Daily News Online
   

Friday, 20 July 2012

Home

 | SHARE MARKET  | EXCHANGE RATE  | TRADING  | OTHER PUBLICATIONS   | ARCHIVES | 

dailynews
 ONLINE


OTHER PUBLICATIONS


OTHER LINKS

Marriage Proposals
Classified
Government Gazette

A most shameful moment!

A fiendish attack unleashed on a courts complex in Mannar by an angry mob on Wednesday should have civilized circles wondering whether this country is now plunging into a state of things where nothing is considered sacred. We hardly need say that the courts are a symbol of justice and its administration and any attacks on them, physical or otherwise, need to be construed as attempts to ridicule and insult the institution of justice, which is so central to the conduct of civilized living. This is a most shameful moment in the history of post-independence Sri Lanka!

In a way, this unsettling development should not be seen as a surprise. Mob rule has been in evidence for quite some time, particularly in relation to issues involving the Police and the more volatile sections of the public and it should be plain to see that the institutions of law and order are not being viewed with the necessary deference and respect by the totality of the public. This is the message that is blared forth garishly by mob attacks on police stations, for instance. Increasingly, unruly elements among the public have been attempting to take the law into their hands and it should not come as a surprise if courts are now being made the targets of such insane attacks.

This is a most opprobrious situation for the whole of Sri Lanka and we condemn the conduct of the mob which attacked the courts complex in Mannar in the strongest terms. Bring these violators of the law to justice, is our request to the state. There is no choice but to impose the law most stringently on these transgressors.

While enforcing the law rigorously is essential for curbing the current wave of lawlessness, it is also important that we dwell on the social processes that make anarchic trends of this kind possible. A study of these processes is likely to disclose what needs to be done to contain the present wave of criminality and lawlessness. In other words, policy prescriptions and perspectives on the containment of the current law and order situation could be fashioned.

The thought cannot be avoided that the stage was set for attacks against the institutions of justice way back in the early eighties when the residence of a Supreme Court judge was savaged by a goon squad of the powers that were. That was a politically-induced attack which was carefully planned and executed, over an SC ruling that was not to the liking of the then government, but the Mannar mayhem and that attack of the eighties do not differ in kind. They are both attempts to belittle and insult the judiciary of this country. To that extent, both attacks need to be strongly condemned in the same breath.

Besides, other less pronounced dimensions in the problem need to be focused on. That is, we, the polity, need to view with alarm the increasing tendency on the part of some sections to look down on the institutions of justice. Proportionately, what is being undermined is the Rule of Law and it ought to be clear that the end result of the relentless abandoning of law and order is anarchy and maniacal disorder.

Wednesday's attack, no doubt, took place in a region which was once part of the war zone and it is possible to see the attack as an outgrowth of the lawlessness which once thrived in the North when the LTTE challenged the state. But this is no extenuating circumstance because challenges to the institutions of law and order have been mounting over the years in the South as well and the Mannar violence should be seen as a manifestation of the widespread lawlessness.

Defusing lawlessness needs to be seen as a collective effort on the part of the total polity. All sections and political forces need to see this task as being in the national interest and therefore should join the state in containing criminality and criminal acts. None would gain from such mayhem. It is the country which would suffer from runaway criminality. Therefore, all sections of the polity need to look beyond narrow interests.

Future Vision

‘No nominations for relations, on principle’

The UPFA will definitely win all three Provincial Councils (PCs). A massive development has already taken place in all three provinces due to numerous development programmes launched by the government. The Opposition is in a very weak position while the government is strong and receives the support of other political parties,

Full Story

The Lotus Heart

The Professor’s friend

Old Darshana Matavada stood transfixed by the serenity of the temple. He had been tired throughout his career, and now he has retired. He felt as if he were walking in a long forgotten dream. A dream he had been entertaining all his life.

Full Story

Susan George Pulimood - respected in academic circles

The day she took up her appointment must have been very auspicious both for Mrs. Pulimood and for Visakha, for on that day began a long and rewarding association between a school struggling for ‘her place in the sun’, and a dedicated educationist. Her 22 years as Principal were years of achievement and fulfillment for both Mrs. Pulimood and Visakha Vidyalaya,

Full Story

on Sidelines

Asbestos Cancer

Everyone is exposed to asbestos at some time during their life. Low levels of asbestos are present in the air, water and soil. However, most people do not become ill from their exposure. People who become ill from asbestos are usually those who are exposed to it on a regular basis, most often in a job where they work directly with the material or through substantial environmental contact,

Full Story

 

EMAIL |   PRINTABLE VIEW | FEEDBACK

Millennium City
Casons Rent-A-Car
Vacncies - www.jobs.shumsgroup.com
Casons Tours
www.news.lk
www.defence.lk
Donate Now | defence.lk
www.apiwenuwenapi.co.uk
LANKAPUVATH - National News Agency of Sri Lanka
www.army.lk
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL)

| News | Editorial | Business | Features | Political | Security | Sport | World | Letters | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House Copyright © 2012 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.

Comments and suggestions to : Web Editor