Sri Lanka opposition pull out of judge's hearing

By KRISHAN FRANCIS

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan opposition lawmakers Friday withdrew from a committee looking into impeachment charges against the country's chief justice, saying the process is flawed and unfair.

Lawmaker John Amaratunga told reporters that four opposition lawmakers who sat on the committee walked out because they could not be party to an unfair process.

The move comes a day after Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake said she would not appear before the committee again because she believes she will not get a fair hearing.

The government accuses Bandaranayake of having unexplained wealth and misuse of office, a charge she denies. A parliamentary committee with seven government lawmakers and four opposition party members was appointed to look into the charges.

The lawmakers said the government members using their numerical majority rejected what they said were reasonable demands to establish a procedure for the inquiry, and give Bandaranayake an opportunity to cross examine her accusers and enough time to study the 300 documents relevant to the case.

The opposition said that too many of the accusers and judges in the case were from the same group — government lawmakers, whereas in other countries such inquiries are assigned to separate legal professionals appointed by parliament.

With no clear precedence and no agreed procedure the inquiry was held in an ad-hoc manner, they said.

Also government lawmakers treated Bandaranayake in an insulting and intimidating manner and their remarks clearly showed they had already found her guilty, the lawmakers said.

The impeachment is a culmination of a months-long dispute between the parliament controlled by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the judiciary.

Opposition parties and lawyers say that it is a move by the government to stifle judicial independence and concentrate more powers in the hands of Rajapaksa.

Bandaranayake began to be heavily criticized by the government after she ruled that legislation giving sweeping powers to the economic development minister violated the constitution. The minister is Rajapaksa's brother.

The case has drawn international attention, and the United States embassy said Friday that it "remains concerned about the state of the Sri Lankan judiciary and the impeachment process of the chief justice."

An embassy statement urged the government and the inquiry committee to conduct the hearing transparently and with due process.

2012-12-07 12:47:42 GMT