‘AG can be compelled to indict Vijayakala’ Call for reviving LTTE
Posted on July 3rd, 2018
By Shamindra Ferdinando
July 3, 2018, 11:59 pm
Top constitutional lawyer Manohara de Silva, PC, yesterday said that the Attorney General could file an indictment in accordance with Article 157 A against State Minister for child affairs, Vijayakala Maheswaran.
President’s Counsel De Silva said so when The Island asked him what action the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government could take against Maheswaran for call for the revival of the LTTE.
The senior lawyer emphasised that the Attorney General could act on his own. Vijayakala successfully contested the Jaffna electoral District on the UNP ticket after the LTTE assassinated her husband MP T. Maheswaran on January 1, 2008, at Kotahena.
Maheswaran’s assassin was sentenced to death by Colombo High Court Judge Sunil Rajapaksha on Aug 27, 2012.
Vijayakala made the declaration in Jaffna in the presence of foreign minister and former Attorney General Tilak Marapana and Public Administration Minister Vajira Abeywardena.
Manohara de Silva said that in case the Attorney General refrained from acting in this instance, the Court of Appeal could be moved by an interested party.
The Attorney General could be made to fulfil his obligations by filing a writ of mandamus, Counsel De Silva said.
Responding to another query, the lawyer said that in accordance with Article 157 A, indirectly supporting secession was also an indictable offence.
The police could not take action as only the Attorney had the power to indict a person.
Manohara de Silva pointed out as there was sufficient evidence that the primary objective of the LTTE was to divide the country on ethnic lines, reviving the terrorist group therefore amounted to encouraging terrorism.
The State Minister had made controversial statements previously. In Dec 2017, the State Minister had alleged in Jaffna the massacre of 200,000 Tamils along with their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in the final phase of the war in 2009, he noted.
Former UPFA MP and retired Navy Chief of Staff Sarath Weerasekera told The Island that the government couldn’t ignore the timing of the provocative statement. Weerasekera said that a deliberate attempt was being made to influence the community close on the heels of weapons detection at Oddusudan, east of the Kandy-Jaffna A9 road. Weerasekera alleged that the minister was making an obvious attempt to identify herself with the LTTE for political reasons.
Weerasekera said that the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government and the UNP owed an explanation to the country.
The naval veteran said that the government should be held responsible for the rapid deterioration of the situation in the North.
July 3rd, 2018 at 4:27 pm
Laws should be passed to nationalise all wealth of those support separatist ideology. If we had an patriotic executive president ever, such laws should be already there. If not, can be passed now easily as every MP talks like they love the country.
Women for Justice’ demand Vijayakala to be sacked and arrested
Referring to the statement made by State Minister of Child Affairs Vijayakala Maheswaran in Jaffna, where she said there was a need for the reorganization of the LTTE in the North and East, the organization of ‘Women for Justice’ demanded the relevant Minister to be sacked and arrested.
Addressing a news conference – ‘Women for Justice’ Co-President Sharmila Gonawala said what she had proclaimed could not be condoned because she wanted the LTTE, a prohibited organization to come again and put the people of this county in danger.
“We can’t remain silent when such controversial statements were being made by State officials. She must have forgotten the miserable era we had during the time of war. We never want such an era again,” Gonawala said.
She said they hoped to lodge a complaint to the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) tomorrow over the statement of the Minister.
Meanwhile, ‘Women for Justice’ Secretary Savithri Gunasekara said MP Vijayakala is not even eligible to hold the post of MP.
“She being the State Minister of Child Affairs said the children of the North and East would be safer when the LTTE would come again. She has forgotten how the children were deprived of their education and forced to join the LTTE military groups by wearing cyanide capsule during the war,” Gunasekara said.
Therefore, they insisted the Government to take prompt action over her statement.(Sheain Fernandopulle)
July 3rd, 2018 at 8:26 pm
We already have laws to confiscate property of those who promote separatism and to impose civic disability on them. These laws were only implemeted once in 1983. Since then no executive president had the balls to do it.
Obviously Sirisena will not do it since he is not a self procalimed patriot.
But the bigger question is what are the so called patriotic politicians doing?
