Reflections on Sri Lanka’ Constitution

Posted on October 7, 2010 by srilankalawlessness
H.A. Parackrama Karunaratne (28) of No. 34, Badiwewa, Ma Oya,Jayanthipura, Polonnaruwa went to make a complaint of gambling near his house. He was arrested, tortured and hand cuffed to a tree while his other wrist was cuffed to his leg by a sergeant of the Ma Oya Police Post on 26 April 2010.

The picture above speaks for itself. It depicts what happened to a young man who went to get police assistance to stop illegal gambling happening near his house.

When the man went to police station to find about what action had been taken on his complaint the police sergeant who had earlier taken down the complaint behaved strangely. The picture shows what he did to the complainant.

Why did the sergeant do that? No Sri Lankan will find it hard to guess — the gamblers knew how to get the police officer on their side.

There is nothing unusual about the story. It is now, more often than not an example of what happens in both small and very serious matters.

The citizen that does the right thing gets into trouble and one who dares to do wrong thrives — in everything — business, politics et all.

The situation prevailing in the country is what is known as abysmal lawlessness. To go by the law is to be the loser while the law breaker is the winner.

The all important question is how did this come about? How did this happen? The answer is very simple – it was by way of the country’s constitution, which was adopted in 1978. It was a constitution made to defeat law and discipline; to create an almighty ruler, who is above the law — a supremo — a brother who is number one.

The result is the chaos we see every day.

To fail to understand this is to fail to understand anything about Sri Lanka.

Without law, without control of corruption, what can policing mean, except what is depicted in this cartoon.

The case mentioned above took place a short time ago. For details please refer to the story below; (more…)

Filed under: abductions, Constitution, corruption, fundermental rights, illegal arrest, illegal detention, Judiciary, justice, police, politics, rule of law, Sri Lanka, torture, violations | Leave a Comment »

Cry of three women and water canon in the streets

Posted on February 12, 2010 by srilankalawlessness

“These women are crying for justice in a background in which the incumbent president, Mahinda Rajapakse, has begun his second term. In the government camp there are celebrations and boundless boasts about their great victories. There is triumphalism exhibited in every possible way, and of course, the photographs appear of boundless joy in the families close to the president’s side.”

During the last week, three women have tried to speak to their nation about the tragedy each of them faced. One is Sandya Eknaliyagoda, the wife of Prageeth Ekanaliyagoda, the disappeared journalist; another is Hemali Abeyratne , the wife of Chandana Sirimalwattha, the detained editor of Lanka E-News and the other is Anoma Fonseka, the wife of the popular politician, former military commander and the common candidate for the opposition in the last presidential election, Sarath Fonseka. They all call for respect for the basic rights of their husbands and ask the nation to assist them in finding justice. (more…)

Filed under: abductions, civil service, crime, Defence Ministry, Depatment of Election, disappearances, fundermental rights, human rights, illegal arrest, illegal detention, Judiciary, justice, media, politics, rule of law, Sri Lanka | Leave a Comment »

Human Rights books detained by the Customs department in Colombo

Posted on January 11, 2010 by srilankalawlessness

The Sri Lankan customs department has detained a series of books on human rights sent for free distribution to libraries. The books sent by the Asian Legal Resource Centre to the local human rights organization, Janasansadaya (Peoples Forum), are books relating to the basic human rights issues and matters relating to the rule of law. These are well known books that have been distributed in many countries in Asia. The list of books consists of around 100 titles.

The Customs Department has not given any reason for the detention of these books. Representations have been made for their release, however, the Customs Department have not replied to any of the letters sent so far.

The secretary of Janasansadaya, Chitral Perera stated that initially, the Assistant Director of Baggage of the Customs Department received these books and was unwilling to release them. He stated that if the books were to be released it may be a threat to his job. When asked as to why this should be the Assistant Director was not able to give any explanation. (more…)

Filed under: Customs Department, fundermental rights, human rights, illegal detention, politics, rule of law, Sri Lanka | Leave a Comment »

Reform of a police system rotten at the top

Posted on December 10, 2009 by srilankalawlessness

“Within a rule of law system, the only kind of punishment that is allowed is the punishments that are authorized through the operation of due process, through the orders given by the judiciary itself.”
…………………………………………………………………

 The problem of policing is very much at the forefront of discussion these days. It would not be of much use to delve into details of all the accusations that are made against the police, which are usually being repeated all the time. It is better, rather, to go into the core issues of solutions, if there is a solution to this problem at all.

