12 December, 2024

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‘A Coward And A Puppet’: Hirunika Slams Gota After Duminda’s Release

Parliamentarian Hirunika Premachandra issued a scathing rebuke of President Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday after he pardoned her father’s murderer Duminda Silva.

Hirunika Premachandra is the daughter of SLFP trade-unionist and long time ally of current prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra who was brutally murdered by Silva and his goons in October 2011. Silva was convicted of the murder by the High Court and the judgment was subsequently upheld by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court.

In a five-page, hard-hitting letter to the President written the day Silva was released, Premachandra accused Gotabaya Rajapaksa of being a coward and a puppet, and no longer the man who “really leads the country.”

“Accept this truth,” she urged the President, calling him a cat’s paw of a few powerful people who were manipulating his decisions.

Sri Lanka was a lawless country under Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s rule, Premachandra said, likening him to a master leading a nation of slaves to certain death.

“Your rule is breeding injustice, Mr President,” her letter charged. “The day is not far off when the people will break these shackles and rise up,” the letter warned.

 

Premachandra goes into depth about the relationship between her father and Mahinda Rajapaksa, saying the pair shared an unique brotherhood. Her father had stood by the current prime minister when he was nearly denied the opposition leadership and the premiership by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, she explained.

Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra made one big misstep when he criticised former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa for his association with Silva, who he said was taking the official to all the houses in Kolonnawa that were part of his lucrative illegal narcotics operation. Silva is a well-known drug kingpin in Kolonnawa and continued to run his narcotics operation from inside Welikada Prison.

Giving an unprecedented and heart-rending account of the day her father was murdered, Premachandra said even 10 years later the pain was still “unbearable”, cutting through her happiness as a mother and a wife. The families of Lasantha Wickrematunge, Prageeth Eknaligoda and Wasim Thajudeen who had not got justice were also probably reliving this trauma every day of their lives, she said.

“No matter how full our lives are, what blessings we receive, there is a void in our hearts that will never be filled,” her letter to the President emphasized.

The condemnation is the most scathing yet of the President’s controversial decision to pardon Silva, and has drawn little reaction from Hirunika Premachandra’s own party, which fears reprisals from the broadcasting giant Hiru TV, owned by the murder convict’s brother Raynor. The Samagi Jana Balawegaya General Secretary issued a statement opposing the pardon, but SJB MPs have refrained from making individual statements or launching a campaign against the President’s actions. Hiru TV has repeatedly blacked out MPs who speak openly against Duminda Silva and launched campaigns to discredit them.

See translation of Hirunika Premachandra’s letter below. For original Sinhala letter, click here.

Written on Poson Full Moon Poya Day, 24th June 2021.

H.E. Gotabaya Rajapaksa

President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Presidential Secretariat

Colombo.

Your Excellency,

Re: Granting Presidential Pardon to R. Dumunda Silva, who was convicted for the murder of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra by seven Judges.

I am the daughter of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, Trade Union Adviser to your brother, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and former Member of Parliament.

On October 8, 2011, my beloved father was shot and killed in broad daylight, his body riddled with over 20 bullets. Two High Court judges convicted former MP R Duminda Silva of his murder, and their ruling was upheld by five judges of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice. Today, you granted him a presidential pardon.

On that fateful day, my mother and I received an anonymous telephone call informing us that my father had been shot. We did not panic initially, because we were used such phone calls. In the past they had always been followed up with confirmation that my father was safe from harm.

In 1999, it was my father who organized the final election rally for President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in Borella. After the LTTE bomb attack on that rally, my father reached out to our family on the telephone to confirm that he was unharmed in the blast. Every morning, my brother and I would worship our father before leaving for school. I vividly remember that when we walked up to him to pay our respects the morning after the bomb blast at the rally, his tunic was still smeared with blood.

In a war-torn country, these incidents were common during his political career that spanned 30 years. But that day in October 2011, the phone never stopped ringing. My mother and I decided to leave for the National Hospital in Colombo. When we got there, we were told to make our way to the mortuary.

Ten years have passed, and the memory of my father’s tragic death still crushes me, filling me with dread and making me feel like the whole world is collapsing around me.

