Recent developments Affecting Independence of Judiciary in Sri Lanka

11 December 2012, 10:34 pm | dbsjeyaraj

(This document contains recent developments affecting independence of judiciary Sri Lanka)

01. Threatening the Mannar Magistrate and attack on the Manner Magistrate Court and High Court
02. Response of the Government on the Supreme Court determination on “Divineguma Bill”
03. Interference with the JSC
04. Attack on Secretary JSC
05. Bribery Investigation against Chief Justice’s Husband

01. Threatening the Mannar Magistrate and attack on the Manner Magistrate Court and High Court

a) On 16th July 2012 case bearing number B 396/12 was filed by the police in the Magistrate court Mannar where the learned Magistrate made certain orders against named suspects.

b) On the following day a cabinet minister of the government Risad Badhiutheen telephoned the Magistrate and demanded that the Magistrate reversed the said order. The Magistrate declined to change his order and complained to Judicial Service Commission (JSC) about the interference. There were further threats made by the minister and Magistrate made police complaints.

c) On 18th July 2012 the Minister personally met the Secretary of the JSC and required that Magistrate of Mannar be transferred forthwith.

d) Thereafter on or about 17th of July 2012 a mob instigated by the said Minister attacked the Magistrate Court and High Court of Mannar and part of the Court house was burnt.

e) This led all the court of Sri Lanka striking court sittings on 20th July 2012 from their work and all the courts were closed. In the meantime Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) passed a resolution condemning the intimidation and urging stern action against the minister.

f) Lawyers for Democracy (LfD) issued a statement on 21st July 2012 condemning the interference and urging that the minister be removed forthwith from the cabinet minister to create conducive atmosphere for an impartial investigation.

g) Soon thereafter the President of Sri Lanka made a statement to the effect that he regrets that the judges have no confidence in one of his minister. Neither the President nor the government apologised for the attacks and instead state media was extensively used to criticise the Mannar Magistrate, even suggesting that he was a LTTE sympathiser.

h) On 25 June 2012 seven senior lawyers with high standing and reputation in the profession moved the Court of Appeal under the Article 105(3) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka to deal with the Minister for contempt of Court. On 26th July 2012 court issued a Rule Nisi requiring the Minister to show cause as to why should not to be punished with contempt of court. The case is still pending.

BASL in the meantime decided to move for contempt of court or to intervene into the contempt of court case. Thereafter series of demonstrations were held instigated by the Minister himself to support the minister portraying him as a saviour of certain displaced people in Mannar. In strange move several intervention papers were filled into the pending Contempt of Court case but the decisions on interventions have not been made.

i) Investigations into the attack were initially conducted by the Mannar Police but later it was handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). While the investigations were pending, strangely several officers who were conducting the investigation were transferred.

02. Response of the Government on the Supreme Court determination on “Divineguma Bill”

a) Draft law (Bill) was presented to the parliament on 10th of August 2012. The purpose of the draft law was to centralize the provincial rural development programme and to be brought under a cabinet minister.

b) Several petitions were filled in the Supreme Court challenging the validity of Bill and the matters were taken up in the Supreme Court before Chief Justice (CJ) and two other judges. The determination of the Supreme Court was communicated to the President and the Speaker of parliament. The judgment of the Court was to the effect that the Bill cannot be passed by the parliament without the sanction from all the provincial councils as required under Article 154G of the Constitution.

c) On the 18th September 2012 the determination was placed in the parliament. There were about 3000 protestors, organized and transported by the government, kept outside parliament indirectly critical of the Supreme Ccourt’s determination. In the meantime, the government media mounted an attack on the Supreme Court.

03. Interference with the JSC

a) On 12th September 2012 the media reported that a District Court judge had been interdicted by the JSC on the ground of financial impropriety. i.e. not settling series of loans obtained from banks and his name appearing in the Credit Information Bureau (CRIB) and still hearing cases against the banks etc.

b) The President had requested the JSC members to come for a meeting, scheduled by the President, but disclosing reasons in a written communication and upon the insistence of the JSC, the request was made thereafter in writing . There were however little doubt that the meeting was to discuss few important case and the above mentioned disciplinary case against a district judge who is politically connected.

c) Thereafter the JSC officially decided not to meet the executive and informed the President about their decision as such a meeting would amount to an unconstitutional conduct.

d) These event took place in the backdrop of several people attempting to influence the decisions of the Judicial Services Commission.

e) Thereafter the Secretary to the President had informed the JSC that the scheduled meeting had been concluded.

f) Thereafter in a clear afterthought that the President has informed the JSC that the meeting was to decide the financial allocation for the Judiciary. However there had never been such precedents before and such allocations are generally handled by the Ministry of Justice.

g) On 18th September 2012 , JSC issued a statement to the effect that there were attempts to interfere with judiciary and particularly JSC and that there were unfair malicious propaganda against the judiciary. The statement also suggested that a high official had attempted to influence the JSC in relation to disciplinary matter that JSC had taken.

h) In response to the JSC statement LfD and several other lawyers made public pronouncements supporting JSC and judges. On or about 22th September 2012 BASL passed three resolutions supporting the JSC and resolving to deal with the state media organizations who were maliciously inciting against the Judiciary.