The central problem with the Sri Lankan policing system is to do with the very top of the profession itself. The policing system is a hierarchical system that is run from top to bottom. The problem of policing in Sri Lanka today is a problem that remains at the very top. The officers from the rank of the Assistant Superintendent of Police, (known as ASP’s,) to the position of the Inspector General of Police, (known as IGP) are the persons who bear the responsibility of running the policing system. It is this top ranks that is really the problem of policing in Sri Lanka, and without dealing with these top ranks, talking about a better policing system for the future is a futile exercise. (more…)

Filed under: civil society, corruption, crime, disappearances, extrajudicial killings, human rights, IGP, illegal arrest, illegal detention, justice, police, politics, rule of law, Sri Lanka, torture, violations | Leave a Comment »

Another journalist complains of death threats

Posted on October 24, 2009 by srilankalawlessness

The editor of Satana, a local newspaper in Sri Lanka, has complained of receiving constant death threats over the past few days. In a telephone interview to the Asian Human Rights Commission on Tuesday, editor Senaka Ekanayake said that people unknown to him were visiting his house in search of him.

Ekanayake further said that despite lodging complaints with the Sri Lankan police and other authorities, he has not received any protection. He is now living in hiding, fearing for his life and unable to continue his work as a journalist.

The former editor of the same newspaper, Rohana Kumara, was assassinated on Sept. 7, 1999, after he published information against the government of the day. Kumara’s assassination is a well-known case in Sri Lanka and to date no one has been arrested or prosecuted for his murder.

Ekanayake has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody on two occasions for periods of ten months in relation to his investigative journalism. (more…)

Filed under: abductions, civil society, corruption, disappearances, extrajudicial killings, human rights, illegal arrest, illegal detention, justice, media, police, rule of law, Sri Lanka | Leave a Comment »

Features of a Gulag – The loss of the meaning of legal and illegal

Posted on September 30, 2009 by srilankalawlessness

“Can people who are displaced be kept in camps and deprived of the right to return to their homes? Can people be taken out of the camps of Internally Displaced Persons without leaving any trace of their removal from the camp? Can the government allow the abduction of persons to take place for ransom or for any other reason?”
_________

 The concept of the gulag, first used by Aleksandr Solzhenisyn it in the Gulag Archipelago 1918 – 1956, has come to mean a particular system of repression imposed on a whole country, and which has some definite characteristics.

In an earlier article, I described these characteristics as:

The loss of the meaning of legality within a particular country;
A predominant position played by the security apparatus;
The emergence of a propaganda apparatus that is not bound by any rules relating to truth or falsehood;
The emergence of a superman controller who manipulates all the three elements mentioned above in any way that he wishes;
A doomed citizenry reduced to zero status;

The position on which this article is based is that Sri Lanka is now such a gulag. All the above mentioned characteristics are now quite prominently visible within Sri Lanka. However, a phantom limb disorder still continues to exist. The people wish to believe that the old legal system and social system are still intact despite some unhappy new aspects that cannot be denied. (more…)

Filed under: abductions, civil society, civil war, crime, disappearances, extrajudicial killings, human rights, IDPs, illegal arrest, illegal detention, justice, media, politics, rule of law, Sri Lanka | Leave a Comment »

Continuing with the Prevention of Terrorism Act is a crime against all of Sri Lanka’s children

Posted on September 24, 2009 by srilankalawlessness

By The Asian Human Rights Commission

oie_untitledThose Sri Lankans who grew up before 1971 have seen, at least in a limited way, some basic freedoms. None of them were used to midnight knocks on their doors. If they went to a courthouse, they could expect certain treatment that, though imperfect, would be relatively fair. If a policeman arrested them, they could ask why. Prolonged detention without the right of bail was not a frequent experience. Disappearances were hardly ever heard of.

None of this is meant to claim that there was a paradise that has been lost. All that is said is that there was, even in some limited sense, an experience of freedoms.