I was 23 years old when my father was assassinated. My mother and I, who had never stepped into a courtroom or a police station during his lifetime, trekked from courtroom to courtroom for five long years, to seek justice for my father. The 20s in any young girl’s life, is a time for happiness and playfulness. I spent those years locking horns with a group of powerful, brutal murderers. When he died, hardly anybody knew Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra had a daughter. After his death, the whole country knew my name overnight. I made terrible enemies. All because I decided to pursue justice in court against my father’s killers.

When the Rajapaksa regime was in power, Duminda Silva did not spend a second in jail. This was the man the highest court has said led my father’s assassins and murdered people in broad daylight. It was the CID Director Shani Abeysekera and his officers who conducted meticulous investigations into my father’s murder, collecting every shred of evidence in an orderly and unimpeachable way. Today, Shani Abeysekera suffers for his courage to execute his duties as a police officer independently.

From the moment my father was killed, politicians across party lines flocked to pay their final respects to him. But you never showed up.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, Chamal Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, Shiranthi Rajapaksa, Namal Rajapaksa, Yoshitha Rajapaksa and Rohitha Rajapaksa all your family members attended my father’s funeral. But still you never appeared. You remained at Duminda Silva’s bedside at the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital. Your priority was to order a helicopter to fly Duminda Silva to Singapore.

Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra entered politics in 1977, under the guidance of the late T.B. Illangaratne. Subsequently, he engaged in political activities with Vijaya Kumaratunga, as a founding member of Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya. Entering parliament as a member representing the Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya in 1994, he became a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, under President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in 1996. This was at a time when barely a handful of people could be assembled to hoist a blue flag. At times, he fought single-handedly for the SLFP in the Colombo District.

From the day they met, my father developed a close friendship with your brother Mahinda Rajapaksa. For this reason, my father would refer to him only as “Mahinda aiyya”. Every step of the way, through joy and sorrow, my father stood with Mahinda Rajapaksa.

It was my father who battled against President Chandrika Kumaratunge’s decision to give the post of Leader of the Opposition to another person. It was Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra who fought for Mahinda Rajapaksa to be appointed prime minister when the leadership had decided otherwise. Any current politician in the SLPP who once held membership in the SLFP, knows this story. You can ask anyone of them, irrespective if they are parliamentarians or not. You can learn this history from the Prime Minister himself. He was completely dedicated to his friend Mahinda who he considered a brother. Where he believed he was standing on principle, my father would not budge. He raised his voice continuously for laborers and marginalized people at the grassroots level. He did not amass wealth as a politician. Instead, he acted as a friend and brother to everyone in the government and opposition.

But he made one misstep on a public stage a few days before he was killed.

“The Organizer of Kolonnawa, is taking the Defense Secretary who is the President’s brother, to every house to which he is selling Heroin. This is my worry. I must state at this point that we will not only ensure the victory of Prasanna. We will also fight to sever the Rajapaksa generation we built with much difficulty, from these heroin dealers.”

I believe that these few words may have led to his murder. These are the very last words my father uttered in public.

Mr. President, ask yourself how prophetic these words of a murdered man have proved today.

A decade later, my father’s brutal death still haunts me. From time to time, I have had to seek treatment to deal with the pain and trauma. As a mother of three, I try hard to be optimistic and move forward. But to this day, the loss of my father cuts through that joy and fills me with unbearable pain. Perhaps this is how all families who suffer the sudden, tragic death of a loved one. The families of Prageeth Eknaligoda, Lasantha Wickrematunge and Wasim Thajudeen – they must all be living through this trauma every day of their lives. No matter how full our lives are, what blessings we receive, there is a void in our hearts that will never be filled.

These victims and their families have never been given justice. They have a right to see these killers brought to court and face up to their crimes.

You campaigned and won the presidential election under the these ‘One Country, One Law’. Today, those words have been reduced to nothing more than sloganeering to win an election.

Now, if every prisoner on death row demands a presidential pardon, you are in no position to refuse. If convicted prisoners are to be arbitrarily released by presidential pardon, what are prisons for? Why do we have laws? Why do we have judges?