04. Attack on Secretary JSC

a) In late September the Secretary of JSC issued a statement that his family is under threats. There were no responses from the police or the Executive on this matter though it received wide publicity.

b) On 7th October 2012, the Secretary to the JSC was attacked by a group of people, who had first identified him as the Secretary to the JSC. He was held at gun point and was subsequently assaulted causing injuries to him. The crowd had taken one of his mobile phones. He was admitted to the Colombo National Hospital with the injuries.

c) There were wide condemnation on the attack and the judges struck work on 8th October. The Judicial Services Officers Association decided to strike work on 8th and the BASL decided to follow whatever the decision taken by the Judicial Services Officers Association. On 8th there was a protest march near the main court complex. The Government had condemned the attack and insinuated that there is a conspiracy by an unknown party. No successful investigations are taking place upto now.

05. Bribery Investigation against Chief Justice’s Husband

a) The Media in early 2012 revealed a share scandal, involving the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and a state bank (National Savings Bank – NSB) and several high worth investors. At the time material, husband of the CJ was the Chairman of the NSB bank.

b) There was a complaint filed by a political party at the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption (CIOBAC) requesting them to investigate into the scandal without naming the suspects.

c) When the Divinaguma Bill (supra) came up before the Supreme Court, on the same day, CJ’s husband had been summoned before the CIOBAC to record a statement. There does not seem to be any information on whether there was a frank investigation into a scandal. In the meantime CJ’s husband resigned on 21st May 2012.

d) Several judicial pronouncements were made to the effect that the tension between the executive and judiciary was growing. Thereafter CJ’s husband was summoned before the CID to recall a statement.

e) The Media reported that the President has addressed the Cabinet on the above statement of the JSC and that the Cabinet is considering disciplinary actions against the JSC Secretary. However under the law the JSC Secretary is only subject to the disciplinary control of the JSC and neither the President nor Cabinet has any such powers. In this instance, the Secretary to JSC had issued the statement on the instructions of the JSC.

f) There was also a report that the government had made allegations against JSC Secretary that he had sexual advancements against a Lady Magistrate. The allegation was not only unsubstantiated but also clearly fabricated to silence him. There had been no official complain or an inquiry on such allegation.

g) On 28th September 2012 the Secretary of JSC issued a statement that he and his family is under threat and the lawyers logged strong protests.

h) Around the same time, the group leader of a political party (JVP), that made the complaint at the CIOBAC against the CJ’s husband, made a public announcement at a press meeting that their complaint is not being properly investigated but instead it is being used to twist the arm of the CJ. There were several public announcements made by various individuals to the effect that share scandal is not have been investigated because politically connected high worth investors and The Central Bank was involved in the deal.

i) The state media carried several programs ridiculing that judges and suggesting that CJ should resign. It appears that government is taking extra judicial measures to compel the resignation of CJ whose tenure is guaranteed until 65 years.

http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/13496

Cheaper Lankan hide lures leather industry

Amanullah Khan

Thursday, December 13, 2012 | Pakistan Observer

Thursday, December 13, 2012 - Karachi —Consul General of Sri Lanka in Karachi, D.W. Jinadasa, has said that there is a potential of import of cheaper hides of buffalo and cows and Pakistani leather exporters can avail this opportunity.

Speaking as chief guest at Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) is efforts are being made to improve bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, as a vast potential exists to enhance trade ties between the two countries. S.L Diplomat said that leather export from Pakistan to Sri Lanka is negligible and stands less than $5 million and could be enhanced.

He invited the PTA delegation to visit Expo 2013 being held in Colombo in February 8-10, and display their products to fetch orders from SL buyers. Jinadasa said that Sri Lanka was the first country to sign FTA with Pakistan. He pointed out that his government’s policies are liberal and Pakistani exporters could exploit the opportunities at the maximum level. He said that positive trends have emerged in this regard during the last four to five years and that the bilateral trade volume increased last year to over $350 million.

