All charges are false – Opposition PSC MPs

Saturday, 8 December 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Ashwin Hemmathagama

Our Lobby Correspondent

“Inability to subscribe to the ongoing witch hunt that gropes in the dark on ad-hoc basis” has forced the four Opposition members appointed to the Parliamentary Select Committee probing the impeachment against the Chief Justice by the Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa last month to tender their resignations, the MPs said.

The MPs placed on record their displeasure at the lawless procedures, concerns about the partial process undertaken and the personal insults hurled at the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and her lawyers at a press conference held in Parliament yesterday.

Voicing their concerns on a common platform, the four members - Chief Opposition Whip John Amarathunga (MP – UNP), Lakshman Kiriella (MP – UNP), Vijitha Herath (MP - Democratic National Alliance), and R. Sampanthan (MP - Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi) said they had consistently highlighted during PSC proceedings the absence of a clear direction regarding the procedure to be followed by the Select Committee, whether documents were to be made available to the Chief Justice and her lawyers, the standard of proof which would be required, the need to arrive at a definition of “misbehaviour”, and whether sufficient time would be made available to the Chief Justice and her lawyers to study the documents. These requests went ignored by Committee Chairman Minister of Environment Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, leading to the boycott, they said.

According to UNP MP Kiriella the committee held its maiden meeting on 14 November but was still unable to gather necessary proof until early this week. “The Government’s intention was to remove her by accepting a resignation due to the allegations leveled against her. She stood her ground, which was not the Government expectation. The members who signed the petition are in the committee to investigate the same and to give the decision. All these charges are false,” Kiriella said.

He said the Opposition representatives had also asked whether the Chief Justice and her lawyers would be given an opportunity to cross-examine the several complainants who had made the charges against her.

Chief Opposition Whip, John Amaratunga said that apart from the Chief Justice whose lawyers had asked for time to peruse the documents provided to them on Thursday (6) the Select Committee members also needed time to study the documents that had been tabled as ‘evidence’. “Furthermore the Chief Justice had not been provided with either a List of Documents or a List of Witnesses,” said MP Amaratunga. Speaking at the media briefing, MP Sampanthan held that “before the committee held its first meeting Government members have had their decision. This is contrary to the principles of natural justice. She has shown the willingness to go through the inquiry provided the few fair concerns are met.”

MP Herath who proposed a walkout, which was followed by the entire Opposition said: “Just because the Government holds a 2/3 majority they are not entitled to make political judgments. Chief Justice has the same rights an ordinary person has.” The Opposition legislators expressed their concerns and reasons compelling them to quit the PSC in a letter to Committee Chairman, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa.