By Colombo Telegraph –
The Law Society of England and Wales today added its voice to those calling for the suspension of Sri Lanka from the Councils of the Commonwealth, following reports of serious breaches of the rule of law and judicial independence.
It announced its support for the high-level international resolution at the 18th Commonwealth Law Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.
The resolution, which was ratified at the conference by the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA), and the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA), calls for resolute action against Sri Lanka following ‘repressive actions’.
The resolution includes:
- a call upon the Members of the Commonwealth to place Sri Lanka on the agenda of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group meeting on 26 April 2013 and suspend it from the Councils of the Commonwealth; and
- a plea for the Members of the Commonwealth to reconsider the holding of the next Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka.
The resolution follows reports of serious breaches of the rule of law and judicial independence in Sri Lanka, including the controversial impeachment by Parliament and removal from office of chief justice Bandaranayake in January 2013.
Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said:
‘The Law Society adds its voice to those calling for the suspension of Sri Lanka from the Councils of the Commonwealth. When our shared values, including those respecting human rights and the rule of law, are under threat, we must act resolutely and hold firm.
‘We cannot sit back and watch as the independence of the Sri Lankan judiciary continues to be eroded. We cannot remain inactive as politicians fail to abide by court orders. We cannot look away as members of the legal profession face gross and persistent harassment.
‘We remain committed to supporting those who do uphold the rule of law in Sri Lanka.’
Diogenes / April 18, 2013
It is a pity that these puny Suddha fellows do not realize that we are a nation of Lion Brand People. We dont need their bloody commonwealth. Our political leaders are now wealthy enough to found a new commonwealth for they have been plundering this country`s common wealth so vigorously like “Hanumantha engaged in chopping firewood”. Come on. Let us found a brand new Mahinda Rajapakse International Commonwealth and prove once for all that we are the miraculous miracle of Asia!
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Safa / April 18, 2013
General situation of lawlessness prevails. AG is dropping cases against political criminals. Media is being attacked. Ethno Religous violence and the perpetrators allowed to go scot free.
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w.Diyana / April 18, 2013
Our wholehearted support to those who uphold the Rule of Law in SL.
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interested / April 18, 2013
Has the Garbage Collectors Society also passed a similar resolution? Be very afraid ….
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Ramanan / April 18, 2013
“Has the Garbage Collectors Society also passed a similar resolution? Be very afraid ….”
Indeed all this is a show and the Commonwealth Heads of Govt meeting will definately go ahead. Don’t worry about the Canadians boycotting it as they are an insignificant nation like the Americans. The British will definately attend, that critical report the UK foreign office released about Sri Lanka was for show purposes only as was the appeal by 2 previous uk foreign secretaries (Rifkind and David Milliband) to boycott the meeting. The Prime Minister David Cameron will most certainly attend and will not be asked embarrassing questions about the antics of Mahinda and Gota by the Labour Opposition leader Ed Milliband (brother of David) before his visit. Cameron is very much a friend of Sri Lanka and will most certainly venture to Colombo as that nation is very dear to him, more so than any negative publicity his visit will do to his chances of re-election or embarrassment caused by the new programming Channel 4 news will release to coincide with the visit. In any case, even if the British and Canadians pull out, the Indian Congress govt will definately save Sri Lanka by attending and will certainly not be subject to any pressure by Jayalalithaa and the DMK in Tamil Nadu as to why they are attending when others have pulled out. I mean it’s not like the Congress have an election to fight next year is it?
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Chanakyan / April 18, 2013
Infractions of the law one after the other are beginning to have their toll
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Sue / April 18, 2013
A word to Diogenes. Please learn how to write proper English of Suddha’s. Get out from that country, see the world and see how other people enjoy their lives. You are like a frog in the well.
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Wuliangguobinjiu / April 19, 2013
“see how other people enjoy their lives.”
How can he I doubt it because he is a secret admirer of Rajaporkistan.
Did the Law Society of England and Wales call for the suspension of UK when bLiar decided to go to war with Iraq or recently with its friend Gadhafi? Sudu puka baby are built on confidence not substance or rational ethics anymore.
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Ramanan / April 19, 2013
“Did the Law Society of England and Wales call for the suspension of UK when bLiar decided to go to war with Iraq”
Thankfully Blair decided to terminate his political career in 2007 and the current labour leadership have distanced themselves from the mistakes made by the previous administration. There was much opposition to the Iraq war and many labour MPs including those in govt like Robin Cook made clear their opposition and left the cabinet. Such persons were hailed for their courage as opposed to being labelled traitors with the opposition brutally assaulted as what happens in peaceful, democratic sri lanka.
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Jayantha / April 20, 2013
There’s a big difference between one waging war with an outside country and with your own people.
Saddham Husain murdered his own people. Also he invaded and independent country Kuwait. Also he used WMD against Iran and his own people.
Of couse Sri Lanka won the war against VP but the promises given to Both Local Tamil community and to the International community has to implement.
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Ramanan / April 20, 2013
“Also he used WMD against Iran and his own people”
There was a time when the americans considered Saddam a good guy because they were more fearful of Iran. They used to release an embarrassing clip of Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam (similar to footage of Mahinda speaking against Sri Lanka at UN human rights council in 1990). The hypocrisy of the Americans was at least acknowledged by a large section of their own citizenry, thanks to free media always operating in that nation.
“Sri Lanka won the war against VP but the promises given to Both Local Tamil community and to the International community has to implement”
A peculiar phenomenon seems to afflict many of our sinhala brothers when they declare victory over Prabhakaran as a defeat of the Tamil race as a whole. I try to elicit from them evidence of Prabha being elected by popular mandate to lead our people but they never seem to reply back.
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Anura / April 19, 2013
SL people used say somebody, for example David Cameron, is good friend of Sri Lanka. Does this means David is a friend of president – MR (& Raja family) or is he a friend of all people in Sri Lanka?
I think I am a good friend of Sri Lanka, because I love all people in SL and care about their future, but not MR family or Sudda made map or geography or …
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Diogenes / April 20, 2013
Dear Sue, You speak like an authority on the purity of the English language. But your own writing shows that you have yet to learn much. “Get out from that country” is bad usage. Your phrase “frog in the well” is not really an English expression. Some say it was derived from Chinese. But I believe it is the exact translation of “Koopa Manduka”- from Samskrt. I am not an Englishman and I do not pretend to be one; Not an authority like you on linguistics, either. However, you need not be a globe- trotter like you to see “how other people enjoy their lives”. Dont you see how our political angels ënjoy their lives” in our own country which has now become a veritable paradise on earth for them? Whether you are Sue or zoo or Shoe your croaking like a frog in a bog has hardly any relevance to what I have expressed in my comment above.
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