Sri Lanka's parliament extends emergency

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 November 2008, 18:36 GMT]
Sri Lanka's parliament Tuesday extended the State of Emergency for another month by a majority of seventy five votes. Eighty five parliamentarians voted for the motion and ten against. Parliamentarians of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and National Freedom Front (NLF), a splinter group of the JVP voted with the government, parliamentary sources said.

Ten parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) voted against the motion.

Parliamentarians of the main Opposition United National Party (UNP) were not present in the house at that time when the motion to extend the State of Emergency was put to vote, parliamentary sources said.

The democratic State of Sri Lanka has been ruled under emergency regulations for the last twenty years, from 20th June 1989.

Article 155 of the Constitution provides the formal basis for the declaration of a state of emergency in Sri Lanka. It empowers the President of the Republic to make emergency regulations under the Public Security Ordinance or under any other law in force relating to public security. Such regulations may over-ride all existing law except provisions of the constitution. The Ordinance also provides that no suit or prosecution can be initiated against any person for acts done or purported to be done under emergency regulations or orders except with the consent of the Attorney-General.

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Sri Lanka's Emergency Laws