By your cowardly decisions, today, this country is lawless. This is a nation of slaves, in the grip of a master leading them to certain death. You are not the real ruler of this country today. You must accept that. You are just a puppet manipulated by other forces.

Believing in the vision of you as a leader like Mahathir Mohamed, Lee Kuan Yew or Vladimir Putin, 6.9 million Sri Lankan citizens placed their faith in you and propelled you to the presidency. They gave you a two thirds majority in Parliament. They made it possible for you to enact the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. What more tools could you possibly need to make difficult decisions that will benefit all Sri Lankans. Instead, you have chosen to become a puppet. It is impossible to imagine now that your rule will ever usher in a better country. Your actions in this past year have amply demonstrated that.

Mr. President,

My father is now a footnote in history.  But he has left behind so much for his grandchildren to take pride in and remember. What legacy do you hope to leave behind? What will leave behind for your newborn granddaughter to speak of proudly when you are gone?

Mr President,

In accordance with the Buddhist precepts that I live by, I have already forgiven former MP Duminda Silva. But Buddhism also teaches that rulers must be just and uphold the laws of the land. Your actions have undermined the rule of law and made a mockery of justice. Two out of three High Court judges ruled that Duminda Silva had murdered my father and sentenced the killers to death. The defendants appealed to the Supreme Court. Five judges of the Supreme Court including the then Chief Justice, upheld the verdict of the High Court. Five judges of the Supreme Court determined that Duminda Silva had been the ringleader of the illegal assembly that killed my father. If the decisions of High Court and Supreme Court judges are cast into the garbage and the final decisions are made by you, of what use are laws in this country? 6.9 million people put their faith in you and chose you to be leader of this country. You must now be prepared to answer them. Your present conduct make sure that the people will never allow a Rajapaksa to rule the country again.

Now that you have dismissed the verdict of seven judges to release Duminda Silva, I would not be surprised if you were to nominate him as a Chief Minister and bring him back into politics. This country is transformed now into a nation of slaves, being marshalled towards their own destruction by their masters. But the people will not tolerate injustice forever. Your rule is breeding injustice, Mr President, and the day is not far off when the people will break these shackles and rise up. When it comes, people like you who have no backbone and no respect for justice and the rule of law will be bereft of a political future.

Thank you,

Yours Faithfully,

Hirunika Premachandra, M.P.

Latest comments

  • 38
    2

    Dear Hirunika,

    we thank you onc eagain, your fearless act put Kudu dumiya at least for few years in jail.Even if the convicted high criminal is now released by Nandasena/ de facto president of srilanka, all these would not be permament. This govt the way they moves forward would not give any positive feeling….
    .
    What they have achieved since their return is furhter improvement of state persecution and getting their high crime investigation exonerated…. we warned this repeating to the punnakung drinkers, however, they are realizing it today. or have to .. these mlechcha men born to that MEDAMULANA cave are merciless buggers.
    :
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAeE6q4GOcM

    This was then called ” white van abductions”. Today, they rename it as ” CID ” abuctions… h aha… how many more days this defacto presidency would last ?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzQep7sUvLo
    The kind of state persecution is becoming their daily routine towards those who would stand against the growing injustice in the country.

    • 14
      1

      Dear Hirunika,
      I read your letter passed to the media. I agree with you there with every word. But it was for you then, and the ground situation is being made worsening to daughters of that ASELA SAMPATH who is accepted to be a real civil activist.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0MBFL3zH-s

      HR organisations world wide should come back to BRUTAL criminals/Rajapkshes… sad that entire nation would be punished next days, also imposing the sanctions.
      :
      My salute is you the KIND of brave daughters. You are the FUTURE of this nation.
      :
      Hope at least after Rajapakshes, this country would turn out to be a better place for human beings.

  • 32
    3

    Sri Lankans are caught between a powerful murderer and a powerless moral midget.

  • 30
    2

    Hirunika,
    .
    I can tell you that among thinking people this pardoning of the murderer is what most people find most shocking at this moment.
    .
    However, soon it’ll be forgottten; that’s the way it is in this country. Yes, in this country things seem worse than elsewhere, but you will have to cultivate acceptance of a fait accompli, I fear.
    .
    My sympathies to you and your family.

