rights abuses in the final stages of the war.

 

The US State Department said Monday the impeachment raised "serious questions about the separation of powers in Sri Lanka, which is a fundamental tenet of a healthy democracy".

Lawmakers found Bandaranayake guilty of tampering with a case involving a company from which her sister bought an apartment, of failing to declare dormant bank accounts, and of staying in office while her husband faced a bribery charge.

 

She has said the charges were politically motivated and she was denied a fair trial.

"I am totally innocent of all charges and had there been a semblance of truth in any allegation, I would not have remained even for a moment in the august office of the Chief Justice," she said in a statement on Tuesday.

 

"I have suffered because I stood for an independent judiciary and withstood the pressures."

Sri Lanka's legal fraternity has rallied round Bandaranayake, and a private think-tank filed two cases Tuesday challenging the appointment of a new chief justice, shortly before Peiris took his oath of office.

 

Court officials said a hearing date had yet to be scheduled.

Bandaranayake also insisted she was still the lawful chief justice because a series of court rulings have held that her impeachment was unconstitutional and illegal.

 

"I still am the duly appointed legitimate chief justice," she said in the statement, adding that she was leaving her official residence only because she feared violence.

"Since it now appears that there might be violence if I remain in my official residence or my chambers, I am compelled to move out... particularly because violence is directed at innocent people including judges."

 

Ruling party supporters had beaten up lawyers and demonstrators who backed Bandaranayake last week in the wake of the court rulings against a parliamentary select committee report which found her guilty of misconduct.

Police commandos and anti-riot squads were deployed Tuesday to the main courts complex in the capital, fearing Bandaranayake would defy her dismissal and sit on the bench, a police official told reporters.

 

In an unprecedented security operation, even the cars of senior judges were stopped and searched before being allowed in. Later in the day, the newly appointed chief justice drove to courts under military protection.

Reporters were not allowed to record Peiris assuming his duties but the president's office released photographs of him being sworn in.

 

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/15845688/sacked-sri-lanka-chief-justice-says-her-life-in-danger/

[nunavilan]

President Rajapaksa Orders Removal of Shirani Bandaranayake as Chief Justice with Immediate Effect

 

Presidential Spokesperson Mohan Samaranaike said that the official announcement of the removal of chief justice was delivered to her residence on Sunday January 13th morning.

 

According to government sources, the president had signed the document at an auspicious time on the night of Saturday Jan 12th.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has signed the decree removing Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake from her post and the removal letter was hand delivered to her official residence this morning, Presidential Spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said.

 

The notice, signed by president Mahinda Rajapaksa removing the chief justice from her position, has been handed over to her at the official residence of chief justice Shirani Bandaranayake, said senior lawyer C.J. Weliamuna.

Weliyamuna said a media briefing in this connection would take place tomorrow (Jan. 14).

The Presidential Spokesman has issued the following statement:

Chief Justice removed with immediate effect

“President Mahinda Rajapaksa signed this morning the order removing Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake from office with immediate effect in accordance with the resolution passed by Parliament on January 11, 20013.
This measure was taken in terms of Article 107 (2) of the Constitution.

The removal order was delivered this morning to the official residence of Ms Bandaranayake by a Senior Assistant Secretary of the Presidential Secretariat and an officer of the Presidential Security Division.
The President has said in his order that he was in agreement with the request for the removal of Chief Justice from office made in the said address of Parliament.”

 

http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/14727

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Sri Lanka: a Brainless Head
by NILANTHA ILANGAMUWA

“Nothing’s ever gone too far. Anything can be reversed; these are human decisions.”

– Noam Chomsky (An interview with the Al Jazeera- Jan 12 )

Colombo, Sri Lanka.

