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Let the law `speak with one mouth`
Monday, 30 July 2012 - 10:34 AM SL Time
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The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), having dragged its feet on the Mannar incident, at last resolved on Saturday to grasp the nettle. It decided to intervene in support of a contempt of court case against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, who is alleged to have threatened the Mannar Magistrate and tried to interfere in the judicial process.
Many thought the BASL would initiate action on its own against the minister straightaway. But, it, for some reason or another, chose to procrastinate. Speculation was rife in legal circles on Friday, as we reported on Saturday, that the premier association of lawyers might even suffer a rift if it sought to vacillate further or skirt tough action the legal fraternity called for against the minister.
Lawyers` unity and their resolve to protect the judiciary and prevent affronts to its dignity are to be appreciated. It was with absolute shock and dismay that all law-abiding people of this country received the sad news of mob attacks on the Mannar court complex and police station. They were similarly scandalised by reports that a judge had been threatened and an attempt made to reverse a judicial decision. They must have heaved a sigh of relief when the BASL resolved to rise in defence of the judiciary.
The circumstances that led to the Mannar incident must be probed thoroughly. The trigger for mob violence was a dispute over a boat mooring place which the Muslim fishers of Mannar claim to be rightfully theirs. Claiming that they had to abandon it due to LTTE threats years ago, now they demand that it be returned to them forthwith. Their call for justice must not go unheeded if the problem is to be solved once and for all and ethnic tensions are to be defused. Violent protests and the root causes of the dispute need to be treated separately. A way out appears to be for the government to develop the disputed facility fast so that there will be enough room for all fishermen to moor their boats without clashing with one another. The government should seriously consider summoning a meeting of all stakeholders and do everything in its power to prevent an already bad situation from deteriorating further and spilling over into other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the BASL, which has rightly come forward, albeit with some delay, to defend the judiciary against politicians, ought to avoid double standards and selectivity if its image is not to be tarnished. It, we believe, subscribes to the legal maxim that everyone is equal before the law or the law `speaks with one mouth to all` lex uno ore omnes alloquitur. But, the question is why it took no action, legal or otherwise, against its own members who stooped to the level of smashing up furniture in the Colombo High Court and heaping abuse on two judges including a lady whom the police had to remove to safety after the White Flag case judgment was delivered on Nov. 18, 2011. Is it that lawyers are `more equal` than others? Quis custodiet ipos custodes who guards the guards?
The BASL decision to throw its weight behind a group of intrepid lawyers who dared take legal action against Minister Bathiudeen, we repeat, is to be highly commended by all right thinking people and everything possible must be done to preserve the independence and dignity of the judiciary which is one of the main pillars of democracy. Hoity-toity, violent political dregs of the incumbent government intoxicated with power must be tamed for the well-being of democracy. Equally, it behoves the BASL to put its own house in order and let the law speak with one mouth to all including lawyers.
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LankanHarmony
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1
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 30 Jul 2012 05:28:21 GMT Report for Abuse
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All Ya TV had to do was to use their common sense ,which the BASL lack in the slightest sense , and ASKED directly from the Minister his side of the story.
Watch the complete interview on
http://vimeo.com/46414477 |
AnuD
Senior Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 60198
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 31 Jul 2012 14:15:40 GMT Report for Abuse
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Else where it is reported that the Catholic Church does not want Muslims to come back and Joseph Rayappu had even written a letter to the president in that regard.
So, indirectly it says, the magistrate should have been either a christian or as a tamil had some favouration. but, that does not mean muslims should attack the courts or the house of the judge.
I wonder why don't Wijedasa Rajapakse's henchmen ask Christian priests to stop underground black mail activity. |
Magnum357
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2474
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 1 Aug 2012 13:17:52 GMT Report for Abuse
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What the Minister does not explain in the interview is how two calls to the Magistrate were traced to his official phone in his Paliamentary office. Also he does not explain why he apporoached the Secretary of the Judicial Services Commision in person and ordered that the Magistrate be transferred out of Mannar with immediate effect. Which too is totally illegal and ultra vires his powers as a Minister.
Edited By - Magnum357 - 1 Aug 2012 13:19:15 GMT |
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