Ranil issues temporary gag order to MPs on impeachment

UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday moved to restrict all members of the party’s parliamentary group from making statements to the media regarding the resolution of impeachment against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake in his absence over the Christmas vacation.

In a letter issued to all UNP Members of Parliament on 18 December, Wickremesinghe expressly states that only Party General Secretary Tissa Attanayake and Senior Vice President Lakshman Kiriella have been authorised to make statements with regard to the impeachment.

Wickremesinghe says that these two MPs have been authorised to make statements because he and Whip John Amaratunga will be out of the country during the Christmas week.

“Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe PC, MP, has been permitted to make statements in his capacity as President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka,” the UNP Leader’s letter states.

According to the letter, the UNP’s position on the impeachment has been set out in several statements including that by the four Opposition members of the Parliamentary Select Committee and the statement made by Attanayake at a press briefing on 18 December.

Instructing the UNP MPs to study all those statements, Wickremesinghe’s letter states that no member is to speak to the media on the subject without the express permission of the Party General Secretary. “In such instances, they should adhere to the position set out in these documents,” the letter added.