 

President Rajapaksa does what he wishes to do. Nothing to be surprised of, that is who he is.  He impeached the Chief Justice saying that the law was so dear to him and that he was a humble follower of the law in this respectful country. Accordingly,  he says that he followed the procedure as per  the constitution. Now he has installed another subject to the forcibly vacated seat which we call the seat of the “Chief Justice”. One of his brothers who is also a key player of this panoply of nepotism of the barbaric raj claimed this as an aspect of “check and balance”. But as happened  in many other cases, he misused the power obtained through the constitution, yet again. This is likely to  be repeated by him to get rid of political obstacles he would face in the future as well. How can you predict the strength of a building which appears to be beautiful and strong but is structurally outworn, unless you see the inside? You will never comprehend through your bird’s eye view how the power beast misused by the present ruling family cleared the way for the Chinese to make  roads and wetland parks throughout the country.

For the  country and its people it is now do or die situation. In other words, the island nation has entered its dying point as a righteous nation, due to  the Rajapaksas’ egocentric politics and their  harassments of truth. Like most of politicians in the world, they  never let the truth come out. What is wrong with this country? How come Rajapaksa can still cynically manipulate the nation and her dignity? Why are people in general yet to come out against this shocking assassination of the dignity of our nation? If Mr. Rajapaksa followed the so called “genuine procedure” to impeach the CJ, why did he deploy brainless political puppets to attack lawyers, eventually leading some of those innocent people to be attacked in public? The Police are reported to have refused to even lodge a complaint from those victims. If Mr. Rajapaksa was truly concerned about a genuine procedure to impeach the CJ, why did he use or allow state media to come forward as his mouth piece to personally insult the lady Chief Justice.

 

It looks as if those who personally insulted the lady CJ have forgotten that they were also born to women who naturally earn the respect as our first known human beings – Mothers. It is unbelievable as to how those people who expressed politically and emotionally motivated opinions through pro-state media in the last couple of weeks, could do so without any hesitation or show of responsibility to the nation.  At some point it seems shameful to be a man if you happen to listen to those headless chickens. Could we call it a constitutional problem? It confirms to me the situation under Maoism in China where the general saying was – women love emotions, men love flesh.

 

The President himself has proven how willing he is to eat flesh while sharing with his political slaves.

It was in 2011 that the Government of Sri Lanka blocked several web sites including the Sri Lanka Guardian, which I’m editing, claiming that we were insulting the leader and some selected people in the Government. But to us we were reporting as is our duty as free media, informing the public.  However, when you observe as to how the leader is manipulating the media, you would identify with the  real aspects of the crisis and his psyche that manipulates the crisis. At the same time by electing a leader like Mr. Rajapaksa we are showing where we stand as a country. Though many people are looking at this crisis as a deadly constitutional or rule of law crisis that we faced/are facing, it’s very clear that this is a devastating shameful socio-political evolution that we have earned after independence from the British.

 

There is no doubt, the crisis of constitution is much older than other political developments, and it is a yesterday’s issue which is still bothering us. Perhaps, it is true that there is no obligation if someone claimed that that’s the root cause of the whole problem. However, before and after creating the authoritarian constitution and dressing it up in democratic clothes, the country went through many nightmares and killed hundred thousands of people without any accountability. The regime allowed the military and its supportive paramilitaries to take over all norms of freedom and use them on innocent people. Crimes within crimes, crises within crises, have emerged throughout the country.

Same aspects of this abuse occurred during the last war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which dreamed of a separate state and fought for it for more than thirty years and was categorized as a terrorists’ organization by many countries. However, the last war has culturally changed the country’s structure and President and his forces have opened for themselves enormous opportunities to do anything they wished to. At the same time, it needs to be highlighted that  at some point political dissents were also speechless over the breaches and misbehavior  of the Liberation Tigers. The political framework created and manipulated politics by the Tigers for three decades vanished in 2009, and then Rajapaksa becomes the man of the match and the successive controller. Mr. Rajapakasa is not a statesman but an opportunist.

