By Saman Indrajith

SJB MP Harin Fernando told Parliament yesterday that he would wear a black shawl in the Chamber until Ranjan Ramanayake received justice..

“Unlike those who wear the kurahan sataka in the chamber to show their family power in Parliament, I will wear a black shawl in the Chamber seeking justice,” Fernando said.

“I was shocked when he heard that he would be dragged like a dog similar to a terrorist leader for criticizing the high and mighty powers of this country. “In that warning there was a mention of two characters. When talking of two characters, I go back to 1889. That year gave birth to two unforgettable characters –one is Charlie Chaplin the other is Adolf Hitler. Both are alike, both had toothbrush moustaches and both became very popular. One made the entire world cry and another made the entire world happy by making people laugh. Now we have both characters here. I wear this shawl against injustice prevailing in this country.”

Leader of the House Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena: “The MP is acting against Standing Orders. He cannot criticise the President or judges in that manner. I read from the Section 83 of the Standing Orders, which says that the personal conduct of the President, or the Acting President, Members of Parliament, Judges or other persons engaged in the administration of justice shall not be raised except upon a substantive motion; and in any proceedings, question to a Minister, or remarks in a debate on a motion dealing with any other subject reference to the conduct of any such person shall be out of order. In this Standing Order “Judge” means the Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal and every other Judge of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal appointed by the President of the Republic by Warrant under his hand. The Speaker should not permit this MP to continue”.

MP Fernando: I did not speak about judges, I spoke about Ranjan Ramanayake. I did not talk about Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaka, but about Hitler and Charlie Chaplin. I also regret that the Leader of the House whom I respect cannot understand the difference. I wanted to talk about the large number of gazettes put out by the government but failed to control the prices.

There is another matter that I want to highlight. This country was ruled by the Portuguese from 1505 to 1658, the Dutch from 1658 to 1796 and the English from 1796 to 1948. Since 2109 it has been ruled by auctioneers.

“When I had fears about my life I sent a letter to the IGP, but he could not respond for weeks. The IGP of this country is not the IGP of the government. He is the IGP of this country. This is the darkness that has engulfed this nation today. It is to symbolize that darkness I wear this shawl. I continue to wear this till Ranjan Ramanayake receives justice.”