19 March, 2024

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Parliament, Civil Society Must Stand With Fort Magistrate And AG, Prevent Interference In MiG Deal Probe, Says Eran

United National Party Lawmaker Eran Wickremeratne paid a glowing tribute to courageous Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake in his parliament speech yesterday, saying the judge was the first to stand up for professional police officers who had been the victims of political transfers and attempts to undermine serious criminal investigations by the new Government.

Udayanga

“The only people whose integrity, honesty and professionalism stands between the Government and the cover up of the MiG-deal are Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake and Attorney General Dappula De Livera,” Wickremaratne noted.

Warning that there were already attempts to pressure the magistrate and AG De Livera, the UNP MP and former banker emphasized that Parliament, civil society and the independent press must stand in solidarity with them, and shield them both from undue political interference.

“There is a fear that those two stand between Udyanga Weeratunga and his freedom will be targeted. It is high time that all professionals stood up for those who are doing what is right. The only people whose integrity, honesty, professionalism stands between the Government and the cover-up of a MiG deal, are Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake and Attorney General Dappula De Livera. Already it has been reported that moves are underway to pressure the AG and to transfer or promote Ranga Dissanayake so that a more amenable magistrate could handle Udyanga Weeratunga’s case” Wickremaratne charged.

Speaking in Parliament during the debate on the Airbus corruption scandal that took place during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidency, Wickremaratne reminded the House that the ‘MiG-deal’ was also another corrupt deal that had to be investigated.

Wickremaratne said the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Government had “gone after” officers investigating the MiG deal and transferred them. They had been replaced by officers against whom disciplinary action had been taken in the past, the UNP MP clarified. It was the Fort Magistrate who brought all this information to the fore, he added.

Wickremaratne said the Fort Magistrate had “stuck out his neck” to defend professional police officers responsible for the complex MiG deal investigation and the first ever successful extradition of a criminal suspect.

“It speaks volumes for the arrogance and the entitlement of this Government that Udyanga Weeratunga, a first cousin of the president and Prime Minister was so confident that the CID was on his side and would not try to remand him. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that a magistrate would risk the ire of someone with his royal blood. But Ranga Dissanayake proved them wrong,” Wickremaratne said.

There are uncanny similarities between the Airbus A350 procurement scandal and the Government of Sri Lanka’s purchase of MiG-27 aircraft in 2006 while current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was secretary to the Ministry of Defence. Udyanga Weeratunga, first cousin to Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa is believed to have been the mastermind of the deal that caused losses to the Government to the tune of USD 7 million. GoSL payment for the MiGs was channeled to a shell company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and subsequently laundered through Weeratunga’s brother-in-law, an FCID investigation has found.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa who signed off on the procurement and reportedly arm-twisted air force officials and engineers to give the decrepit fighter jets a clean bill of health, has also been at the center of the MiG scandal. Since 2015, he has left no stone unturned to stall the investigation into the irregular procurement, and prevent his arrest in the case by filing a Fundamental Rights application in the Supreme Court. For five long years, based on the interim order issued by Justice Eva Wanasundara who subsequently recused herself from the case on personal grounds, Gotabaya Rajapaksa evaded accountability for his role in the MiG-27 purchase. The aircraft deal left a bloody trail, with Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge murdered in daylight in January 2009, only days before he was due to testify against Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a defamation suit the Defence Secretary filed against the newspaper in an effort to stop its reporting on the MiG deal.

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Latest comments

  • 17
    1

    If Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake is allowed to have his way in maintaining Justice, other judges too may follow his path to fearlessly ensure justice. This would mean all other government supporters over whom the ‘Sword of Damosel’ is Hanging will no be able to escape the strangulation of Justice. Thus the government may collapse.

    • 8
      1

      Nagi,
      I think your strategy is beginning to bear fruit. I will wait patiently until then.

      • 1
        1

        It may be counter-productive to make too much noise about people like Ranga D or AG Dappula.
        It will only identify them to the regime as its opponents . It is advisable to let them operate on their own. After all, it’s their job to be impartial.
        BTW, I seem to remember that CT was pretty critical of this same AG a few months back.