    • 16
      1

      Sinhala_Man: That “Pardoning” is not all “Shocking”. The only “Shocking” aspect of it was: Why it was not done much earlier? This “Pardoning” and “Nidoskota Nidahs” of very many “Criminals” were in the “Agenda” but our “Blind Folded Slaves” – the “6.9 million never saw it. They were “LED” to believe by the “Saffron Clothed” brigade of a mythical “Diyaseana” arrival, but now they realize they got “Nandasena” alias “Nandaseeni”.

  • 18
    2

    At this time of history, fighting for justice would not make any difference. But it does not mean seeking justice has to be abandoned. What is needed is it must be unified, preplanned as the Sinhala community whole. In the past, one man’s fights like what Shani did has suffered a lot. Educated Sinhalese must unite all the victims and gain power. Instead, they should not surrender to Ranil or Vaalaiththodam Jr. As a matter of fact, this 2/3 victory situation was created by Ranil. He is back in Parliament. How is that a man who was completely rejected by the people now going to parliament? How? Because of the Lankawe Constitution. This man, with 42 MPs in parliament, wrote a constitutional amendment to keep him as PM forever. Now the people have rejected him so absolutely. He is showing up in parliament. With the 18A, the Old King attempted to make him as the emperor. People rejected him fully. But he has become PM. The constitution is well using the 2 weeks memory span of the Sinhala Buddhists. So now Royals have come to power and have made them a tributary Royal to the China Empire.

    • 16
      2

      Dear Mallaiyuran:

      We keep recycling the clingy trash that we threw out yesterday. Such short memory indeed.

      The SriLankan political landscape needs a complete overhaul. So much trash to be thrown out for good. But not to be replaced with new trash. We need an entirely new breed of citizens rising up to the challenge of political leadership to steer the citizens towards social progress and justice.

      First step, throw religious prescriptions out of the nation’s constitution. This will have to be a policy platform that the new generation of politicians must promise. Clergy: Hands off politics and policy making.

  • 16
    3

    There are a lot of secrets going inside the ruling royal gang & so many coverup incidents too. But here one or two seems to have not reached media yet, or they did in fact, but nobody noticed them. So the King, to be ahead in the game, gave an unscheduled big speech to the county, two days ago. Who asked for it anyway? This raise the question of that if the Aanduwa has got an alert and they are trying to put the citizens cool, then what could it be. This is a man did not give speeches during election campaign. He gave only one press interview, but even in that he had his big brother next to him. This media – Phobia man was giving a speech on prime-time TV. That is why I am telling everybody, please, until the dark clouds pass away, take care of your life first. Do not get entangled with Rapist Army or Rapist Police. Practice austerity. If you can go to bed with two meals, save the third meal’s money. If you are not used local foods, like white millet (Samai), Brown Millet (Kurakkan), corn maize (Makka Cholam), lean them soon. That is how many tried to survive in Siri Mao time.

  • 15
    3

    A worst time could come, because of the way these tyrants are ruining the country.This is an uncertain but serious talk for the entire population of Island Ceylon. If you have been reading or hearing serious news, there are only 5 matters in the last two years that were repeated. And it is going to get worse into an unknown time in the future. 1) Food’s shortage-unaffordable price. Covid or dengue- people dying; government lying. 3) Army police brutality; no justice; for 25 years there has been no justice minister and CJ. 4). China forced more loans to capture the entire Island. 5). Aanduwa’s biggest enemy is the press & social media. If you have been reading this news and if you are still taking time to predict that in a few months a possible famine is going to be there, that one many times worse than Siri Mao’s time, that is awkward. If that happens, people are going to die without food and by disease and Rapist Police and Rapist Army’s brutality.

  • 13
    3

    In his speech Hiller King did not answer the 5 matters the Sinhala, Tamil, English media repeatedly raised. King’s special message in that speech was that the country has been secured from imaginary terrorists and foreign countries. Now China is bidding for the entire land, even the area that is not due for them, the North East. The North East is not indebted to China. So, when we (Tamils) are free, we will get China out without compensation. Sinhalese can get their freedom only by stopping the UNP-SLFP writing anymore constitution. For that they need to approach the UN or NATO and ask to write a constitution for them, once and for all.

