{"id":99730,"date":"2020-03-08T21:13:55","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T04:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=99730"},"modified":"2020-03-08T21:13:55","modified_gmt":"2020-03-09T04:13:55","slug":"former-colombo-chief-magistrate-says-uk-high-commissioner-sent-letter-advising-him-how-to-conduct-case-against-sri-lanka-navy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/03\/08\/former-colombo-chief-magistrate-says-uk-high-commissioner-sent-letter-advising-him-how-to-conduct-case-against-sri-lanka-navy\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Colombo Chief Magistrate says UK High Commissioner sent letter advising him how to conduct case against Sri Lanka Navy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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The\nformer Colombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage has made 3 startling allegations\nat the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on political victimization as per 6\nMarch 2020 Island newspaper article by Shamindra Ferdinando. Mr. Gamage is\nalleging that UK intervened in judicial cases while the Attorney General\u2019s Dept\n& the CID had also unduly interfered in some high profile cases during\nyahapalana \u2018good governance\u2019 rule. It is interesting how the very countries\ndemanding transparency and independence are found poking their noses into\naffairs of sovereign nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

http:\/\/www.island.lk\/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=219909&fbclid=IwAR3X_du-y1Gq1XqdX_-N-RR7TUE7Pnxnihqc2fl-BridFyyLv-MkNKZOEj4<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

British High Commission meddling in Sri Lanka\u2019s\ninternal affairs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to former\nColombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage he had \u2018received unsolicited advice from the British<\/strong> High Commissioner in Colombo by way of a letter <\/strong>instructing him on\nhow to handle the alleged Navy abduction case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thilina Gamage has\ninformed the PCoI that he had written back to the British High Commission\nreminding him that Sri Lanka was no longer a British colony and his advice was\nnot required. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If so, where is that\nletter, has it been presented to the Commission of Inquiry? Does it have the\nBritish High Commissioner\u2019s signature & is it on a British High Commission letterhead?\nHow can the Sri Lankan Government use this to officially log complaint with the\nBritish Government?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is poignant that\nThilina Gamage had replied to the British High Commissioner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has he presented his\nreply to the Commission of Inquiry? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not many have the\npluck to tell a British High Commissioner that he should not think he is\nGovernor Brownrigg! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The high profile case\nwas regarding the alleged Navy involvement in some wartime abductions in\nColombo & suburbs involving names of former Navy Commander Vice Admiral\nWasantha Karannagoda and Navy Spokesman Captain D K P Dassanayake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both are also giving\nevidence regarding their own political victimization at the Presidential\nCommission of Inquiry by the previous government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Presidential\nCommission of Inquiry comprises SC Judge Upali Abeyratne, retired Court of\nAppeal Judge Daya Chandrasiri Jayatilake and former IGP Chandra Fernando.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is Thilina Gamage? <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In May 2016 following\ncomplaint by Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya the Judicial Services\nCommission interdicted then Colombo Additional Magistrate Thilina Gamage on the\nallegation that he possessed a baby elephant without a valid license. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thilina Gamage was\nindicted in July 2019 and suspended from functioning as a magistrate. The\noriginal complaint regarding the elephant was filed by then Yahapalana Minister\nWasantha Senanayake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2020 the\nCourt of Appeal dismissed request by Gamage to transfer his case from High\nCourt of Colombo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gamage claims he had been politically victimised by former Prime Minister\nRanil Wickremesinghe as he refused to act according to the former premier\u2019s\ninstructions when serving as a magistrate. Another startling revelation that\nrequires further investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thilina Gamage\u2019s\ngrievance expressed to the PCoI include<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Intimidation\nagainst him after commencing case against Tissa Attanayake & previous\ngovernment was angry that he had given Attanayake bail.<\/li>
  • The AG\u2019s dept\nand CID had harassed him when he refused yahapalana overtures. <\/li>
  • Yahapalana\nMinisters Rajitha Senaratne, P Harrison and JVP members continuously flaying\nhim in Parliament against the manner he handled cases<\/li>
  • Section of civil\nsociety also attacked him  <\/li>
  • Then CJ K\nSripavan under pressure to remove him regarding the former President & a\nchild in which he had called for a DNA test<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    While\nThilina Gamage\u2019s revelations are startling what draws our attention most is the\ninterference of the British High Commissioner to think fit to even write to a\nMagistrate. It goes to show how unashamedly the Western diplomats saw fit to\ninterfere in Sri Lanka\u2019s internal affairs during the previous government. This\nwas visibly seen in the manner that they sat inside the Supreme Court when its\npet poodles were close to being thrown out of office in October 2018. It looks\nalso quite obvious that the foreigners were making their way in and out of\nministries and State institutes gathering confidential and State information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What\nis the present government going to do about the interference by British High\nCommissioner and other envoys in Sri Lanka\u2019s internal affairs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Shenali D Waduge<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The former Colombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage has made 3 startling allegations at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on political victimization as per 6 March 2020 Island newspaper article by Shamindra Ferdinando. Mr. Gamage is alleging that UK intervened in judicial cases while the Attorney General\u2019s Dept & the CID had also unduly interfered in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1498,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shenali-waduge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99730\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}