  • 16
    0

    Fort Magistrate Hon. Ranga Dissanayake,
    You have nothing to be afraid of. Within a very short period of time (in less than 90days) majority of the 6.9 million who casted their votes to bring back the murderers and the mega fraudster family clan back to power have come to their senses, I guess. They are ashamed to show their displeasure in public. The widely used slogan during the presidential election , ‘Bond Scam’ has been overshadowed by the present situation and all we could see and hear at present are about the multi million frauds of the ‘Jarapassa’ family.
    I am really proud of you and truly admire your courage as a lawyer. May you be well strong to carry out the good deeds on behalf of the poor, suffering citizens of the ‘Robbed Land’.
    “Dammo Haway Rakkhathi Dammachaaree’
    Suwapath Weva!

  • 9
    1

    At last there is someone in the judiciary system in SL with guts & integrity. Senior judges who bum sucked their way up should be ashamed that a magistrate was brave enough to do his job properly. I hope Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake will be an inspiration to young lawyers & budding magistrates that honorable discharging of duty in this noble profession of upholding the law is personally gratifying than mountains of ill gotten cash.

  • 7
    2

    No way. Magistrate Ranga Dissanyake will either be transferred with immediate effect or will be kicked upstairs. Additionally they have Justice Nawaz who came out from the cold to be promoted as President Court of Appeal. He was never given any worthwhile bench to handle cases of importance as the previous CA Presidents knew that Nawaz had a proclivity for corruption and underhand deals. While he was serving in the AGs department Nawaz was involved in a scandal regarding tampering with the file that was in the Attorney General’s chamber. He was doing it for the benefit of LECO involving millions of rupees. He was also a part time lecturer in law in leading institutions and during lectures he will pay undue attention to young lady students. Some girls used to avoid attending Nawaz’s lectures in order to avoid such advances and sexual harassment.

  • 8
    4

    Fort Magistrate Hon. Ranga Dissanayake,
    l salute you for being nothing but an impartial shooting straight at the private’s cookie of a magistrate.?
    it is great that in this paralyzed silenced sad, sorry nation where the jarawama rajapuk’s clan along with their uncouth unsavory cohorts are holding the rooster tightly around its neck as if it is about to be strangled.?
    I am amazed the gmoa, the various left-leaning unions which gave hell to the democratic yahapalayana govt now seem to in a shell shocked trance.?
    not a single newspaper, website who were allowed to find fault with the previous doers are now silent, and I ask as to what’s the reason behind their being made to be made into a numb into a mode of a blind, deaf and dumb yokels.?
    hon, the magistrate in my humble two cents worth of analyzing and cum reading through the situation the whole nation is shell shocked with fear.
    the mere thought of a ride to Nibbana in a white van being abducted in the open streets by armed goons similar to what happened to the Swiss Embassy visa officer who was sexually molested assaulted then after being dropped off close to her home, then to put the icing on the case a bogus criminal lawsuit was filed against her, a trip to loonie bin of a mental asylum being produced in a court of at an unholy hour and the final straw was she was remanded on false trumped-up charges at a filth unnatural acts of sex oozing obnoxious remand prison for a period 14 days and she being a catholic could not celebrate Christmas with her family.
    thanks to mine and all the prayers of the whole peace-loving civic-minded harmless peaceful citizen she was released on the 30th December 2019.

    • 3
      3

      @Rohan John Pillai, This sissy fagot named Rohan John Pillai is a traitor to Eelam Tamils. This scum has swindled 70,000 CAD from 38 Eelam Tamil refugees promising Canadian visa. This low life scum is now absconding. Eelam inteligence agents are on hot pursuit and when we catch him, he will expose his crime both from his ass and mouth.
      Eelam Tamils are advised to keep an eye on this scum

      • 0
        0

        “Eelam inteligence agents are on hot pursuit “

        he is in a aged care facility in australia.

        ps.whenever you are in hot pursuit of anyone,just ask me first.