  • 21
    2

    Sinhala_Man,

    You believe schools/language can civilize savages ……… what success, your puny little school by the sea that churn out short little dark Lankan men with good English and bad accents has had? :))

    Mahinda too thought as much ……… sent his brood there ………. the outcome?

    Ended up murdering one of their own fellow schoolmates!

    Did the Language/school/culture “culture” the savages ……. or did the savages savage the culture?


    Or is there a self-manufactured world/reality beyond good and evil ……. where we pretend we don’t know ……. we don’t see? Eh? :))

    • 21
      3

      I may be right ….. I may be wrong …… doesn’t matter …….

      There is a culture of feigned-ignorance …….. pervading the intellectual community/strata (SM, a better term, please) of the nation …….. sorta …… “let’s pretend we don’t know” ….. “let’s pretend we don’t see” …….

      A self-manufactured reluctance to accept a glaring truth.

      Whether we like it or not …….the undeniable truth …… the elephant in the room …… we all have to accept/come-to-terms-with …..

      At best, the head our nation is a murderer. At worst, a serial-killer.

      In the 21st century in a daily loudly professed Buddhist country……. this is what we have gotten ourselves into? All the other nonsense we speak about is besides the point: moot ……..

      This culture of pretend-ignorance permeates all the way ……. from the guardians of morality/ethics/decency, the Mahanayakes, the cardinals ………… the eminent citizens, intellectuals, …… to the rest …… downward ……….

      How crazy has this got?

      As crazy as a person of Prof Kumar David’s stature to go around asking “Why is Gota so stubborn?”

      It’s like walking into Transylvania …….. and innocently asking why Dracula has pointy teeth?

      • 19
        2

        continued

        For Pete’s sake, man! …….Stubborn is ……. what serial-killers with murderous intent are!

        Man! For the love of Buddha, ……… We have to start from his murders/killings ……… not bring it down to his stubbornness and create a reality of our choosing ……. a reality we can be comfortable with

        That Einstein …… Muttetuwa of Narehenpita Temple or whoever the crap he is …. who was instrumental in bringing these paragons of virtue to power ….. is now playing good-cop Bad-cop ….. created a kiddie-game for himself …. asking Mahinda to tell Gota ….. that’s the reality he has created for himself now! ……Man, how can people be this stupidly insincere? ……. He doesn’t want to open his eyes and see, he put Charles Manson in the president’s chair!

        There are two things holding back our intellectuals, when we need them most …… a slavish adherence to a redundant ideology ….. and a slavish adherence to a colonial hangover: Anglophilia (is there such a word Old Codger?) :))

        • 14
          3

          continued

          Is Prof SJ, a fool by any stretch of the imagination? But everything he thinks/writes has to fit into the cookie-cutter mold of his childhood-ideology …… nothing escapes ….. for him there can’t be any other reality! When we need people like him the most …… his mind’s gone walk-about. Held prisoner by Marx & Mao …… or …. Xi Jinping & Pol Pot …… Ground Zero.

          ……. because of our past colonial subjugation …..the much greater handicap that has kneecapped many of our intellectuals is Anglophilia ……we can’t break free from ……. (never start a sentence with “because” ….. SM, do I pass the test?)

          We still think and write as if some fuddy-duddy White professor sitting in a dark musty room full of old book cases mark everything we do/write from 0 to 100.

          Getting our grammar right is more important than getting our reality right!

          Get away …. have the courage to break free …… past is past ……. dead and gone ….. face the new

          If you’re still keen to mimic the Whites ……. this is how the Whites write now ….. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ed-charley-reese-545-column-07111120110711-story.html

          Get to the point without the hoopla …….

          • 3
            3

            As long as nimal fernando is there why would any one miss Charley Reese!

          • 0
            2

            NF
            “Is Prof SJ….”
            What has any of this exchange got to do with me?
            *
            I can be just as stupid as anybody else around here.
            Meantime, try to be slightly more intelligent and civilized to avoid personal remarks about people whom you do not know.
            *
            This is desirably a place to exchange views.

