Courtesy The Daily News

Well known corruption buster and former Chairman of PERC (Public Enterprises Reform Commission), Nihal Sri Amarasekera said that as a member of a global anti-corruption organization, he would be proud to say to the world that Sri Lanka impeached her Chief Justice on integrity related issues.

He said so in a radio interview with SLBC last morning with the programme PeopleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Power. Amarasekera said that there are serious integrity issues involving the CJ, and that she has not been able to acquit herself before a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) investigating them.

He stated that he had submitted an affidavit to the PSC with regard to some matters relating to her sitting on a Bench when her husband held public office, and would release the document to the media soon.

He also stated yesterday in this newspaper that the Banks that did not report the CJƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s questionable transactions had to be taken to task by the Central Bank for not disclosing the information.

Asked about the fact that a former head of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chandra Jayaratne had contended that the CJƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s account information being released for the purposes of the impeachment motion was a violation of banking secrecy,

Amarasekera said that this person must still be in the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”chamber of commerce eraƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢because the UN anti-corruption convention that Sri Lanka is signatory to mandates Banks to release information of high ranking officials, that involve questionable transactions, to the relevant authorities.

Amarasekera who has earned plaudits as an anti-corruption activist who exposed the Hilton Hotel fraud involving an entire extra floor, for example, also served as the head of PERC, and has solid and neutral anti-corruption credentials.

He said that he does not understand why those who should be fighting corruption and calling for good governance – -at least some of them ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” are opposing the impeachment which has been done as per the provisions in the constitution.

He said that he will be proud to state in anti-corruption forums worldwide that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Sri Lanka impeached her Chief Justice for corruption related issuesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” an accomplishment, in maintaining integrity in the judiciary, and holding an official who should certainly be a person of unimpeachable integrity in such an office, to account.