  • 1
    1

    This “Wickramaratne & Co.” (including Dr. Harsha) has no “Morel Right” to NOW talk so loud. Why? The knew their “Mandate” was to bring all these ROUGES to book. They not only FAILED but worse was for some “Unknown Reasons” drag their feet for the last four and half years. In addition, they “Purposely” long delayed the setting up of the “Special Courts” to hear these cases of “Mega Corruptions” and the very legislation in setting up those, even late was made “Weak” to enable the “Culprits” to escape. They “Watched” how the cases were getting unnecessarily “Postponed” and in some cases the “Prosecution” did not file cases in keeping with law requirements enabling the cases to be thrown out. Examples of such cases are many. The PEOPLES” APATHY , REJECTION and CONDEMNATION were shown at them by voting in “NO CONFIDENCE” at the last Presidential Election. The PEOPLE must not express TRUST and CONFIDENCE any more and any further on this team of Legislators of the entire UNP who FAILED in the DELIVERY of the assignments entrusted upon them in 2015. A “BIG” change in the Legislation is the only answer.

    • 2
      0

      Very true and well said, if all of Ranil and his faithfuls could not be kicked out, all others in the UNP have no voice any more.
      Douglas, however this big change in Legislation as stated by you, With this massive Mig deal and Sri Lanka Airlines deal, this will be the indicator to know if the new government will follow the same the UNP did. Let’s see.

  • 3
    1

    Justice should prevail without exception to family or party connections and every one involved in the MIG – deal and other similar financial misappropriations should be exposed ,and legally dealt with by the courts of law of the country .

  • 0
    3

    The MP of UNP that of Eran Wickramaratana is politically that anti-Buddhist and working against majority of Sinhalese communities in South by promoting politics of more factless talks than gossips.
    His(Eran) political outlook is so closed to metaphysis of that God created Universe by invisible forces. It is more closer to that Neo-Liberal politics of Western
    origine an ideologies…. by USA hegemonies. …Democracy.
    In the terms of politics of that his haredline orthodox an overall views of are which Eran W…. advocacy an opposed the Economic and Political sovereignty of Island our People of Sri Lankan.
    He is hardline-supporter of Sajith Premadasa of that son of Ransinghe P….of ex-President of Lanka from 1988 to 1993 May 1st. The Eran W…. is not a honest politician,he is the one man who forget of that under Ransinghe P….of UNP of past had been killed 70,000 to 80,000 youth of Island .All youth killed by UNP’s are not JVP hard cores.
    Therefor that all Majority youth of South of that 95% are Sinhalese-Buddhist.
    Is that Eran W… which that welcome such massacre of youth by UNP leader of Sajith P……… the Son of Ransinghe of P…… ???
    What type of democracy an advocated and agitated by Eran of UNP member of Parliment. !
    Well Eran W…talk on all corruption and against so many deals of including MiG deal of issues… by MR & GR that related matters.The remain facts is need more in depth reading of MIG deal . Its not clear until Judiciary finding are still incomplete .
    Let us see that MIG deal was political motivated acts by UNP leadership? Or real corruption by MR & GR? We wanted more time for that .
    What about CB Bons scam of inside Treading of CB Bond by UNP Primer and joint covered an operation of CB Governor of Arjuan Mahadaran!

  • 0
    0

    “Already it has been reported that moves are underway to pressure the AG and to transfer or promote Ranga Dissanayake so that a more amenable magistrate could handle Udyanga Weeratunga’s case” Wickremaratne charged.”

    eran is talking utter bloody crap.The AG cannot transfer magistrates.He is a prosecutor.

    ranga has ordered the acting IGP to tell the court why chief inspector nihal francis was transfrred.He was the one who investigated this case earlier and now replaced by a rajapajshe stooge who wants udayanga to be bailed.Enough is enough from these rascals rajapakshe’s.

  • 0
    0

    I don’t think we should get exited about any of the unfolding drama. RD and DDL seems to be doing their job nothing to be praised of and we have to wait to see the outcome before congratulating anyone for doing their job. Both needs to prove again and again the law and order impartial justice is a part of our judiciary.

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