Speaking on the occasion President India-Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, S M Muneer said that Pakistan and Sri Lanka are enjoying very cordial relations due to liberal visa policies and trade ties between the two countries are improving. He emphasized to boost leather and leather products’ export to Sri Lanka. Chairman Diplomatic Affairs Committee of PTA, Gulzar Firoz said that export of leather and leather products from Pakistan to Sri Lanka during 2011-12 stood at only $2.795 million as against $3.383 million last year showing a decrease of 17.38 per cent. He emphasized the need to exchange trade delegations and holding single country exhibitions from both sides in order to improve bilateral trade. He said that despite the fact that both the countries are having friendly relations and liberal visa policy yet the bilateral trade is not much encouraging. He said that PTA will form a delegation to visit Sri Lanka in near future. Vice Chairman PTA (SZ), Abrar Ahmed said on the occasion that very cheap hides of buffalo is available in Sri Lanka and Pakistani leather manufacturers could avail this facility to overcome shortage of raw material.

http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=186733

Sri Lanka: War is Over but Tensions Run High

Three years after the Tamil Tiger's defeat, the underlying issues that caused Sri Lanka's civil war are once again coming to a head.

The Diplomat | December 13, 2012

Jaffna, the capital of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province and once the bastion of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is once again experiencing unrest.

Violent clashes broke out on November 27, Martyrs' Day for Tamil, between students of Jaffna University and Sri Lankan security forces. Each year Tamils use Martyrs' Day to honor friends and family members who were killed in the Sri Lanka Civil War (1983-2009). 

The civil war pitted the Tamil militant group, the LTTE (often called the Tamil Tigers), against the Sri Lankan government forces. The conflict was essentially an ethno-political struggle that had its roots in the early years of Sri Lanka's independence when Sinhalese leaders effectively transformed the country into a Sinhala-Buddhist state through a series of laws such as the controversial Official Language Act No. 33 of 1956, which made Sinhala the official language. The excluded Tamil population protested and demanded a government based on federalism where the Tamils in the east and north of the country would enjoy greater autonomy. When these calls went unheeded for decades, some Tamils formed the Tamil Tigers and began taking up arms against the government in 1983.

The 26-year civil war that ensued, which ended with the LTTE’s military defeat in 2009, would come to claim the lives of between 80,000 and 100,000 people, according to the UN. Some non-governmental organizations like the International Crisis Group say the number of deaths was actually much higher.

Since the LTTE’s defeat, Tamils have observed Martyrs’ Day by quietly “lighting lamps inside their homes.” This year, however, “some Jaffna University students decided to perform the rituals on campus,” E Saravanapavan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament (MP) representing Jaffna district told The Diplomat in a phone interview. According to Saravanapavan, this prompted Sri Lankan security forces to forcibly enter the student’s dormitories to prevent them from lighting lamps for Martyrs’ Day.

Tensions have always run high in Jaffna peninsula on Martyrs’ Day. Security forces are put on heightened alert in anticipation of a LTTE attack. These forces equate citizens observing Martyrs’ Day as them showing solidarity with the LTTE militant group. For Tamils, however, it is “a day of mourning, not just for dead LTTE combatants but also for the thousands of civilians, including their kin, who were killed in the war,” Saravanapavan says.

With Tamils determined to properly mourn their dead, and security forces equally determined to stamp out any show of support for the LTTE, it is nearly inevitable that Martyrs’ Day will be marked with some degree of confrontation and tension. What made this year’s Martyrs’ Day more complicated was that it coincided with Karthigai Theepam, a festival when Hindus decorate their homes with lamps.

 “Many students lit lamps to celebrate Karthigai but were beaten up” a student of sociology at Jaffna University said. While admitting that he participated in a meeting to observe Martyrs’ Day, he says it was a “peaceful assembly.”

“Why are we not allowed to mourn our dead?” he asks.

The recent unrest is, however, was not just another face-off over Martyrs’ Day. “Tension has been simmering for a while and burst to the fore,” the student said, adding that “Martyrs’ Day simply provided the excuse or the context for the confrontation.”

In the weeks since the showdown, several Tamil youth have been detained on terrorism charges. They include ex-LTTE combatants and students, some of who were arrested for putting up Martyrs’ Day posters.

Events over the past couple of weeks underscore just how fragile the situation in the Northern Province is. It was here that the horrific, final stages of the war were played out. In the past 3 ½ years the guns have been silent but Tamil rage against the state has deepened.

Successive governments, but particularly the present one led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, have treated the conflict as a “terrorism problem.”  Consequently, their approach has been largely military.

With the military defeat of the LTTE in 2009, the Rajapaksa government has acted as if the conflict is over without addressing the larger issues behind it.

“It has refused to take meaningful steps to address the political issues underlying the conflict, choosing instead a military-development approach,” observes the Jaffna University student. The militarization of the Northern Province has continued unabated since the war has ended. Budgetary allocations to the military have grown and military bases in the North have continued to expand.

According to The Hindu's review of a June 2012 internal Sri Lankan military document, 14 of the country's 19 divisions are stationed in the Northern Province, for a total of between 84,000 and 98,000 troops. Of that number, 3 divisions or between 18,000 and 21,000 troops are stationed in Jaffna alone, according to The Hindu.

