Lanka parliament speaker rebuffs top court summons

Taxi drivers support removal of top judge

COLOMBO, Nov 30, (Agencies): Sri Lanka’s parliament speaker on Thursday rejected a supreme court summons to a parliamentary panel looking into a move to impeach the chief justice, deepening a crisis that has raised concern about the independence of the country’s judiciary.

The stand-off in the south Asian state has raised the risk of a destabilising clash between the judiciary and President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government.

The two have been on a collision course since Rajapaksa’s party filed an impeachment motion against Shirani Bandaranayake, Sri Lanka’s first female head of the Supreme Court, on Nov 6.

Relations between the chief justice and Rajapaksa have been deteriorating for months, with the government complaining that she has been overstepping her authority and Bandaranayake’s supporters complaining of political interference. The Supreme Court summoned the speaker and the 11-member parliamentary committee to hear cases filed by lawyers and civil society advocates challenging the legality of the impeachment and the composition of the panel.

In response, parliament speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, who is the president’s elder brother, told parliament: “I declare that the purported notices, issued to me and to the members of the select committee, are a nullity and entail no legal consequences.

“I wish to make it clear that this ruling of mine as the speaker of parliament will apply to any similar purported notice, order or determination in respect of the proceedings of the committee, which will continue solely and exclusively under the authority of parliament.”

The committee, which includes seven ruling party legislators, is looking into charges ranging from undeclared assets to violating constitutional provisions.

Chrishmal Warnasuriya, one of the lawyers appearing for the chief justice, said neither parliament nor the Supreme Court was superior to the other.

Meanwhile, hundreds of government-supporting rickshaw drivers choked the capital demanding the sacking of Sri Lanka’s chief justice on Friday as the supreme court debated the legality of moves to impeach her.

Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake has been accused by the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance party of financial and professional misconduct in a case which has raised fears that the government is trying to control the courts.

The demonstration, organised by the pro-government ThreeWheel Taxi Drivers’ association, was the biggest public display of opposition to Bandaranayake, 54, the first woman in the country to hold the office.

The ubiquitous three-wheel taxis gathered en masse at the Town Council square in Colombo and drove past the Superior Courts Complex causing more traffic jams along the narrow streets of the congested capital.

“We have about 700 of our members taking part at the start of this protest,” said M. A. Sarath Wimala as he drove his green-coloured Bajaj autorickshaw towards the courts complex. Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rasoul (second from left), introduces members of his delegation to his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar (right), prior to their meeting at the Foreign Office in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Nov 30. Afghanistan’s top diplomat will press Pakistan to

free more Taleban detainees to help coax the militant group into peace negotiations to end the 11-year-old war, an official said. (AP)