Gajalakshmi Paramasivam
23
April 2019
Impeach the Head of
National Security Council
Article 9 of the Sri Lankan Constitution
states:
[9. The Republic of Sri Lanka
shall give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty
of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana, while assuring to all
religions the rights granted by Articles 10 and 14(1)(e).]
Article
14(1)(e ) states:
[Every citizen is entitled to –the freedom,
either by himself or in association with others, and either in public or in
private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice
and teaching;]
Did the
President as the head of Government act to satisfy the requirements under
Article 9 through which he ought to have ensured the protection of rights of
Christians gathering on Easter Sunday.
As per Daily News article headed ‘Rajitha tenders
apology on behalf of Govt.’:
[Explaining the situation
prior to the Easter Sunday attack, Dr. Senaratne admitted that the
International Intelligence Services have informed on April 4 of an eminent
terrorist attack in the country. “They have warned of suicide bomb attack. In
those intelligence reports they have informed that the targets are Christian
and Catholic Churches and also the tourist hotels. On April 9, the Defense
Ministry has informed this situation to the Inspector General of Police and
they have even mentioned the names of the suspected terrorists. They have given
out a list of names of these terrorists including Zahran Hashim, Jalal Ithal,
Shahid, Rilwan, Maulawi and Milhan.” Minister Senaratne said.
“And
on April 11, there has been a circular issued by the DIG of the Special
Security Division sending to all the security institutions of the country and
VIP security divisions cautioning about a possible attack and they have given a
detailed report about what is going to happen. So finally it has happened and
we all witnessed that. With all the warnings, with all the details given, it
had happened and nearly 300 people have died and more than 500 people have been
injured. We are very sorry as a government and want to apologize from the
people and other affected parties about this incident.” Minister Senaratne
said. The Minister stressed that he is explaining the complexities not with the
intention of disclaiming the responsibility of the government with regards to
the incident but because it is important that everyone get the details correct.]
The President who is responsible for Defence,
had knowledge of this intelligence on our before 11 April 2019. Whether Mr
Sirisena actually had knowledge of the intelligence is secondary. It was his
DUTY as head of National Security Council to develop systems that would bring
such intelligence to his attention. In
this instance there was the additional responsibility to protect the
constitutional rights of Christians as required by Articles 9, 10 and 14(1)(e )
of the Sri Lankan Constitution.
The seriousness of how the UN Security
Council viewed this was presented as follows:
[Security
Council Press Statement on Series of Terrorist Attacks across Sri Lanka
SC/13788
The following Security Council
press statement was issued today by Council President Christoph Heusgen
(Germany):
The members of the Security
Council condemned in the strongest terms the series of heinous and cowardly
terrorist attacks that took place at St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, St.
Sebastian’s in Negambo, Zion Church in Batticaloa, the Shangri-La, Cinnamon
Grand, and Kingsbury hotels in Colombo, as well as three explosions across Sri
Lanka on Easter Sunday, 21 April 2019, which resulted in nearly 300 killed and
hundreds more wounded.
The members of the Security
Council expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the
victims and to the Government of Sri Lanka and they wished a speedy and full
recovery to those who were injured.
The members of the Security
Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations
constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and
security.
The members of the Security
Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and
sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to
justice, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under
international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate
actively with the Government of Sri Lanka and all other relevant authorities in
this regard.
The members of the Security
Council reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable,
regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.
They reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance
with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under
international law, including international human rights law, international
refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace
and security caused by terrorist acts.]
The
authority of the UN Security Council to ‘find the perpetrators guilty’ flows
from its own practice of laws that would prevent such pain and loss to the
People in its care. The Sri Lankan National Security Council likewise has the
parallel duty to protect Sri Lankans.
When we
believe, the intelligence comes to us. This is why we elect leaders through
confidential vote in a free environment. Not only did the intelligence not go
to President Sirisena, but Mr Sirisena went to the Indian Hindu Shrine of Thirupathi Venketesharar and performed poojahs
on 16 April 2019. If Mr Sirisena had
actually heard the voice of Lord Venketesharar / Vishnu who incarnated as
Krishna – he would have heard the message loud and clear ‘DO YOUR DUTY’. That was the message to Prince Arjuna who hesitated
to fight against his family elders and gurus. When we fight to establish Dharma
/ Righteousness – natural forces come to support us. When we act in breach of
Dharma – the natural forces of Adharma / Satanic forces – possess us. We then
start neglecting our duties while enjoying benefits of high positions held by us.
The
inquiry must focus on whether or not the Sri Lankan President neglected his
duty as head of Defence. If the above account by the Minister is true – then President
Sirisena needs to be impeached. Former American President Nixon was threatened
with impeachment for stealing intelligence of the opponent. Sri Lankan
President Sirisena needs to be impeached for negligence if it is established
that his negligence resulted in this terrible tragedy.
No comments:
Post a Comment