Foreign funded lawyers’ double standards exposed

Sandasen MARASINGHE

Young lawyers would never support any group that works with NGOs attempting to plunge the country into anarchy by harming the dignity of the country’s judiciary, the Sri Lanka Independent Young Lawyers group stated yesterday.

The Sri Lanka Independent Young Lawyers Association (SLIYLA) made this observation at a press conference at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute.

They said that those foreign funded inimical forces including a group of lawyers working together with certain NGOs have made the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake an issue, but not the earlier impeachment attempts since these elements have no other issue in the country to exploit with terrorism vanquished.

They also said that where this incident is concerned it appears that the Chief Justice is driven by unseen forces which act in line with an agenda against the country.

The same groups acted in the same manner during the humanitarian operations, using another person as a cat’s paw and also attempting to move various motions against the country in Geneva. No one will suffer by all these moves but the innocent public they added.

Secretary of the Sri Lanka Independent Young Lawyers Association Ravidra Manoj Gamage said that these groups attempt to prepare various reports from these incidents and gain personal benefits providing information to the enemies of the country abroad.

He said certain elements speak of the independence of the judiciary but they have deliberately forgotten that the constitution has provisions to appoint as well as to remove a Chief Justice in order to guarantee the independence of the judiciary.

They only speak of the appointment. The impeachment is the only way to remove a Chief Justice from the post.

He also said lawyers should protect the dignity of the judiciary and their own profession instead of protesting and dashing coconuts on the pavements in their professional attire. He added that the attorneys should resort to only to intellectual discussions without being driven by emotions.

Treasurer of the Association Premanath C. Dolawatta said maintaining double standards, the JVP and the UNP that moved the impeachment motion against former Chief Justice Sarath N Silva using the existing procedure claim the same is flawed when it is moved against the incumbent Chief Justice.

He said that when the PSC report that is published is considered anybody can see that the Chief Justice is guilty of the charges that were investigated by the PSC. The President of the SLIYLA Dr Kanchana Silva, Vice President Buddhika Samarasinghe, also spoke.