They can file a police complaint against the Tamil MP, file a case in the Court of Appeal or another in the Supreme Court. Of course the police can’t take action but that is the first step in taking it to the AG. But they will not do it! Even they are after Tamil votes. Screaming and rioting in parliament are a distraction. We need concrete action.
Traitors are traitors (I don’t name any). There is no question about it and no point wasting time over them. To their credit, they never fool patriotic Sri Lankans.
But worse at the so called patriotic traitors. Not only they are traitors but they also fool (rather daft) patriotic Sri Lankans to believe they are “patriots”. If they are patriots they are now in the courts.
July 3rd, 2018 at 11:57 pm
Vijayakala Maheswaran’s call for RESURRECTION of the LTTE is OUTRIGHT TREASON.
Here is the response to it as reported on Hiru TV:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU6DmVFI2Os
July 4th, 2018 at 12:31 am
Vijayakala Maheswaran’s call for RESURRECTION of the LTTE is OUTRIGHT TREASON and INCITES terrorism.
As the UNP Minister of Child Welfare and a Tamil WELL AWARE of the ENSLAVEMENT and VIOLATION of CHILDREN practiced on a MASSIVE SCALE by the LTTE, she is COMPLETELY HYPOCRITICAL when she ADVOCATES the RESURRECTION of the LTTE! Therefore, SHE IS COMPLETELY UNFIT to hold this Ministerial Portfolio or ANY OTHER position in government.
Furthermore, this statement arises in a background of INCREASING LTTE activism, discovery of weapons of war in the possesion of former LTTE cadre, public support for the LTTE and a SEPARATE EELAM in the North and East by Tamil leaders of like mind including Sambandan (Leader of the Opposition and the Tamil National Alliance), Sumanthiran (Attorney and MP), Vigneswaran (former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Minister of the Northern Province, and now a VOCAL EXPONENT of separatism, and Sivajilingam (Probhakaran’s brother-in-law). In other words, this is an attempt to AGGRAVATE & INCITE public support of the Tamil population foer the LTTE with the intention of calling for a SEPARATE STATE OF EELAM in the not too DISTANT FUTURE with the aid of the Tamil DIASPORA, Tamil Nadu nationalists, and their WESTERN BACKERS aligned against China.
They are getting to be FRANTIC at the PROSPECT of a LANDSLIDE VICTORY for the Patriotic Forces of Sri Lanka in the next TWO ELECTIONS, and the LOSS of EVERYTHING they hoped to accomplish through the YAMAPALANA GOVERNMENT. They see the WRITIONG ON THE WALL and are PREPARING for a UNILATERAL DECLARATION of INDEPENDENCE!
The RESPONSE to Vijayakala Maheswaran’s TREASON should be taken at FOUR LEVELS:
1. Impeach & Expelo her from her position as a Member of Parliament. The basis is that an MP’s oath taken at swearing-in requires an MP to UPHOLD the National Constitution. She has VIOLATED that OATH. The person RESPONSIBLE for doing this is the Speaker of the House, currently Karu Jayasuriya.
2. She should be EXPELLED from Membership of the UNP as having VIOLATED the Constitution of the UNP. If the UNP FAILS to EXPEL her, then the UNP by default CONDONES and becomes PARTY to that TREASON. The persons responsible for doing that are the General Secretary of the UNP, and its Executive Committee, headed by the President of the UNP Ranil Wickramasinghe.
3. The Department of Justice of Sri Lanka, and the Attorney General as the operational executive should ARREST, INDICT, PROSECUTE and CONVICT Vijayakala Maheswaran under the Laws of the Constitution that prohibits TREASON and the Protection Against Terrorism Act (POTA). The TREASON Laws mandate a MINIMUM sentence of 7 years in prison.
4. Upon CONVICTION in the Courts, Vijayakala Maheswaran should be STRIPPED of her Sri Lankan citizenship, and STRIPPED of her citizenship rights upto and including disqualification from holding ANY PUBLIC OFFICE in general, and Membership in the Parliament in particular.
Indeed, these SAME STEPS, in appropriate forms, should be taken AGAINST ALL THOSE Tamil Politicians mentioned above for their TREASONOUS PRONOUNCEMENTS and SUPPORT for Tamil SEPARATISM in the distant and recent past!