Letters

Judiciary in turmoil - need to heed the alarm signals

The death of High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya has awakened all sections in the judicial and legal field from a long Rip Van Winkle slumber. It has also opened up very enthusiastic debates on security of judges and the threat to the proper functioning of the judicial system.

But we must go deep into the root cause of the problem, and analyse the situation in its true perspective, and if we fail in that, the present gloomy picture will never fade away.

It is true that gunmen fired and the judge fell down, but in the eyes of the people, the judicial system had collapsed long before he fell a victim. There is a lot of talk on action plans to protect the judges and no doubt, some measures have already been taken in that direction. They are all physical protective measures.

We must not forget that every professional needs proper security and protection from all external forces, be he a judge, a doctor or an administrator.

A number of citizens have been assassinated, some individually and some in groups and families by unknown gunmen. The tragedy was that no one bothered to raise their heads and look around to see what is happening until judge Ambepitiya laid his life. Now the bomb has exploded on the very doorstep of the judicial system and a tornado is whittling around us. Those inside the igloos too have felt the heat.

The judges need security and protection, no doubt, but the haste in which all those who are engaged in maintaining law and order are going to enforce capital punishment is quite thought provoking. Did they ever consider the value of the lives of innocent citizens when they were brutally killed or grounded?

Do they think that the value of a judge's life is more than that of a civilian? We must all consider that a life of a citizen is as worthy as that of a judge or a doctor or a politician.

All members of the judiciary, Bar Association and AG's Department are now shouting thunder about their security and protection. Had they done so much earlier, particularly the officials and members of the Bar Association, who were in a coma with regard to the ill-functioning of the system must take a fair share of blame for the present state of affairs.

Professionals must understand that their security cannot be assured only by a group of security guards or by Army men alone. They should have their own way of protection and security-that is, they should perform their duties with honesty, integrity and fairplay. This is what is lacking in Sri Lankan society today, particularly in the field of law and order.

With regard to the judiciary, I would like to pose a question to all involved in the system, whether they have cared a tuppence for the media reports about their activities that appeared in weeklies during the last few years. If so, what steps have they taken to remedy the situation?

What the nation needs today is a huge load of cleansing soap to clean the mess in the system from top to bottom.

Unless this is done, and quickly too, things will not be convenient for anyone in Sri Lankan society for the people have shown the way by sending alarm signals.

Mahinda Perera
Matugama

Hypocrisy, double standards riddle legal profession

Why does the Bar Association consider the killing of a judge a more heinous crime than, say, the killing of an innocent victim of police brutality? The pronouncements by some senior members of the Bar Association since the killing of Judge Sarath Ambepitiya, even to the extent of proposing that the right to legal representation be denied for suspects in the killing of judges, reveals the extent to which hypocrisy and double standards riddle the legal profession.

Our constitution says that all citizens are equal before the law, but in practice some are clearly more equal than others. When a politician or lawyer or judge is killed, that is considered enough to suspend the fundamental rights and civil liberties that we have fought for decades to enforce in our society. (Having ridiculed the present US regime for doing this kind of thing since Sept 11 2001, the silence of our media when it comes to our own abuses is strange).

The knee-jerk reaction by the President to the assassination of Judge Ambepitiya (namely, re-introducing the death penalty) is a case in point. To those who applauded this move including several members of the judiciary, I would like to put the following question:

(1) Are you so sure that the Sri Lankan police are such a competent, incorruptible and impartial law-enforcement body that evidence will not be created or manipulated against innocent suspects, so that the 'king-pins' of crime get away? If there have been numerous cases of such evidence-tampering and corruption on the part of the police in European nations and the USA, and yet they have a better overall record of law enforcement than Sri Lanka, then isn't it strange that we suddenly begin to trust our police force to become competent and incorrupt overnight?

(2) Isn't the primary cause of contempt for the law the example shown by those senior politicians, judges and police who have put themselves beyond the reach of the law? If government ministers and senior police officers who are known to be corrupt, and hand-in-glove with criminal gangs, were to be prosecuted fearlessly, wouldn't that be far more effective than the death penalty in securing respect for law and order?

