Shirani in the line of fire

Lanka may see what happened in Pakistan

| by Raj Chengappa

( January 8, 2013, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) Sri Lanka, it appears, is going to experience what Pakistan did during the last days of Gen Pervez Musharraf. The reasons are different and the person responsible for what may happen in the island nation is a democratically elected head of government, unlike in Pakistan then ruled by a General. But the way the first woman Chief Justice (CJ) of Sri Lanka is being targeted may lead to a major crisis sharpening again the ethnic division in that country. The Chief Justice, Ms Shirani Bandaranayake, is on the line of fire by President Mahinda Rajapaksa apparently for giving a ruling against a controversial Bill which the Sri Lankan government wanted the country’s Parliament to adopt. The piece of legislation was, however, challenged in the Sri Lanka Supreme Court by various opponents of the Bill, including the Tamil National Alliance. The Bill, if it became a law, could undermine provincial autonomy, hurting the interests of the minority Tamils.

Instead of getting the Bill reviewed to make it acceptable to all sections of society, the Rajapaksa government, which enjoys a two-thirds majority in Parliament, has made up its mind to remove the Chief Justice through her impeachment by the legislature. A parliamentary select committee was constituted to proceed against her and it has found the CJ guilty of three of the 14 charges levelled against her. However, the committee’s verdict is questionable as the Supreme Court declared it as “illegal” in a recent ruling.

The CJ has denied all the charges instituted against her, but the Sri Lankan President has refused to accept her plea. Some parliamentarians belonging to the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance have also allegedly made sexist remarks against the woman head of the judiciary. Whether women in that country come out openly in support of Justice Banadaranayake is uncertain. But one thing appears to be clear: Any action against her at this stage may force different Tamil organisations to oppose her persecution mainly because she delivered a verdict against the government’s scheme of things going against the interests of the Tamil minority. Some members of the judiciary may also join the protesting groups, leading to an avoidable serious crisis in Sri Lanka.

(  The writer, editor in Chief of the Tribune India based in New Delhi)

 
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