Certain elements fishing in troubled waters:

Govt will safeguard country and its people - Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva

By Uditha Kumarasinghe

Leader of the House and Irrigation and Water Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said when the impeachment motion was moved against the then Chief Justice Neville Samarakoon, the NGOs or any Lawyers’ Associations didn’t protest or stressed the need to change the existing laws.

But now there is a big fuss and various contradictory remarks made on the present impeachment motion against the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake which is not fair. The Minister in an interview with the Sunday Observer said that the Constitutional authority vested in the legislature is exercised through Parliament. Parliament has no intention whatsoever of creating a rift with the judiciary. But it is obvious that deliberate attempts are made by certain people to create a rift between the legislature, the Executive and the judiciary on the pretext of this impeachment issue. The people will however, realize this soon.

The Minister said since this Government came to power, it was obvious that the LTTE made deliberate attempts to destabilize the Government. Still such attempts continue in various forms.

At this juncture, there are some elements attempting to fish in troubled waters. The Government is well aware of this. We are a very strong and stable Government and have the strength to face challenges and safeguard the country and the people.

Minister de Silva said ultimately one would say whether the decision taken by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) is right or wrong according to its report based on evidence supporting the charges levelled against the Chief Justice.

Even this decision may be viewed by various people in different perspectives. Some can look at it purely from a political angle. Therefore, this committee should be able to say that its decision is correct according to its conscience. I think the PSC is in a position to do so.

Excerpts of the interview:

Q: How do you analyse the attempts by certain people to create a rift between the judiciary and the legislature?

A: The Constitution has vested authority in Parliament to move an impeachment motion against any judge or Chief Justice. Under this provision, an impeachment motion was moved against former Chief Justice Neville Samarakoon and nobody questioned it or said an impeachment motion cannot be moved against the Chief Justice.

An another impeachment motion was also brought against former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva. When the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court issued restraining orders to Parliament, the then Speaker Anura Bandaranaike gave a ruling clearly specifying the powers vested in Parliament to move an impeachment motion. He said that the Court had no authority to pronounce a judgement against the supremacy of Parliament.

Q: There have been suggestions to bring in a better and fairer system to remove the judges of apex courts. As a lawyer and Parliamentarian would you support such a move in future?

A: Now this matter is under discussion. But we can’t apply this to the past. The Constitution needs to be amended in keeping with the requirements of the present day society. But it has to be done after serious discussions with the civil society.

The Government and those interested in preserving democracy and other social bodies - all of them should discuss this vital issue and reach consensus. There are many models in various countries.

But we could discuss and decide what model is suitable for Sri Lanka and then bring an amendment to the Constitution. It cannot however, be applied to the past.

Q:Would you describe the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) as being impartial because in the end only seven Government members were there?

A: Parliamentary Select Committees are appointed according to the strength of the Government and the Opposition.

That had been done all the time. So the fairness can only be judged by the verdict. If there are sufficient grounds to substantiate the charges, then the judgement will be fair. It is not the appointment of the committee that matters.

It can consist of all the Opposition members or all the Government members. Ultimately one can say whether the decision by the PSC is right or wrong according to its report based on the evidence to prove the charges against the Chief Justice.

Even this decision may be viewed by various people in different perspectives. Some can look at it purely from a political angle. Therefore, this committee should be able to say that its decision is correct according to their conscience. I think the PSC is in a position to do so.

Q: Some Government Parliamentarians have hinted that moves such as impeachment are being hatched by the reactionary forces to effect a regime change. Would you agree with this?

A: There are various interpretations. In addition to what is happening in the international arena and when there is no possibility for some people to come to power through their own means, they adopt various devious methods. They will also try to use international forces and pressure groups.

The Government is mindful of all these forces and how they are working. So we will not get caught to their traps. Our Government is strong and always thinks about the country’s future. It takes care of what is happening in the country and successfully moves ahead.

