President goes haywire to appoint“Bunch Of Men” As President’s Counsels
Posted on May 2nd, 2017
Out of the twenty-five male legal professionals elevated to President’s Counsel, two of them, TNA spokesperson M.A. Sumanthiran MP and Upul Jayasuriya, the chairman of the Board of Investments (BOI), had not applied through the formal channels. However, a number of senior female legal professionals – some of them with over thirty years of consecutive service in the bar – had also applied as per existing rules. It appears that they were not given due consideration.
When asked on the exclusion of eminent women who had applied, gender justice activist Dr. Chamindra Weerawardhana said In a government that presents itself as an advocate of yahapalanaya (good governance), and as promoting gender equality and women’s representation in the professions (including electoral politics), it is a cause for grave concern that such equality measures do not seem to apply to the senior-most women in the legal profession. As it is usually done in countering critiques of this government, one can argue that similar all-male appointments were made under the Rajapaksa administration. However, in voting for good governance, many Sri Lankans expected a change, this certainly is not the ‘change’ voters expected. This is a telling example of continuing business as usual in an extremely patriarchal power structure”.
The appointed members are as follows:
- C. Weliamuna
- A. Sumanthiran
- Upul Jayasuriya
- Daya Pelpola
- Neville Abeyratne
- K. Anuja Kaushika Premarathna
- L.M. Hidayatullah
- Samantha Rathwatte
- Wijerathna Dharmasena
- Upali Senarathna
- Padma Bandara
- K. Malik Peiris
- Karunarathna Herath
- Mahendra Suwadarathna
- P.C.M. Jayasekara
- Mohan Weerakoon
- R.S.P. Samaranayaka
- Ariya B.Rekawa
- Ananda Wickramasekara
- Anura Bandara Meddegoda
- Vijaya Niranjan Perera
- Karunadevage Wimaladasa
- Mohammad Nisam Kariyappar
- Vivekanandan Puvitharan
- Nissanka Nanayakkara
The President’s official website said: the President appointed these Senior Lawyers, who have reached eminence in the profession and have maintained high standards of conduct and professional rectitude, according to the power vested in him under the clause 33(2)(e) of the Constitution as President’s Counsels
May 2nd, 2017 at 1:31 pm
THIS IS A VERY CLEAR INDICATION, TO KEEP THE LAWYERS ON HIS PALM, AND MANIPULATE THEM. HOPE NOBODY WILL FALL INTO THAT RUSE.
May 2nd, 2017 at 2:33 pm
The VERY WORST of it all is the appointment of Sumanthiran as a President’s Counsel!
This TREACHEROUS RACIST DEMAGOGUE was recently agitating in Geneva not only demanding war-crimes trials the Sri Lankan Armed Forces but also pillorying the Yamapalana Govt for dragging its feet on the issue, despite severe public sentiment in Sri Lanka against these moves.
The legal profession in Sri Lanka abounds in Racist Tamil Traitors like Wigneswaran, Sumanthiran and Sampanthan. We have allowed these TRAITORS who thrived on the largesse of their fellow Sinhala countrymen, to hide in the grass like rattlesnakes and sink their fans into us at will.
They MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE for TREASON of the PAST & PRESENT against their country. ONLY the RESTORATION of a PATRIOTIC government to Sri Lanka would make that possible!
May 2nd, 2017 at 6:36 pm
Another reason why executive presidency must be abolished.
All presidents did this.