(3) Isn't the strict enforcement of life sentences for particularly brutal murders, a better alternative to the death penalty? Not only would this act as a deterrent, but it would also provide an opportunity for revoking the sentence, if evidence later showed that those serving such sentences were, in fact, innocent.

(4) Can the argument for deterrence stand on its own? If the purpose of re-introducing the death penalty is simply to deter violent crime, then executing innocent men and women will serve that purpose. But, in that case, would we not have proved to the world that we are indeed a barbaric society?

Surely, the protection and care of its weakest and most vulnerable members is the hallmark of any society that dares to claim itself civilized.

Dr. Vinoth Ramachandra
Colombo 3

Musings from Death Row

Come Hangman, take this life of mine,

I deserve the noose for my heinous crime,

I've spent many years here, full of remorse,

And now know justice must take its course,

Human rights plead on my behalf,

Their very actions make people laugh!

I'd prefer the rope and soon be gone,

Than suffer this torture on and on,

They plead for my life, as he did for his,

When into his neck I plunged the kris,

Not for a moment did I care for his life,

Nor the fact he had a son and wife,

I full well knew my action was wrong,

But my lust for lucre prodded me on,

For he was the obstacle in my path,

He turned me into a psychopath,

Repentance and remorse can't compensate,

So I reluctantly accept my inevitable fate,

I know that very soon I must die,

"There's no redemption," I finally cry,

Death soon will come, I know it well,

More than death, I fear life after, in hell!

Ninette Fernando
Moratuwa

Move to keep Veera Mathawa in politics for many more years?

Today in the ruling party of this country, there are 80 odd ministers which is one MP less than the total number of elected MPs that they have for themselves in parliament. This is considered a world record by any standards in an elected parliament which obviously makes Sri Lanka the laughing stock of the world.

The logic is obvious to all and sundry which is to stop any MP from crossing over to the other side which is a calculated move to keep the so called 'Veera Mathawa' or present day 'Vihara Maha Devi' in politics for many more years to come.

The so called 'Veera Mathawa,' openly says that she has no desire to stay a single extra day in power, but at the same time is on an unprecedented and shameless campaign to portray herself as the saviour of the nation through a nauseating daily effort using the government owned electronic media.

It is also on record that 'Veera Mathawa' had said that she is not scared of anyone. Of course there is no need for her to be scared of anyone as she is guarded by 3000 people at a cost going to billions of rupees and borne by the taxpayers as well as the poor masses of this country.

However, my contention is that 'Veera Mathawa' has something to learn from great leaders of our time such as Corazon Aquino, Nelson Mandela etc. Ms. Aquino was swept to power after a bloodless revolution in the Philippines but decided to leave office after one term when she could have easily stayed in power for so many more years.

Unlike our 'Veera Mathawa' who ran away to the UK and surfaced when the time was ripe to take over, Nelson Mandela spent a good 28 years of his productive life in prison and when elected to power decided to leave after just one stint.

Then take the case of Sonia Gandhi from our neighbouring country, India who selflessly gave power to another of her party proving beyond doubt that she is truly a great leader of our time. These instances are good examples to those greedy, power hungry and crazy leaders of our country who have brought this country to ruin from the time we got independence.

Camillus Fernando
Moratuwa

Wijeweera killing: facts don't point to Premadasa

The co-ordinator of the International Forum of Journalists has said at Anuradhapura, that a good journalist has to be impartial. "Looking through the eye of the yoke" in the ITN news telecast, the writer must necessarily be seeing through a jaundiced eye, and does not fall into that category.

In his blurb on the Rohana Wijeweera anniversary, he glossed over the 1971 insurrection, masterminded by the latter, but said that he was killed by Premadasa. The facts are otherwise.

In that insurrection everyone was caught unawares. Our ceremonial army was not a fighting unit. Mrs. B appealed to the US for arms and ammunition. The insurgents attacked police stations, and took whatever arms they could lay their hands on. In return, the police, for their own safety killed anybody.

Bodies of youth were seen floating down the Nilwala ganga and other waterways, and some were burning by the wayside. For four days, youths held in the police station at Matara, were executed at dawn under the Bo tree and the bodies burnt in a pit at the cemetery. JVPers under cover of darkness shot at the communist MPs of the area.

