Has Sirisena Dug His Road to the Supreme Court to be Doomed for Gross Violation of Human Rights?
Posted on August 25th, 2015
by Gandara John
With the winners and losers at the recently concluded elections announced, Sirisena immediately set about to disenfranchise nearly five million UPFA voters, by inserting fresh names in the UPFA National List.
And the fresh names on the list also included seven who had been rejected outright by the UPFA voters.
Millions of voters reposed their faith in the UPFA in the hope that the United People’s Freedom Alliance would form a government that would safeguard the sovereignty of the country or, if not the government, would form a strong opposition in Parliament that would thwart the conspiracy that they strongly believe has been hatched to barter away the sovereignty of the people.
Assuming the election to be genuine the UPFA voters made their choice in voting for their team; their team choice included the list of names on the National List which they found attractive; they believed that those persons on that list would never betray their country.
And while making that choice the near five million of UPFA voters, by choice, rejected outright several UPFA candidates.
Acting like a potty dictator in a banana republic Sirisena slashed the National List violating the Human Rights of a 5 million voters enunciated in and protected by the International Covenant on ‘Civil and Political Rights’ to which Sri Lanka is a signatory.
By substituting a fresh list of names in the National List of the UPFA and including in that list UPFA candidates totally rejected by UPFA voters, Sirisena was making the election a travesty of democracy.
Sirisena, consumed by an indefinable anger and acting irrationally, badly dented the suffrage of the people. Sirisena leaves himself wide open to be hauled before the Supreme Court for the gross violation of Human Rights of 5 million people.
Sirisena’s conduct also gives just cause for the validity and genuineness of the Elections to be challenged.
Article 25 of the ‘International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1976’ paraphrased reads, Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity to vote at genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors.”
Surprisingly, the Commissioner General of Elections who thrives in the spotlight of the media was hoarsely silent on this body blow to democracy in Sri Lanka; so were the usually vociferous NGOs and the election monitors paid to pontificate.
Sirisena’s bizarre conduct was preceded by a bout of equally aberrant behavior; in the week before the election he unilaterally sacked the Secretaries of the UPFA and the SLFP and 25 members of the SLFP Central Committee; on 13 Aug 15 he sent an urgent letter to Mahinda Rajapakse which hit the headlines even before it could reach the recipient.
The strongly worded letter was contrived to reduce the vote bank of the UPFA; all this at the height of the election campaign when his actions would have earned a ‘normal’ person prosecution and imprisonment for the violation of election laws.
One of the major concerns of the voters at this election was the quality of the persons representing them in Parliament; the UPFA voters used great discretion in rejecting the undesirables at the time of voting.
Sirisena however emasculated and enfeebled the voters by dictatorially reversing the decision of the voters and depriving them of their sovereign right to choose their representatives as they deem fit.
Sirisena’s motive is very clear. He, the ship’s captain if he ever were one, is steering his ship towards the rocks to compel those who would not abandon ship to jump ship or be wrecked
The Election has turned out to be a diabolical exercise in stifling democracy in the country. Power is heady and has already inebriated Sirisena. Democracy is at a low ebb. Is Sri Lanka slipping into a dictatorship or will the Supreme Court be Sri Lanka’s saving grace?
August 24th, 2015 at 4:23 pm
I don’t think so because the cheap justice is an ILLEGAL Maru Sira appointed servant. The CORRECT chief justice is till MOHAN PIERIS who was correctly appointed but ILLEGALLY removed.
SL is already a FEDERAL DICTATORSHIP! A military rule is way better than this dictatorship.
August 24th, 2015 at 8:18 pm
This is pure Dictatorship. Sira and Ranil acts like Pinochet in Chile and Pol Pot in Cambodia. They injected fear in to the voter’s minds and did so many injustices before the elections to downgrade the Opposition candidates. They ruled like Hitler’s Gestapo arresting and intimidating people and candidates. They broke many election rules with the assistance of M A C K O the rigger. The whole election process was a farce. We as voters will not accept this new Govt or most of the candidates who surprisingly won by big majorities which is very hard to believe. Anyhow this not Democracy which we believe in. I feel we were let down by our politicians and feel unsafe in this situation because what we hear from the North and East and the evil International community of America,India and the west. Keep your eyes and ears open to face any situation as Sinhalese Buddhists to save our Motherland.
August 25th, 2015 at 2:13 pm
SIRISENA, IS SIMPLY CARRYING OUT THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES PUPPETEERS, CBK AND RW, WITH MORE THAN A LITTLE HELP FROM THE EXTERNALS WHOSE PRINCIPAL AIM IS TO TARGET THE SINHALA BUDDHISTS FOR EXTINCTION. BUT HOW LONG CAN THIS “DICTATORSHIP OF LIES” MASQUERADING AS DEMOCRACY LAST? HISTORY WILL BE REWRITTEN WITH ABANDON….AND FALSE CHARGES WILL ABOUND AGAINST ANY SINHALA PEOPLE WHO HAVE STOOD IN THE WAY OF THE MORTAL BLOW AIMED AT THE SLFP. AND THE MASSES WILL SOON COME TO THEIR SENSES AND REALIZE THE RIDE THEY HAVE BEEN TAKEN FOR THE 2ND TIME IN A FEW MONTHS.
THE CONSTITUTION HAS BEEN TURNED ON ITS HEAD WITH A NONCHALANCE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. SIRISENA DOES NOT CARE A JOT THAT HE INTERVENED IRREGULARLY IN MID-ELECTION TO INFLUENCE VOTER TURNOUT THROUGH 2 DRASTIC AND UNACCEPTABLE INTERVENTIONS THAT THE ELECTIONS COMMISSIONER SHOULD HAVE NOTICED HIM FOR. ADDITIONALLY, WITH THE HORSE TRADING OF CROSS-OVERS COMPLETED, HE HAS DEPRIVED THE OPPOSITION OF ANY POSSIBILITY OF IMPEACHING HIM AS THE LATTER DO NOT HAVE THE NUMBERS.
WHERE IS THE MONEY TO COME FROM FOR RECHARGING THE ECONOMY WHICH IS ALREADY SHOWING SIGNS OF RETURNING TO PRE-WAR DERELICTION. WITH THE CHINESE ECONOMY HEADING DOWNWARD AND THE ENSUING PANIC AMONG THE US MARKETS….WILL THERE BE ANY INVESTMENT MONEY FLOWING INTO SRI LANKA?
HOPE FOR A COLOMBO “MEGAPOLIS” WILL EVAPORATE AND REMAIN A PIPE DREAM WITHOUT INVESTMENT. THE WEST HAS NO MONEY FOR ITS OWN NEEDS BACK IN THEIR HOME COUNTRIES.
August 25th, 2015 at 4:24 pm
Did you hear there is a MAJOR violence to share ministries. President Maru Sira retains DEFENCE, ENVIRONMENT, ENVIRONMENT, ENVIRONMENT (repeated) and 2 other ministries.
WHY ENVIRONMENT???
Because that is the ministry that regulates ILLEGAL SAND MINING, TREE FELLING, etc. The industries of ARALIYA group of companies of his brother!!
August 25th, 2015 at 4:25 pm
Oh! Also releasing water from tanks to save hotels. That too comes under that ministry.