“The Mannar incident” – is indicative of a much bigger issue – Read On

The alleged incident where a Cabinet Minister is said to have threatened a judge in a small court in a faraway place, and which has now gone viral is actually as a result of a much bigger issue that MUST be resolved first.

It is called the ‘independence of the judiciary’. As long as there is NO respect for our judiciary AS WELL as NO respect for our Police because we DO NOT have faith that they will be impartial, and every one equal under the law, we EFFECTIVELY live in a state where LAW and ORDER is a joke. There is NO law and order until people in power stop abusing their positions in interfering with due process.

The extent to which due process is being flouted by the thugs and politicians of the Governing coalition, does not merit the Mannar incident getting so much publicity and angst from the BASL ( Bar Association of Sri Lanka) when they should first concentrate on the main areas of interference, namely of the President in appointing Shirani Bandaranayake as the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. I said it then when she was appointed and I say it now, these are purely yes (wo)men of the government who do their bidding.

Shame on the BASL for not pursuing this first! If they had we may not have the Mannar incident now. No one would dare interfere like was alleged if we knew the judiciary was truly independent. Interference of the judiciary is a daily practice and this made news because the magistrate lodged a complaint regarding the threats made to him. Most magistrates do not lodge complaints as they know if they do not do the bidding they will lose their positions and be transferred somewhere else, like to our equivalent of Siberia, wherever that may be in our sunny Isle.

Let this be another forerunner to further dissatisfaction in future with the way things are done here. We do not have an independent police commission. We have biased Police Commission appointed by the President.

Unfortunately civil society is weak in Sri Lanka. We are too dependent on INGO’s who have lost credibility. We have not replaced them with effective concerned citizens who are willing to stretch their necks out when they see injustice. The wealthy and educated in Colombo, do not have ANY sense of public consciousness, when it does not affect them directly. This selfish behavior will be their eventual downfall. How long can we wait?

When the dictatorship decides they want your homes and your possessions there will be no one to fight for you as the justice system IS NOT INDEPENDENT