People’s Judiciary will pronounce CJ innocent: Karu

Thursday, 13 December 2012 01:14 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Dharisha Bastians

Despite the illegal process adopted by the Parliamentary Select Committee probing the impeachment charges against the Chief Justice, the “people’s judiciary” will pronounce her innocent, United National Party MP Karu Jayasuriya said yesterday.

At a media briefing held at his private office in Kirulapone, the former UNP Deputy Leader said he welcomed the President’s admission that the PSC process was flawed and biased. “But what will happen to all the good work of the Government PSC members?” he quipped.

Addressing the issue of evidence presented before the Parliamentary Select Committee probing the impeachment, the Opposition legislator said that it was obvious that all banking secrecy laws had been violated in gathering evidence to prove charges contained in the impeachment motion.

“There is a lawful way to obtain this information; through a court order. Nobody knows who prensented this information to the committee without a court order and without the client’s knowledge,” he charged.

Jayasuriya said that this violation of sacrosanct fiscal confidentiality would further hamper investor confidence in Sri Lanka. “It will also no doubt violate certain conditions of World Bank and IMF loans granted to Sri Lanka, which urge good, transparent fiscal policy,” he said.

The senior politician also condemned the President’s assertion during a speech on Tuesday (11) that he ‘covered up’ certain mistakes made by the NSB Chairman because he was ‘their man’.

“This is the law of the jungle. If someone has made a mistake, they must be held accountable. That has always been the Opposition’s position. But they must also be given the opportunity to defend themselves,” he said.

Jayasuriya warned that there was a dictatorship taking place in Sri Lanka, which started with the passing of the 18th Amendment, and was now being proven through the Government’s highhanded interference with the independence of the Judiciary.

The senior Opposition lawmaker said that the impeachment was a suppressive course of action. “When punishments are meted out to supporters of the Government, when judgments are not favourable to the Government, when the Judiciary proposes for transparency in financial expenditure, those who are intoxicated with power get annoyed,” Jayasuriya explained.

He said that the Opposition stood not to protect an individual but to protect the Judiciary and by extension democracy for future generations.