Shadows over democracy - Editorial

The change of heads at Hulftsdorp last week has virtually silenced the Judiciary and shaken one of the bastions of democracy.
Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was virtually forced to leave this highest judicial office while armed men turned the superior courts complex into a fortress, apparently to prevent the CJ from even entering her supreme court chambers. Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake says she is legally still the Chief Justice, according to the clear-cut rulings of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. CJ Mohan Peiris was sworn in on January 14, and, significantly, he entered the Supreme Court Complex the next day with a heavy security guard.

The CJ did not hear any cases last week, and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka said yesterday that it would boycott the ceremonial sitting that is to be held tomorrow to welcome the CJ. While the independence of the Judiciary has been damaged, the regime change has also created a confusing situation.
Tragically, history does repeat itself; and what we are seeing now is like a re-enactment of Shakespeare’s warning, “Oh judgement, thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason”.

Despite strong protests in Sri Lanka and from the international community, with United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillai describing the regime change in Hulftsdorp as a national calamity, the Government appears to be reacting in a spirit of unrepentance and self-righteousness. The media reported over the weekend that the Government was considering the introduction of a draconian 19th Amendment whereby the term of a Chief Justice would be restricted to three years, and Parliamentary Standing Orders would become national laws. The moves are obviously intended to make Parliament supreme, but the reality is that with a patchwork 2/3 rds majority for the ruling UPFA, the future of democracy in Sri Lanka is a foregone conclusion. If the 18th Amendment has turned out to be a national calamity, the 19th might well be a catastrophe.