All media reporting COPE bond report are guilty and punishable under the Section 22 of the Parliamentary (Powers and Privilege) act, the Prime Minster Ranil Wickremesighe has yesterday written to the Secretary-General of Parliament. He also said that the former Chairman of the COPE DEW Gunasekara also guilty under the same section of the law.
We publish below the Prime Minister’s letter in full;
Chandrika Vithanage / July 8, 2015
Can anyone answer this question for
me. I am asking this without any
political bias or prejudice.
Nivard Cabral, former Central Bank
Governor was summoned to Financial
Crimes Investigation Division FCID
for irregularities during his time
of office.
The Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
who chairs the anti corruption subcommittee
is the one who gave instructions to the
FCID to probe Cabral.
Why did the same Prime Minister Wickremesinghe
not refer Mahendran’s case to FCID. Why some
team of UNP lawyers who are under obligation
to the Prime Minister selected?
Doesn’t this show that Wickremsinghe is manipulatig
things to suit his own wishes. He shivers when
any one mentions the CB bond scam.His love for
Mahendran seems more than his commitment to truth
and justice. That is uNP’s yahapalanaya.
/
junias jayawardena / July 8, 2015
S28 (powers and privileges Act)The punished which may be imposed by Parliament for any offence under this Part shall be admonition at the Bar of
Parliament or removal from the precincts of Parliament.
/
Isuru Boyagoda / July 8, 2015
Baduth Hamuduruwange
Naduth Hamuduruwange
It is only in the opposition
that Mr Ranil Wickremasinghe
speaks of media freedom.
When in power, he is their
enemy. Speaking at a meeting
in Kurunegala he called Anura
Solomons (Divaina) a sakkiliya.
He said Kesara Abeywardene (Daily
Mirror) was unfit to be journalist.
He blocked the Freedom of Information
Act from being passed. He is a dr jekyll
and mr hide.
/
maalumiris / July 9, 2015
Right. We all remember how MR was also a champion of Human Rights up until the time he actually came into Power !!
So it is with all politicians. Self-Serving. And we the masses, always stupid enough to believe them
/
Rufus de Silva / July 9, 2015
What follows a dissolution. MPs cease
to remain in office. All business of
Parliament comes to an end.
The Prime Minister and his cabinet are
only caretakers. They are not serving
member of Parliament because it is
dissolved.
With such a dissolution, with no more
privileges, how can a caretaker prime
minister (not to mention the fact that
he came through the backdoor)complain
about privileges being violated.
He is a lawyer but a great pandithaya.
Doesn’t he know this? Or does he simply
want to silence a newspaper. The Sunday Times
has been supportive of him. What is he
fearing? Obviously about getting exposed.
/
a voter / July 14, 2015
1. When parliament is dissolved it means the MPs loose their seats.It does not mean other functions of Parliament or Parliament as an institution ceased to exist. For example, the Secretary of the Parliament will continue to be there and be an employee.
2. So both Ranil and DEW are more members of parliament. The argument Ranil puts is DEW now has no right to access the documents of the parliament and accessing them is illegal. (He also puts the argument saying, since the report is not published, a person who is no more an MP has no right to produce a document stating that as the correct a document)
3. He also states that Times shouldn’t publish the report.
Logically Point 2 sounds correct. But if DEW says this is the draft we had just before dissolution of parliament, he has right to do so. (It is part of investigative journalism. People have the right to know what is happening) It is equal to many reports published by Sunday Leader (at one time) and Wiki Leaks.
/
maalumiris / July 14, 2015
@a voter
I don’t agree that the people have an implicit Right to Know.
All we need to know that this is the Yahapalanaya Era and we must accept that from now on, there is no corruption, no jil-mart in the parliament, no abuse of power.. in short, on January 8th, we became the best country in the world with the best politicians and best people
And if you disagree or publish anything to the contrary, I will ask Ranil to say that you are guilty under some obscure, probably irrelevant law and say you will be punished !!!
/