Ex-BASL Chief denies President’s claim of Prime Ministerial ambitions

Saturday, 25 November 2023 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) Saliya Peiris PC took to social media yesterday to deny President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s claim that Peiris held ambitions to become Prime Minister prior to 9 May 2022.

Peiris noted that President Wickrem-esinghe had mentioned his name in parliament and falsely alleged that he harboured ambitions of becoming the Prime Minister. The former President of the BASL emphasised the unfairness of these claims, particularly as Wickremesinghe made them under the protection of parliamentary immunity, leaving no room for a direct rebuttal.

In his address to the Parliament yesterday, the President claimed that an agreement was forged among then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, various opposition political parties, and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL). According to Wickremesinghe, the agreement aimed to appoint an individual from outside the political arena as the Prime Minister. He alleged that there was a consensus to facilitate the individual’s entry into Parliament through a National List seat.

Moreover, the President claimed that, at the time, the BASL believed that then BASL President Saliya Peiris would be appointed as the Prime Minister. However, he suggested that the events that unfolded at Galle Face Green on 9 May 2022, had altered the intended outcome.

But responding to these claims Peiris in reference to the proposals made by the BASL to restore political and economic stability in the country at the time said they were never about individuals.

“They were made after careful thought by its Executive Committee and approved by the Bar Council. The legal community made these proposals with the intention of proposing a solution for Sri Lanka’s political and governance crisis with the interests of Sri Lanka and its people in mind,” he said.

“I am compelled to say that unlike politicians of his ilk, I have never placed personal ambitions above the needs of the country. I have never sacrificed my principles for personal gain or for the greed of office,” Peiris added.