UNP delaying Commission of Inquiry Bill - Jeyaraj

Uditha Kumarasinghe, Irangika Range and Sandasen Marasinghe

Chief Government Whip Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle yesterday told Parliament that the Government was unable to pass the Commission of Inquiry Bill as an Emergency Bill due to UNP protests.

"There is no point in the UNP passing the blame on to the Government in this regard." The Minister said when the Government attempted to pass the Bill as an Emergency Bill during the vote of the debate on the Justice Ministry, the UNP expressed its opposition to it.The Government has no intention whatsoever to delay it, he said.

The Minister was responding to certain media reports quoting a statement by the Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry former Supreme Court Judge C. A. Udalagama on the delay in bringing in the Commission of Inquiry Bill. According to Fernandopulle, the UNP at the party leaders' meeting said the proposed Bill should be debated on a separate day and should be passed in January next year. Therefore the attempt made by the Government to pass this Bill was delayed.

Meanwhile, the commission has given information to the media without a proper understanding on this situation.

Chief Opposition Whip Joseph Michael Perera said the UNP was opposed to the Act being brought in as an emergency Act during the budget debate. In order to pass this act, we request the government to set aside a separate day for a debate. We are ready to debate this even on a Saturday."

Leader of the House, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the UNP was deliberately attempting to delay this Act to place the Government in difficulty.

"This is because this Act is designed to enable the Commissions appointed to investigate on various human rights violations."

UNP MP Lakshman Kiriella said all incidents that are to be investigated by the commissions had taken place several years ago.

The MP questioned as to why the Government wanted to pass this as an emergency Act.

Fernandopulle said there is a law that the Commissions should be appointed with immediate effect when particular incidents were taken place.

"According to our history, this kind of commissions have been appointed a long time after such incidents had occurred. The UNP Government appointed a commission on the late Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike in 1979 to go into certain incidents that occurred in 1972.