Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following statement by the Free Media Movement (FMM) of Sri Lanka on the President’s appointments to independent commissions.
Asian Human Rights Commission
Hong Kong
——–
A Forwarded Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
SRI LANKA: FMM condemns Presidents appointments to independent commissions
(Reported in the Daily Mirror)
The Free Media Movement (FMM), expressed their strongest condemnation to the appointments recently made by the President to the National Police Commission, the Public Service Commission and the Human Rights Commission, disregarding the substance of the Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
At the Annual General Meeting of the FMM held on May 30. a statement issued by the movement stated that; The Constitution of a country is considered to be the legal basis for the rule of law to prevail. If an occasion should arise when the rulers violate the principles of the Constitution, the responsibility for protecting the Constitution then falls on the shoulders of the judiciary. If the judiciary in a country acts in a way that extends support to acts that violate the principles of the Constitution, then that is a country where the rule of law does not prevail.
The Free Media Movement is of the opinion that in the present moment in Sri Lankan history, it is the judiciary, that is bound to protect the Constitution. If it fails it must be condemned even more strongly than the actions of the rulers of the country. If in any country the judiciary disregards its Constitutional obligations and becomes an instrument of the executive, that country would be on a path to dictatorship or to anarchy
At a time when the ruler is violating the Constitution, the main responsibility of standing up against such violations falls on the opposition political parties. Yet unfortunately, our Opposition parties have not only not been able to act in protest against this situation, they have not even been able to participate in a Parliamentary debate on the matter. The Free Media Movement expresses its grave concern and dismay on the irresponsible behaviour of the Opposition political parties the statement said.
The FMM said there was also no sign that the media was behaving responsibly in this matter, It should be the media that had the responsibility of conveying to the public the dangerous consequences of such anti-Constitutional actions. The media had not been able to respond to the situation in a manner to suit the gravity of the situation.
The Free Media Movement appreciated the exemplary steps taken by Dr. Deepika Udagama, Dr. N Selvakumaran and Attorney at Law S.G. Punchihewa to decline the posts offered to them within the anti-Constitutional framework.
The Free Media Movement also appealed to the President and to all political parties represented in Parliament to take whatever steps available to them to reassess the situation with regard to the 17th Amendment and to redress the injustice that had been done to the people of this country through the arbitrary appointments to the Independent Commissions.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