Q: The Maha Sanga, Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), Friday Forum and other influential sections of the civil society agitate for the withdrawal of the impeachment motion. Would you like to comment on this?

A: Every citizen or any organization has the democratic right to air its views and grievances. Our Government has fully permitted such things. What about the 117 parliamentarians who have been elected to Parliament by the people and who are the signatories to the impeachment motion? They held that the Chief Justice should be impeached.

So why should we ignore the view expressed by the peoples’ representatives? Ultimately Parliament will decide on it. If majority of the Parliamentarians are of the view that the Chief Justice has committed certain malpractices and should be impeached, then we have to take it into consideration.

At the same time we should not forget that there are those who will peruse this PSC report and I am sure most of them will support the impeachment. I am not driving any point to say that what has been said by the Maha Sangha and other groups should be condemned.

They have the right to express their views. Different people will arrive at different conclusions. We have to respect their views as well. But it does not mean that we should agree to their views.

There can also be disagreement with their final view on the impeachment motion. We cannot forget the fact that 117 Parliamentarians hold that the Chief Justice should be removed by an impeachment motion. Why should not we respect this view?

When there is an issue, different views are expressed by various social groups. If only one group expresses its opposition, it doesn’t mean that it could be heeded. Similarly if another group agrees to something the same applies.

The President and the Parliament has the authority to do so. The President will make a decision on the impeachment once it is presented in Parliament. The final process of this impeachment motion should be based on the laws of the country.

People may not have a proper understanding on certain provisions of the law. We could stress that a group of 117 Government Parliamentarians signed and handed over this impeachment motion against the Chief Justice according to the provisions of the Constitution and the Standing Orders of Parliament. Therefore, it is wrong on the part of certain people to view this attempt by the Parliamentarians to exercise powers provided for by the Constitution, as an offence.

Q: Is Sri Lanka in any danger of losing its Commonwealth status and Heads of Government meeting in Hambantota over the impeachment episode as Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has said?

A: Various groups are trying to give their own interpretations and also say that there might be rumblings in the international and the national fora. We have to explain this to the international community and those concerned that these Members of Parliament and the legislature exercised rights vested in them by the Constitution.

We have a very good venue at Hambantota to hold the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) conference was successfully held in Sri Lanka recently. So why cannot the CHOGM be held here? The venue was selected with the concurrence of all. There were no conditions imposed when the venue was selected. Therefore, CHOGM should be held in Sri Lanka.

Q: When there is clear provision in the Constitution and Parliamentary Standing Orders to move an impeachment motion, some critics and certain sections of the society attempt to portray this as an attack on the judiciary to deprive its independence. Your comments?

A: We are a democratic country. In a democratic country, you can even prevaricate one can express one’s views without defaming others. How can we stop it? None could stop Parliamentarians or the Parliament exercising its rights in terms of the provisions of the Constitution and the Parliamentary Standing Orders.

Q: The Government is on the path of rapid development under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Don’t you think certain sections with the help of various international pressure groups make use of this impeachment issue to sabotage the ongoing development drive?

A: Since this Government came to power, it was obvious that the LTTE made deliberate attempts to destabilize the country. Still this process continues in various forms. At this moment too, there are people who attempt to fish in troubled waters. We are well aware of it. But we are a very strong and stable Government and we have the strength to face challenges and safeguard the country and its people.

Q: The Government’s stance on the 13th Amendment is not very clear. Is the Government working to repeal it and bring in the 19th Amendment?

A: No. I made the Government’s position clear in Parliament that we had no intention whatsoever of repealing the 13th Amendment. The Constitutional Amendments for the devolution process, will be moved only after wider consultation with all political parties in Parliament.

That is why we had invited the TNA to join the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC). Whether we have to repeal, add, subtract or build upon the 13th Amendment, will be fully discussed by the PSC. Whatever the consensus arrived in the discussions will be incorporated as an Amendment. That is the vision of the Government.