    • 13
      1

      Dear NF,
      .
      Thank you. I am in full agreement with you. I have relatives that went to so called popular schools in Colombo. Two of them ended up being very unsuccessful with their future. They were given all what they wanted however, their attitudes did not let them for a better life.
      I think this is common to all that were colonised by Anglo, Franco masters.

      Serving justice is highly questional under the leadershp Doublepakshes.

      Rajapakshes proved their mlechcha nature would never change. I am developing a hatred as to why Good governance failed to put GR, MR, NR and all in prisons for the rest of their lives. They deserve no free life… for sure.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlvY_P-rbZA
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_btL1e3GqJY

      Brother NF, Hirunika should be happier to have let Kudu DUmiya spent few years in a prison, what about the victimized family of Thajdudeen… ? What about the victimized families of Ekanligoda and Wikramathunga ?

  • 23
    3

    That’s one heck of a letter to Nandasena; thank you Hirunika, for your courage.

    The word on the street is that Nandasena is romantically intertwined with pretty boy Kudu Dumiya, so like many people in Lanka are saying, boyfriends will want to be around boyfriends, no?

  • 16
    1

    Oh God….it’s now the drug networks that are being invoked!  From insider trading and crypto-currency manipulation, to prostitution chains and money laundering, from gambling dens and tax defrauding, to tax havens and LTTE funding utilizing all the aforesaid, does our Motherland strive to forge its own unique path to glory. Aparadha!….. Alas!

  • 26
    2

    Good to see a unwavering Hirunika . As I had mentioned these courageous women should get together and form a common platform to seek justice . If women all around the world who are victims of Rajapaksa Mafia including Ahimsa, Hirunika, Sandhya , Bastian , Easter victims , war victims , missing person , journalists get together , can be a formidable challenge to Rajapaksas Mafia.

  • 18
    2

    What a failed stat SL is! Duminda and other terrorists are out and about thanks to a presidential pardon. Now there will be terrorism again. Rajapaksas will beat them again and win elections.

    That’s the only way they can win elections again. Otherwise it is definite wipe out at the next election.

  • 18
    2

    A Cowad & a Puppet

    *** Hi Hirunika I can understand your anger and I am sure you appreciate that Gotha is neither a Coward nor a Puppet. He is a hardened Criminal and a Murderer in his own right. Witout wishing to rub salt into the wound now you know how the parents of the Mirusuvil victims felt when the President ( I think it was MS) released the convicted killer whose crime was confirmed by the Highest Court in the Land. You need to take it up with the UN in their September reviewof Gothas Crimes.

  • 11
    2

    Hirunika has been wronged as much as her father.

    Quis custodiet ipsos custodes………
    Who will guard the Guards?
    This must be the thought of most people in the country excepting a hardcore fraction of those 6.9 imbeciles who got carried away in Nov>2019.
    A Coward and A Puppet is her description.
    A Coward ? Yes.
    But a Puppet? A puppet on a string? who has the fingers on the String?

    Like in Alice in Wonderland this is indeed getting Curiouser and curiouser……….

  • 4
    23

    The release of Hon MP was over due, people are eager to serve from him,our head well aware where are we heading to ,Hirunika may get sympathy but don’t forget how she abducted a fellow who has own conscience and privacy.

  • 10
    0

    Premachandra goes into depth about the relationship between her father and Mahinda Rajapaksa, saying the pair shared an unique brotherhood.
    ————————
    Good human beings as a general rule dont form ‘close bonds’ with any member of that rajapaksa family.

  • 8
    2

    Believing in the vision of you as a leader like Mahathir Mohamed, Lee Kuan Yew or Vladimir Putin
    ————
    If i remember right, an influential buddhist monk in sri lanka endorsed nandasena, saying the country ‘needs its own hitler’, and not the names you mentioned!

  • 8
    1

    Now, if every prisoner on death row demands a presidential pardon, you are in no position to refuse
    ———–
    This is nothing new. Remember the 1983 riots? When sinhalese prisoners like gonawala sunil were released, given weapons, maps and voters lists of where tamils could be found?

