It’s Western — But It Is OK
As reported in one of the English dailies on February 12 regarding the arrest and detention of retired General Sarath Fonseka, the Export Development and International Trade Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, an erudite scholar, has said that the General has been arrested under the ‘Army Act’ that had been in existence in Sri Lanka since 1949 and that this Act was entirely based on British Law.
This particular piece of legislation should be obviously considered as one of the vestiges of imperialism by all those extremely nationalist minded elements in our country and looked down upon, as in Sri Lanka we are in a period where we condemn and discard everything that is Western with utter hate and disgust.
Under such circumstances doesn’t it sound hilarious to take recourse in such Western elements to suit ones own advantage?
The Army Act based on British Law since 1949 in our country “Ceylon” then, should have definitely changed with the changing of the name of our island nation from “Ceylon” to Sri Lanka. In the light of such a situation one may wonder whether there isn’t any other indigenous procedure under which our war hero could be tried.
A. W. M. Aiyoob
Galle
The government’s reliance on the Army Act of 1949 in its arrest of General Fonseka, and Professor Peiris’s statement, by way of justification, that it has been the law of the country ever since, is precisely analogous to the Israeli government justifying the demolition of Palestinians’ homes by saying that they are relying on a British mandate era statute which has been in effect ever since.