1971 onwards, up to now – with short intervals from time to time – has been a period in which normal laws have been suspended and emergency regulations have taken their place. (more…)

Filed under: civil society, civil war, corruption, disappearances, human rights, illegal arrest, illegal detention, justice, media, police, politics, PTA, rule of law, Sri Lanka | Leave a Comment »

Douglas Peiris- One of many crimes

Posted on August 30, 2009 by srilankalawlessness

“Disappearances in Sri Lanka mean killings after arrest. Many young persons were taken from their homes by police or military personnel and the families were promised that they would be safely returned after the recording of a statement.”

This week, former Senior Superintendent of Police Douglas Peiris and three other police officers were found guilty at the Gampaha High Court of abduction of two young boys, who were brothers, with the intention to kill, and were sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment. This incident took place in 1989 in a period in which a large number of disappearances – estimated officially at 30,000 – took place. SSP Douglas Peiris and many other senior police officers have been accused of engaging in large-scale disappearances, but the prosecution of these cases has failed due to many factors.

The prosecution of this particular case has taken 20 years. Only a handful of cases out of the huge number of disappearances were prosecuted. Most of these cases failed, mostly due to witness intimidation or the natural deaths of witnesses due to the long delay. The investigations into the cases themselves started only many years after the incidents due to political pressure to protect the perpetrators. It was only after changes of governments and popular pressure that action was taken, though wholly inadequate, to investigate some of the cases. (more…)

Filed under: abductions, attorney general, civil society, corruption, crime, disappearances, extrajudicial killings, human rights, IGP, illegal arrest, illegal detention, justice, police, rule of law, Sri Lanka, torture, violations | Leave a Comment »

Criteria to measure human rights improvements

Posted on August 24, 2009 by srilankalawlessness

“Has protection of the minorities improved? What about those detained because they are suspected of having had links to the LTTE, without any evidence to that effect? What about the human rights of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)?”

oie_IDPs_combineAs some claims have been made about improvements of human rights in Sri Lanka, it may be useful to consider some basic criteria in judging human rights improvements.

There are many factors that determine the possibility of improvement of respect for human rights within a particular country. These factors are
1) Constitutional matters,
2) Other legislative matters,
3) Institutional matters,
4) Budgetary measures, and
5) Matters relating to some of the most ingrained violations of rights within the particular context.

Constitutional:

The constitution of Sri Lanka is the greatest obstacle to the achievement of human rights. The Executive Presidency has absolute impunity, power to dissolve parliament at any time after one year of election without following any procedure, virtually subordinating the parliament and the judiciary. This has undermined the separation of powers. The executive has monstrous power. There are no checks and balances. (more…)

Filed under: abductions, civil society, corruption, crime, extrajudicial killings, human rights, IDPs, IGP, illegal arrest, illegal detention, justice, police, politics, rule of law, Sri Lanka | Leave a Comment »

When law becomes comic – Part Nine

Posted on August 16, 2009 by srilankalawlessness

Responsibilities of members of parliament regarding drunkenness and abuse of power by police

2604476005_6fa12f6a74Jeevan Kumaranathunga, the member of parliament for the Angulana area, spoke to the BBC about the police murders of Dinesh Tharanga Fernando and Danushka Udayakantha. He said that he had received many reports about the drunkenness of the police at the Angulana police post and that he had made representations to the relevant authorities about this situation. He said that it was because no action has been taken that this unfortunate tragedy has happened.

The statement of this member of parliament raises many issues about the responsibilities of the local parliamentarians and other local politicians regarding the maintenance of discipline at the police stations in their areas. From towns and villagers throughout the country, reports are heard all the time of the most exceptional forms of police indiscipline. Drunken behavior of policemen in the evening is not an exceptional event that has happened only at the Angulana police post. Reports of hundreds of cases reveal that this is happening everywhere. Besides this, in every police station people are tortured, and there is no police station that could be found now where arrested persons have not been extrajudicially executed. (more…)

Filed under: abductions, civil society, corruption, crime, extrajudicial killings, human rights, illegal arrest, illegal detention, justice, police, rule of law, Sri Lanka, violations | Leave a Comment »

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