The Daily News, subsequent to the death of Rohana Wijeweera carried pictures of the loot of gold jewellery amassed by him. He met with his death when he tried to escape while being transported. It must be pointed out that Mahinda Wijesekera was his deputy and was incarcerated with him. So he knows a lot about the JVP from its inception.

By his vituperative outbursts every day this reporter has brought down journalism to the gutter level. One can pity him because he has to sing for his dinner, which falls off the high table.

R. Godage
Ratmalana

Nearly 140 await the ropes now

Here are some worthwhile memories of the gallows which have not been highlighted in the media earlier. During the so-called common man's era of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike in 1956, the gallows were functioning. Few remember the cold blooded murder of the girl friend of Eric Batcho on her way to church. She was stabbed to death by Batcho himself who too was a Christian.

When in remand custody, he expressed a desire to change his religion - to be a Buddhist with the ulterior motive of avoiding the noose. Several monks were in the forefront and they achieved their goal. He got a lenient sentence and later came home on an amnesty. In other words, capital punishment was suspended.

Unfortunately, fate turned the other way when S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, that harmless democratic leader loved by the Pancha Maha Balavegaya was assassinated by a Buddhist monk aided by several others including the then Kelaniya temple incumbent. The most surprising thing is that a present day cabinet minister was on the political stage on that day and within minutes he would declare it was the work of the UNP as he did during the 1999 presidential election when our Madam nearly lost an eye.

When Sirimavo Bandaranaike came to power, the people urged that the culprits be brought to book and sent to the gallows. So capital punishment had to be introduced. And Somarama Thero (later be became Peter) and several others had to taste the noose.

Today capital punishment is not in force and nearly 140 are on the waiting list to be hanged. China is going to supply the necessary ropes, hangmen or alugosuwas are to be trained. Now what is the duty of alugosuwas? Just to carry out orders from the most high.

Whilst writing this letter, another nasty incident has taken place. On December 11, the commemoration day of Soma Thera, two persons lost their lives. Again, the finger is pointed at Rupavahini, accusing the UNP.

As I said earlier, alugosuwas are to be trained, death cells are to be renovated all due to pressure from all around regarding the cold blooded murder of Judge Sarath Ambepitiya. The culprits have to be brought to book quickly. And there is a likelihood of work for the alugosuwa. At the same time we should not forget the pending murder cases.

Punchi Singho
Moratuwa

I was deeply saddened and shocked when a friend called me on October 23 and informed that Nimalsiri has passed away. I find it difficult to express my emotions on hearing this sad and totally unexpected news.

I had known Nimalsiri for over 25 years. He belonged to an extremely rare breed of humans. A man of modest means, but with a heart of gold. To many of his friends he was the only one left when fate dealt a cruel blow to their lives. He was a better friend to them in these difficult times than he was in happier days.

Some years back a mutual friend of ours, who was a well to do person, lost everything in life and was seriously ill. Many of his erstwhile friends deserted him because materially he was of no use to them anymore. It was during this sad episode that I was truly able to judge Nimalsiri's nature, qualities and character. He stood by this friend for years, visiting him almost daily and when he finally died in hospital Nimalsiri was by his side.

It is these qualities that made him the unique and lovable man that he was. When I fell ill, he being a Buddhist, used to come all the way from Piliyandala driving his vehicle, despite failing eyesight, to accompany me to church because he knew I could not walk unaided and did not possess a vehicle to travel. By this act of kindness he not only displayed his sterling qualities of friendship, but unwittingly stood out as a shining example to many of us in an era where religious disharmony is rampant.

The news of his demise was more shocking because it was only a few weeks earlier that he accompanied me to church and he was, as usual, in good spirits and with no sign of illness. In any gathering he was the live wire with his inexhaustible anecdotes and in all the many years I was fortunate to know him, I cannot recall a single occasion when he lost his temper or spoke ill of anyone. He was, to all his associates, an irreplaceable friend. I mourn the loss of a true, caring and a loving friend. I offer my sincere condolences to his wife Prashanthi and only son Shihan.

May he rest in peace
Nihal Arseculeratne
Ratmalana