  • 3
    0

    The disconcert of a loving daughter is quite understandable and hurts many a daughter whose fathers were done away by hands of cruelty. What concerns me is the “general talk” that the guy so released is to contest the provincial council and be made the Chief Minister. If there is any truth in the “rumor” then it is hitting the ceiling as it requires a “free pardon” meaning to treat as if no conviction as ever taken place. My understanding is that a person who serves a Prison term for more than one year is bereft of his right to vote for a further period of seven years after the release from Prison. A “free pardon” means that virtually one questions the very basis of the conviction and that is an affront to the rule of law. For whatever reason, say the man is now out of the prison after serving about five years and the alleged coming back to public life is as a politician or to engage in his “old vocation” is an abomination.

  • 0
    0

    There are cases of borderline injustice where justice has been harsh or where unfortunate souls have been driven to petty crime due to poverty or circumstances. Certainly such people should be considered for pardon & even a murderers could have the sentence reduced from life to a lengthy jail period but pardoning a convicted criminal & an alleged drug lord is a blatant act of impunity which condones such acts of violence. Not only does it enrages law abiding citizens but even has a repercussion internationally as the calibre of people governing a country that supports injustice & lawlessness, is exposed. Either our leaders are too dumb to realise this or just don’t care because what matters to them is survival, not international acclaim.
    Having said that, in this particular case, a loyal party member was appointed to a, presumably, a higher office, as personal advisor to the President & his constituency handed over to a more closer ally of the regime. Being no longer associated with the constituency, why would Bharatha Lakshman rush off with his bodyguards to confront a govt. appointed politician’s thuggery? Isn’t that a job for the police? Wouldn’t complaining to the ‘boss’ about the highhanded shindigs of this politician & the inefficiency of the police on their part of the failure be better, particularly, if so close to the boss, instead of a ‘gun fight at the OK Corral’?

  • 0
    0

    cont.
    As the saying goes, those who live by the sword die by the sword.
    The fact that GR didn’t attend the funeral & supporting the murderer, is obvious that Kudu Silva was closer to the regime than the loyal servant, nevertheless, the widow was instilled in her husband’s position, whether, she was qualified or not is immaterial, after all, it’s tax payers’ money & Hirunika was given the opportunity to join the club. Incidentally, didn’t she instigate a fracas by kidnapping someone involved in a love triangle with one of her employees? Seems this family beleives in taking
    The fact that GR didn’t attend the funeral & supporting the murderer, is obvious that Kudu Silva was closer to the regime than the loyal servant. Nevertheless, the widow was instilled in her husband’s position, whether, she was qualified or not is immaterial, after all, it’s tax payers’ money & Hirunika was given the opportunity to join the club. Incidentally, didn’t she instigate a fracas by kidnapping someone involved in a love triangle with one of her employees? Seems this family believes in vigilantism & no has faith in the police. So Hirunika, save the righteous rhetoric. You decided to sleep with dogs knowingly, & in this case, a rabid dog as well. If its justice you are after (or vengeance, contrary to your Buddhist principals), you can be happy that 4 pawns in the murder are still banged up.

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    Obtaining a presidential pardon means accepting that you are guilty as charged. That is the universally accepted premise for giving prisoners pardons. So dear Hirunika at least you now know he is guilty and has accepted his guilt. Now hoping nobody knows these legal definitions the man may run about claiming his innocence but his guilt is now established.

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      Yes Thiha@

      “Obtaining a presidential pardon means accepting that you are guilty as charged”

      In other words, anyone giving such pardons are against the COURT verdict.
      .
      Can we or any human being be proud of such candidates being the leaders of any state `?
      This is the levels we have achieved as of today. Entire civilized world would not respect srlanka anymore.
      Even segements within the country will line up to stand against MURDERERS-PROTECTING Rajapkshes.
      :
      My pains would be gone, if I could see it one day soon GOTABAYA and brother MR be convicted and put in Jails …. for their rest of lives. .. in not in real world, but now or later, KARMIC RETRIBUTION will take care of it…. now from what we hear… Mahinda Rajapkshe behave like he is being caught by devils… the bugger will die and born again and again.. for all the high crimes deliberately committed to this nation.

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