2ND LEAD

Colombo denies visas to IBA jurists

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 February 2013, 17:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka denied visas to three jurists, headed by India’s former Chief Justice J. S. Verma, from the London-based International Bar Association Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) to enter Sri Lanka on a fact finding mission related to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, AFP reported. Colombo accused the jurists of "misrepresenting" the objective of their visit to Sri Lanka, and that the mission was going to undertake "activity surreptitiously which is of an intrusive nature to the sovereignty of Sri Lanka," according to the AFP. The IBA expressed "serious concern" over the withdrawal of visas as the team was due to visit Colombo for 10 days starting Friday.

The panel was going to study Sri Lanka's sacking of chief justice Shirani Bandaranayake, the first woman to hold the nation's highest judicial office.

Sacking of the Chief Justice, and the appointment of Mohan Peiris, a former Attorney General and legal advisor to the Sri Lanka's president, have received world-wide condemnation, and concern, including from the U.S. and the U.N.

"Sri Lanka's parliament and executive have effectively decapitated the country's judiciary in pursuit of short term political gain," the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said in a statement earlier.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma expressed deep disappointment at the chief justice's dismissal, saying that he would consider further Commonwealth initiatives on Sri Lanka, a member of the Commonwealth, and responses to situations perceived to constitute violations of core Commonwealth values and principles.

Gabriela Knaul, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, said the case against Bandaranayake was part of a pattern of attacks and threats against members of the judiciary and lawyers and interference in their work.

Knaul said article 107 of the Sri Lankan constitution, read together with Standing Orders of Parliament, contravened international human rights law and needed amending so that disciplinary proceedings against judges were conducted by independent commissions.

The Rajapaksa-appointed new Chief Justice Mohan Peiris, has gone on record for saying that the rise of crimes in the SL military occupied Jaffna was only a sign of normalcy returning after 29 years of militarization.


External Links:
AFP: Sri Lanka slams foreign lawyers over impeachment probe
ST: Govt. defends denial of visas to world jurists
IBAHRI: International Bar Association Human Rights Institute

 

Latest 15 Reports
21.09.24 16:12   Photo
JVP always denied Eezham Tamils’ inalienable self-determination: Anthropology scholar
18.09.24 21:30   Photo
Sinhala leftists need careful perusal of Lenin’s definition of Right to Self-Determination
30.08.24 15:27   Photo
Viraj exposed West’s criminalization of Tamil struggle
30.08.24 09:08  
‘பொதுச்சபை’ நகர்வை ‘சிவில் சமூக அமையம்’ தரும் படிப்பினைகளின் கண்கொண்டு நோக்குதல்
20.08.24 17:59   Photo
Viraj teaches Zone of Peace, Peace Process, Crimes Against Peace
18.08.24 21:23   Photo
Viraj Mendis: A beacon of international solidarity and a pillar in the Eelam-Tamil liberation struggle
18.08.24 16:47   Photo
Viraj in Tamil Radical Politics
18.08.24 11:27  
மூலோபாயத்தையும் தந்திரோபாயத்தையும் தொலைத்த தேர்தல் அரசியலைத் திருத்த இயலுமா?
17.08.24 12:15   Photo
விராஜ் மெண்டிஸ் விட்டுச் செல்லும் நிரப்பவியலா இடைவெளி
04.02.24 15:40   Photo
சியோனிசம் காணும் தோல்வி ஈழத்தமிழருக்குப் பலன் தரவல்ல படிமை மாற்றத்தின் அறிகுறி
24.04.22 05:44  
தீவின் நெருக்கடிச் சூழலில் ஈழத்தமிழர் தேசம் கடைப்பிடிக்கவேண்டிய நிலைப்பாடுகள்
09.04.22 14:44   Photo
குறிதவறும் ஈழத்தமிழர் தலைமைகளுக்கு வரலாறு தருகின்ற எச்சரிக்கை
21.01.22 07:24   Photo
ஈழத்தமிழர் தேசத்தின் தலைமைத்துவம் தேர்தல் அரசியற் கட்சிகளுக்கு அப்பாலானது
02.11.21 15:32   Photo
13 ஆம் சட்டத்திருத்தத்தால் கட்டமைக்கப்பட்ட இன அழிப்பை எதிர்கொள்ள முடியுமா?
15.09.21 08:19  
English version not available
 
Find this article at:
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=36013