Lankan Govt Blames Lawyers Appearing For Those Accused of Terrorism
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
The Sri Lankan government's Ministry of Defence website published the following caption with a photograph of a President's Counsel, Romesh de Silva PC.
President's Counsel Romesh de Silva, Mr. M A Sumanthiran, Mr. Viran Korea, Ms. Lilanthi De Silva and Chamaine Gunarathne are the team of lawyers who regularly appear for the detainees charged with terrorist activity.
On October 22, 2008, a letter was widely distributed by a group calling itself the Mahason Balakaya (Battalion), which published this threatening message for those lawyers who appear for suspected terrorists:
In the future all those represent the interests of the terrorist will be subject to the same fate that these terrorist mete out to our innocent people.
Obviously, the Mahason Balakaya is acting with the acquiescence of the government. The publication of the names of these lawyers in this manner at the Ministry of Defence website exposes them to death threats and other serious consequences as threatened by the Mahason Balakaya.
In previous statements the AHRC has strongly asserted, not only the right but also the duty of lawyers to represent anyone before courts of law. To forbid lawyers from representing persons before courts is to negate the very meaning of 'courts'.
On November 19, 2008, we wrote:
To attack a lawyer for his professional work is to attack the legal profession as a whole. This profession need not exist if it does not do what this profession is expected to do. Expecting a lawyer not to appear for a terrorist is similar to asking a medical surgeon not to operate on a terrorist who needs medical care.
Please see the full statement, SRI LANKA: There is nothing funny about lawyers being named as traitors for doing their jobs as lawyers; getting closer to cannibalism?: http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2008statements/1772/
In response to a similar publication at the Ministry of Defence website naming some Tamil lawyers who had been instructing attorneys in fundamental rights applications before the Supreme Court there had been several protests to President Mahinda Rajapaskse himself. However, no action has been taken by the government to eliminate such attacks by the Ministry of Defence by such publications in their website. The repetition of the same with the naming of more lawyers demonstrates that these actions are sanctioned by the government.
The issue that was posed by the letter from Mahason Balakaya (October 22), a letter blaming some Tamil instructing attorneys for filing fundamental rights applications for alleged terrorists (published in November and modified on December 15) and the present publication published on December 23, are serious threats to the existence of the court system itself, the possibility of fair trial and the legal profession that is allowed to act within the scope of their professional obligations.
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka has shown some response to the threats to lawyers in recent months by the adoption and publication of several resolutions. To name a few, the resolution to call for inquiries into threats to the lawyer who represented the assassinated Sugath Nishanta Fernando of Negombo, a lengthy resolution on the grenade attack on the residence of Mr. J.C. Weliamuna and the inhumane treatment of Mr. D.W.C. Mohotti at the Bambilipitya Police Station. However, there are no reports of any action on the first publication against the lawyers who were instructing attorneys in the fundamental rights applications. The present attack on a President's Counsel and several of the lawyers should awaken the leadership of the Bar Association to the very threat that the legal profession faces in Sri Lanka for its valid and justifiable existence. If the partisan political agenda of some in the leadership of the Bar Association lead them to ignore this threat the profession will suffer irreparable damage.
Mr. Vasudewa Nanayakkara, on December 10, wrote to the President of Sri Lanka protesting against the attack on lawyers by the Ministry of Defence and strongly urged for the elimination of such attacks. His letter was published in several media channels. However, the opposition political parties, the trade union movement and other civil society organisations, showed no adequate interest in the attacks on lawyers which, if successful will virtually destroy the possibility of the protection of any of the civil rights of Sri Lankans within the framework of the law. It is hoped that this latest attack will awake the Sri Lankan opposition political parties and all movements within Sri Lanka and also all civil society organisations to the enormous threat that the country's legal system is exposed to now by the executive, using the pretext of anti terrorism for their own purposes of destroying the concept of the separation of powers in the country. Despite of lip service being paid to the separation of powers, such separation cannot exist without a judiciary that is capable of protecting the individual through the law. Attacks on fair trial and the legal profession make the very existence of the courts a meaningless affair. It makes the government one that is run entirely by the executive.
We urge all Sri Lankans as well as those concerned with human rights globally, to study and comprehend the attacks on the independent legal profession that is taking place in Sri Lanka and the wider objectives of such attacks which is to destroy the very possibility of the rule of law of and democracy within the country.
For further information please see a pamphlet relating to the attack on Mr. J.C. Weliamuna house at:
http://www.ahrchk.net/pub/mainfile.php/weliamuna/
The text of Mr. Vasudewa Nanayakkara, letter on December 10, may be found at:
http://www.ahrchk.net/pr/mainfile.php/2008mr/580/
The print copy of the booklet Sri Lanka, In defence of the legal progression may be obtained from the AHRC
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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
Posted on 2008-12-28
2 Comments
President Mahinda Rajapakse has told for the people in the North that he will restore all what they have lost!Perhaps he means lives lost, dignity lost, law makers lost, those disappeared, those raped and so on.
Statements like these have always been said to fool masses. To see the real future one should look at events such as "blaming lawyers" as clearly prtrayed in this report.
"Victory in 2009" and peace or progress in any form are devoid of reality and are full of wishful thinking and propaganda because of the following reasons;
1. The Tamils of North East will not be prepared to trust any genocidal government any more with their precious lives. Therefore, Tamils will adamantly demandd defence and financial sovereignty in self governance.
Though, the first of such request in the world, having seen the present genocide type in Sri Lanka(SL), under the "shield of sovereignty" as Madeline Albright reported recently, the first of its kind, the UN and the International Community will definitely support this reasonable demand to protect humanity in the North East.
But, the Sinhalese will refuse to cede defence and finance and the war will go on in 2009 and beyond.
2. Now child soldiers under 18 years are being thrown as fodder in the battle front, meaning that experienced soldiers believe the war to be unwinnable.
3. Raanil Wickremasinghe has sid that the military is not having vehicles to transport the injured from the battlefront. Can the GOSL go ahead with war?
Stories will come and go but the struggle for Tamil freedom will surely go on.
Targetting learned men like Romesh de Silva and Sumanthiran - who are merely carrying out their professional obligations - are signs that the Sri Lankan Buddhist State under the writ of the triple gem (Mahinda,Goths and Basil) is getting rotten to the core.
On the other side a campaign is on to get rid of the Chief Justice (by no means an impartial judicial officer) while the brothers milk every available cent in the tottering economy for the first family (a continuation of the CBK game of the family business). This can't go for too long.
Even the dud Lankans will soon have to wake up. As someone wrote in these columns, all governments in the 3rd world countries are praying for a drop in the global fuel prices to reduce their own gas prices. Our lot, strangely, is out to increase it. At today's cost per barrel below US$40 we should be able to provide the people with
ordinary petrol at Rs37/litre. But then the already bankrupt government will collapse instantly if this is done. This is why our patriotic people are fated to pay Rs122/litre for their petrol.
Don't believe Ranil W will take the UNP to the streets on Jan 07 on this score. You need a strong backbone for this. The man never had one and will remain Leader of the Opposition till year 2099 - even if he is the only UNP MP.
Sri Lankans might as well brace for a gloomy 2009. Cousin VP way up in the Northern jungles must be chuckling aloud while feasting on his nandu and puttu (kakuluwo and pittu)
Ilaya Seran Senguttuvan