by Saman Indrajith

The previous government also had the opportunity to make use of commissions to punish its political rivals, but it never resorted to such cheap tactics and adhered to the accepted legal system in the country, Chief Opposition Whip and SJB Kandy District MP, Lakshman Kiriella said last week.

“There is an accepted legal system in our country to punish anyone who has done something illegal. Making use of commissions to punish political opponents is an outdated method. We never resorted to such tactics though we could have done so during the Yahapalana government’s tenure”, he said during a news conference at the Opposition Leader’s Office in Colombo.

He said there are reports to the effect that the government might use recommendations of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on Political Victimization to deprive some prominent persons of their civic rights.

“This country has a legal system that has provisions to take punitive action against anyone who had committed an offence or was political victimized. The government has to abide by the law. We have set an example in this regard”, he said.

The MP added: “When we came to power in 2015, there were requests from various quarters to appoint commissions to investigate the wrongdoings of some politicians and to strip them of their civic rights. But the then President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe were of the view that there was a legal system and the law should take its own course.

“They stood by the decision that there were the police, Attorney General’s Department and the judiciary, and these institutions were sufficient to implement the law. We did not appoint special presidential commissions to take action against rival political parties. Opting to make use of such commissions to punish political rivals is actually an outdated mechanism”.

Kiriella said it was former President JR Jayewardene who introduced the practice of depriving political opponents of their civic rights. That government incurred international opprobrium. That was why no government since 1981 has resorted to such action, but the incumbent government seems to be convinced otherwise.

He said that the SJB would move the Supreme Court against the recommendations of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on political victimization.

The party has consulted its legal advisors to explore the possibility of filing a case against the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on political victimization for exceeding its mandate, the MP added.