FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-044-2008
February 21, 2008
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
SRI LANKA: A fatal blow to Sri Lanka’s Bribery Commission
While the 17th Amendment to the Constitution is being ridiculed by the government the reasons for the fear of the appointment of the Constitutional Council and the independent commissions has been confirmed in the most recent incident of the transfer of the Director General of the Bribery Commission with the obvious intent to stop the filing of indictments by the commission and to subvert the work of the commission altogether. The Asian Human Rights Commission has for a long period pointed out that the criminal justice system in Sri Lanka is being suspended in order to ensure impunity for those who are abusing power. The simple formula that the government is working on is this: stop investigations and get rid of independent prosecutors to ensure our survival.
In an unprecedented but not surprising move, Mr. Piyasena Ranasinghe, Director General (DG) of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption (Bribery Commission) has been requested by the President to resign from the post. When he declined, the next day, he was transferred to the Presidential Secretariat without any specific function and an acting DG was appointed in his place.
The following are some relevant matters for consideration:
Mr. Ranasinghe was appointed by the previous President following Section 16 of the Act, which states thus:
Section 16(1) states: The President may, in consultation with the members of the Commission, appoint a Director General for the prevention of Bribery and Corruption to assist the Commission in the discharge of the functions assigned to the Commissions by this Act.
There are no provisions to remove him but under interpretations of the ordinance, the appointing authority may remove him by following the same procedure. In any event, there cannot be an arbitrary removal without following due process in the event of disciplinary action being taken. There does not seem to be any charge sheet or even preliminary investigation against him. Nor has there been any decision by the Commission to remove him. This is therefore an arbitrary act of the President. In any event, the Commission is a closed service and permanent appointees cannot be transferred to any other place.
The DG was transferred to the Presidential Secretarial by the PresidentÂ’s letter dated 19-2-2008. Ms. Luxmi Jayawickrama, a deputy DG was appointed as Acting DG. There is however a more senior officer Ms. Mallika Liyanage who was not appointed to act in that position. It is noteworthy that no indictments on bribery charges may be filed in the future until a permanent DG is appointed. The reason being that that under section 12 only the DG can sign indictments and there is no provision to appoint an acting DG or for an Acting DG to sign indictments.
At present there are many sensitive investigations ongoing. These include investigations arising from the COPE report as well as those relating to the Mig Deal which is about the purchase of obsolete fighter planes.
A month ago, the officer in charge of the Asset Division (Mr. C.A. Premashantha, a police officer seconded to the Bribery Commission) was transferred out of the Commission without any prior consultation. This was challenged by the officer and a stay order from the court was obtained on 19-2-2008. On the same day, the DG was transferred.
The transfer of the DG is basically an extremely damaging and irreversible precedent and no inquiry can be independently conducted by the Commission hereafter without the threat of officers being transferred. The whole idea of an independent commission is being scorned and ridiculed.
The Rajapakse regime wants to make Sri Lanka a place in which law does not exist. In every area of life law is being suspended and the investigations into crimes, particularly those involving agents of the state are being prevented completely. This takes place within a framework where there is unprecedented corruption and abuse of power. The central problem to be faced in the country is as to how the local people and the international community can stop.
