Tag: basil fernando

Illegal arrests and illegal detentions damage the legal system

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By BASIL FERNANDO Illegal arrests and illegal detentions do not only harm individuals, they also cause irreparable damage to the legal system as a whole. The recent wave of arrests of those who have participated in peaceful demonstrations has not only caused serious damage to the life and liberty of these individuals but they have caused even much greater damage to the entire legal system of Sri Lanka. This damage will continue to make its impact felt on the system long after these particular incidents have passed and even been…

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SRI LANKA: Two big lies told about the 1978 Constitution

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By Basil Fernando Two great lies have been propagated about the 1978 Constitution. When a lie is repeated many times by many persons, often such a lie begins to be treated as a conventional truth. The first of these lies is that the 1978 Constitution was created on the model of the French Constitution and the American Constitutional tradition. This was first propagated by Professor A.J. Wilson who called it a Gaullist Constitution. At the time, he was the advisor to President J.R. Jayewardene, a role which he publicly lamented…

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SRI LANKA: Suspend PTA immediately – UN Experts tells GOSL

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By Basil Fernando The Sri Lankan delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) suffered a great setback when its promise to amend the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979 as amended (PTA) was responded to by the 16 UN special experts calling on the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to suspend the PTA altogether and immediately. The experts said, after the suspension, the Government could suitably enact anti terrorism law which is in keeping with international law. Thus, the usual trick employed by Sri…

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