Legal Aid targets remote areas

Sarath Malalasekera

Internally displaced persons due to armed conflicts, generalized violence, Human Rights violations or man-made disasters are incapable of coming before proper authorities mainly due to the lack of adequate communication with Human Rights Agencies and the ignorance of Constitutional provisions and Supreme Court Rules before which they could take up their cases of rights violations for litigation.

Senior Attorney-at-Law Dr Jayantha Pathirana said. He has been appointed as the Legal Aid and Human Rights Committee Chairman of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL).

BASL Secretary Mahinda B.K. Lokuge informed Pathirana that the Executive Committee of the BASL had nominated his name as the Chairman of the BASL Legal Aid and Human Rights Committee.

Dr Pathirana speaking at a ceremony held recently at the BASL Auditorium said: "Our target groups, Dr Pathirana said are settlers in remote agricultural areas and villages whose Fundamental Rights are repeatedly infringed by law enforcing agents but do not have courage, financial capacity or time to take legal action due to their misery and insecurity.

Others include those who are not aware of their Fundamental Rights and the existence of provisions in the Supreme Law to deal with rights violations."

They will also assist siblings of soldiers died or disabled in action whose death gratuity, disability pension, service pension and other benefits are unlawfully delayed, withheld, misappropriated or fraudulently channelled to undeserving persons causing much inconvenience to the legitimate heirs and other persons whose Fundamental Rights are abridged, restricted, curtailed or denied as a result of omissions on the part of the State when performing its duties and discharging obligations.