 

Mr. Rajapaksa, a long time ignorant man in the SLFP (The Sri Lanka Freedom party), has changed his entire image and he is capable enough to come forward as a Sri Lankan native man with the Asian smiling face. The mustache has given him what his inside doesn’t have while the blood color swell has given him a native appearance to go into public to spoil and/or poison the general mind with his political falsest. In the same way he has been lucky enough to have paralyzed the  dopey opposition which has no room but given enough space to steal its own members to have legitimate power in the parliament to the President’s will. In the same way he has trapped all the important people who have the capacity to oblige and change the public mind, and the media too is in his favor – all in the name of sovereignty of the nation. Thus, he created a culture, which has two core notions, sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. In these circumstances he was able to hide his weakness and be a perpetrator to those who were victims of his misuse of power.

In the same way, he shows that he has obtained his mandate from the people by conducting dozens of elections, while using state resources for political campaigns. Rajapaksa’s theory is simple to understand. He never believed anyone expect his brother who is holding dual citizenship and controlling the largest percentage of the annual budget, while working as just a secretary to the ministry of defence.  Rajapase’s theory seems to be to use the people for his political advantage and then kick them out whenever he wanted. To him people seem to be not human beings but just objects. He did not value what others have been done, he did not worry about taking revenge against the dissents, and he did not hesitate to betray others to get rid of political obstacles. He would use one of his close associates to get the job done, when he wanted to wipe out opponents. Once his mission was accomplished he would order fake investigation against his yes men while claiming before the public that he is a dear man who would oppose any unlawful actions. What’s quite amazing is that almost every crucial political step has been seen as being taken by others not by Rajapaksas, though Mr.Rajapaksa has ratified what others approved, including impeachment motion against the Chief Justice which was signed by those who were in the Government but not by any of the Rajapaksa brothers.   Their hands are ‘more clean’ than those of others who support the regime. This is none other than political slavery of this nation to protect just a most corrupted family in the history of Sri Lanka.

 

In these circumstances Mr. Rajapaksa has strong chances as well as manpower to assassinate prime institutions of the state. He seems to have well understood that the law could do nothing against him, including according to the constitution.  But the crisis in Sri Lanka is one of conflicts between humanity and inhumanity, justice and injustice, freedom and oppression, egoism and law. The Law has changed in order to support the might. This is the point the entire country took the wrong path. While most other developed nations seem to have higher levels of respect for law, most Sri Lankans believed in the people who came to power from time to time. Law has been kept as a taboo subject in the nation. This has led to unconditional power opportunities to wipe out thousands of unarmed civilians.

There were two main political ideologies manipulating the society. One was the myth of separate state within the country which was put forward by militant organizations and the Tamil Diaspora. Second is Sinhalese dominant political ego which led to the claim of unitary state, but it is laughable because most of the proponents don’t know the difference between the state and the government, leave alone belief and rule of law.  These two notions have created political framework within the country and divided it into two communities except for a few people from both communities who tried to raise the fact that the dilemma we are faced with is much deeper than bedeviled myth. The impeachment against the Chief Justice and Rajapaksa’s ability to over throw the country’s first female Chief Justice confirm that the country is clearly under dictatorship.

 

Today, he accomplished his barbaric mission against the chief justice, and he installed a yes man according to his tradition. This is what his law is. Don’t we have shame in ourselves to keep this kind of man as the leader?  Sri Lanka is under control by the slayer who assassinated the last milestone of the nation. But we are in general yet to understand what really is happening, and how these psychopaths eliminated everything of real value to us. Now the nation is like a head without a brain. Unfortunately we are ignoring the fact that others can feed you knowledge but none can give you a brain.

Nilantha Ilangamuwa is journalist and editor of the Sri Lanka Guardian, an online daily news paper based in Colombo Sri Lanka. He can be reached atilangamuwa@gmail.com or editor@srilankaguardian.org

 

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/01/16/sri-lanka-a-brainless-head/