| by Victor
Cherubim
( November 28,
2012, London. Sri Lanka Guardian) The talk of the town now is the freedom of
the judiciary in Sri Lanka. As we kind of repeat our mistakes over and over
again, in the name of correcting conflicts of interest and trying to protect
the power of the State, we in a paradoxical way, diminish the supremacy of the
people.
 |
There is a growing lobby that feels the Executive is overstepping its boundaries. Simultaneously another equally vociferous body wants to put down the power of women in high office. A third force is pitting women against women in a subtle Machiavellian way.
Dr. Tharindra
Ranasingha writes: “As long as you toe the line of the executive you will be
showered with perks and privileges. The rules, procedures and ethics that are
applicable to the common people, will not apply to you. It was very clear that
President Rajapaksa was showering the Chief Justice’s husband with high level
political appointments, first to ensure that his wife at the helm of the
Supreme Court will “not make things difficult” for him. This is the general
approach taken by the President in dealing with his potential adversaries.”
Retired Chief
Justice Sarath Siva further states: “Mahinda Rajapaksa designs and creates
conflict. This is his governance style. Nobody can counter his shrewdness.” Sarath
Silva is now urging the present incumbent to back down, even though he warned
that it was probably too late.
The
hidden agendas
There is a
growing lobby that feels the Executive is overstepping its boundaries. Simultaneously
another equally vociferous body wants to put down the power of women in high
office. A third force is pitting women against women in a subtle Machiavellian
way.
We notice
Pavithra, Arundika, Sudharshani, Shantha and Lasantha; all MP’s putting their
names and signing the petition, among the 117 MPs calling for the impeachment
of the first woman Chief Justice in the world. One wonders whether they are, as
reported, forced to sign a blank paper, which is highly unlikely, or are they
privy to the impending appointment of the first woman Chief Justice of Britain,
Lady Justice Carol Hallett.
A
farfetched analogy
Be that as it
may, what all this boils down to is the freedom of the press to express
ourselves freely. Some observers state a conspiracy may be in the offing. In Britain or in Sri Lanka, state regulation
of the media may be contemplated. In Britain the long awaited Leveson Inquiry
Report on the Press, is due for publication on, 28 November 2012.
A consoling fact
is that in advance of this publication, Tory Environment Secretary, Owen
Patterson has warned that any state regulation would be a “horrible, slippery
slope.” His comments came as more than 40 Tory MP’s prepared to publish a
letter calling for a tougher system of self regulation instead of any kind of
statutory underpinning by law on press freedom.
“Of course some
dreadful things have happened, some really shocking things have happened, as
far as I can see they were nearly all illegal and due process should have taken
place and there should have been prosecutions for what were then illegal acts
and remain today illegal acts. But,
I am
emphatically against any government involvement in controlling the press in any
way at all,” so said this Cabinet Minister.
A
difficult decision
David Cameron
commissioned Leveson and is now under intense pressure over how to handle its findings.
Likewise in Sri Lanka, President Mahinda Rajapaksa too will find himself under
intense pressure over the findings of the Committee investigating the
impeachment of the Chief Justice.
The UPFA and the
Opposition parties are also divided. But many observers feel that Sri Lanka
will go the similar easy way of impeachment of the Chief Justice, as in the
Philippines, some years ago.
One thing we
have in Sri Lanka, irrespective of all our faults is respect for women. Though
the number of MP’s, women in Parliament is less than a dozen, the vote bank is
appreciable. President Mahinda Rajapaksa may have been slighted in his role as
Executive President of Sri Lanka; as a so called shrewd politician, he may well
consider his decision in terms of his next election.
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