A cross-party group of opposition Members of Parliament issued a collective statement on Tuesday urging the government to halt remarks they say target the judiciary, warning that recent comments by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake pose a serious threat to judicial independence.
The statement focused on the President’s address at the May 1 Maharagama rally, where he said he was ready to raise his hand after the court delivers its judgment on May 25. Opposition legislators said the remark suggested prior knowledge of a pending judgment and amounted to an attempt to bring the judiciary under the will of the executive.
“This statement is a grave threat to the independent judicial process. Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done clearly and certainly,” the MPs said in their joint statement.
The legislators stressed that judicial power in Sri Lanka is derived from the people and the Constitution, not from the will of any President, Minister or political alliance. The judiciary, they noted, remains one of the few institutions that continues to enjoy public respect.
The collective parliamentary intervention broadens an opposition pushback that began with separate statements from Prof. G.L. Peiris and Namal Rajapaksa earlier in the day, and from Free Lawyers and the Sarvajana Balaya the previous week. Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara has rejected the criticism, saying the President “has never interfered with the judiciary, under any circumstances” and accusing critics of deliberate misinterpretation. The National Freedom Front had earlier described the May Day remarks as a fully politicised attack on the courts.
Sources: Newswire, Ada Derana.