The Sri Lankan military is nearly entirely Sinhalese and its brutal operations in the Tamil areas have contributed to it being perceived as an “occupation force.”

Saravanapavan says that the military’s presence in the North has created a pervasive “atmosphere of fear.” People are constantly afraid their family and relatives will be beaten up, arrested, or simply “disappear.”

The military’s presence is everywhere. Colombo administers the Northern Province through a governor who is also a major-general. A March 2012 International Crisis Group (ICG) report drew attention to the military’s domination of the post-war reconstruction effort. With regard to development and humanitarian projects in the North, it is the military that determines “how, where and by whom resources and services are distributed; and who benefits from them,” the ICP report concludes.

Saravanapavan says that the military forces have confiscated hundreds of acres of land from the Tamils in order to build bases. Much of this land is fertile and being used by soldiers to grow crops, he says. Soldiers are running roadside tea shops and food stalls, the Jaffna student pointed out, adding that while their petty businesses are resented by locals, the “more hidden involvement” of the top brass in “big business deals is of greater concern.”  

As the ICG report observed:  “The heavy militarization of the [Northern] province, ostensibly designed to protect against the renewal of violent militancy, is in fact deepening the alienation and anger of northern Tamils and threatening sustainable peace.”

Along with the militarization of the north is the ongoing Sinhalization. With the end of the war the land route into the Jaffna peninsula opened and Sinhalese are streaming in from the south and setting up businesses. This is “resented by some Tamils, who feel this is undermining their livelihoods,” Saravanapavan says.

The settling of Sinhalese in the north is inevitably altering the demographics of the province.

There is precedent for this. In the past, the state has sponsored the settlement of Sinhalese in the once dominated Tamil East in order to weaken the Tamil’s clout.

Tamils fear that the government is trying to Sinhalize the north in order to weaken their claims for autonomy and independence. The construction of Buddhist shrines in a place where no Buddhists live — Tamils are mainly Hindu with a sizeable Christian population –  reinforces such fears.

Mullaithivu, which was overwhelmingly Tamil, now has many Sinhalese settlers and could return Sinhalese politicians in the near future,” warns Saravanapavan.  

The Rajapaksa government speaks with great pride about the economic initiatives it has put in place in the north. Indeed, the war-ravaged province is desperately in need of infrastructure, jobs and a boost to its economy.

However, much of the “development” has been appropriated by Sinhalese-owned companies or Rajapaksas’s Tamil cronies, according to the Jaffna student. Ordinary Tamils have been excluded from the fruits of the economic development of the north. Infrastructure has improved but roads have been prioritized to facilitate the movement of the military, he points out.

For Tamils in the north, who have borne the brunt of the decades of civil war, the war's end initially greeted with overwhelming relief.  It promised a new life that was free from aerial bombardment by the Sri Lankan Air Force and forced conscription by the LTTE.  

However, while the civil war is over another phase of terror and violence has taken its place.

The recent unrest in Jaffna is not surprising.  It was waiting to happen.  It is not a minor incident that the Rajapaksa government can brush aside. As the BBC’s Charles Haviland put it, the unrest is the “biggest overtly political disturbances in the north” since the end of the war in May 2009.

Deploying more military or using more force to put down the protests will only fuel Tamil discontent.

Dr. Sudha Ramachandran is a political analyst based in Bangalore, India. She writes on South Asian political and security issues. 

http://thediplomat.com/2012/12/13/sri-lanka-war-is-over-but-tensions-run-high/?all=true

FM: Iran Ready to Expand All-Out Ties with Sri Lanka

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in a meeting with Sri Lankan Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiyutheen underlined Tehran's readiness to further develop relations and cooperation with Colombo in different fields.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is fully ready for supporting and evermore expansion of comprehensive cooperation with Sri Lanka, particularly in political, economic, commercial, transit, and joint investments fields," Salehi said in Tehran on Monday. Bathiyutheen, for his part, appreciated the Iranian officials for their assistance in the process of his country's development, and expressed the hope that the level of commercial and economic cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly in energy field, would increase. Sri Lanka's Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) does not plan to replace Iran as the main supplier of its crude oil imports, media reports said in October. "CPC has no immediate plans to tie up a new term import contract to replace Iranian crude as it awaits greater clarity on the Iran situation. It will instead seek regular imports of 135,000 metric tons cargoes for delivery every 20 days to meet its refinery's requirements," Platts news website quoted a source close to the company as saying at the time. The CPC said that it plans to start sourcing all its crude requirements from the spot market after its regular supply from Iran was cut, the source added. Iran is the second largest OPEC oil producer, producing about 4 million barrels of oil a day. The country's recoverable oil reserves are estimated at more than 137 billion barrels, or 12 per cent of the world's overall reserves.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107126067