Photo courtesy Lanka Standard
Keynote Address at Judges’ Conference on 22nd December 2012 by Justice Wigneswaran. For an in-depth interview with Justice Wigneswaran, conducted one year ago, click here.
Download the speech as a PDF here.
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Thanks lot Hon.Justice Wigneswaran. The Independent Judiciary is an Investment for the future generations.
Justice Wigneswaran has been making many such bold speeches in the past and this is about his best. I wish to repeat a noteworthy part of his speech –
“I, however, see a silver lining at the end of all this. If the powers that be feel threatened by the Annual Conference of the Judges, surely that is a sign of fear. That is a sign of weakness. That is a sign that what you do and say matters. That is a sign that together you are strong. That is a sign that the tide has turned, that a battle has been won and that intrinsic independence shines strong amongst you – the younger members of the Judiciary.”
If what he surmises is true and the tide has really turned, we all need to rejoice. For without an independent judiciary, the only available means for a citizen to protect himself and his rights from a visibly autocratic group that is ruling the country today, would be gone. Then there will be nothing left of the democracy, the rule of law and the independent judiciary we once thought we had. Let us also hope that with the turning of the tide, a new chapter will be opened in the history of this country and we will be able to see light at the end of the dark tunnel into which the country had been dragged in the past few years. However one wonders if the tide would really turn or would there be a flood of more reckless misdeeds ?
“…for a citizen to protect himself.. ..autocratic group that is ruling the country today, would be gone..”
Dude, Pl. do some homework, this group is returned to office by overwhelming majority of citizens, repeatedly at all the presidential/ parliamentary/ provincial/ local govt. elections; &
The citizens refreshed their mandate, affirmed faith in this group, as recently as 03 months ago at NCP/Eastern/Sabaragamuwa PC elections by giving them over 65% vote.
Citizens are more rational & intelligent & know well that they need protection from INGO US$ Vultures/ Diaspora terrorists/anti Sri Lankan mafia /Western countries crying foul for decimating blood sucking Western funded LTTE, etc;
So, those anti-lankan mafia & can make speech after speech, write article after article, make peacock dancing, til cows come home, citizens won’t care two hoots. The reality is Dogs barking & Caravans passing.
It is unfortunate that persons like ‘John’ do not know how all the elections have been conducted under the present regime. Sensible people are aware of the extent to which State machinery was used, how persons with dissenting views were prevented from freely expressing them and how the absence of an independent Police Service and an independent Election Commissioner were made use of to manipulate the elections to bring in the results the regime wanted. And when they nearly failed in the last PC Elections in the East, MR negated the outcome by effectively manipulating the result with false promises and enticed the Muslim Congress to support the regime to gain control of the Eastern PC.
The true will of the people will be known only when there is a free and fair elections in the country. None of the elections conducted by MR could be honestly declared to be free and fair. The Election Monitors have confirmed the malpractices that took place. History shows that it was how most autocrats had conducted elections to show the world that they had the support of the people. Recently even Gaddafi, the friend of MR had been repeatedly saying so until he fell. All such autocrats had such supporters like John and had eventually to bite the dust. Sri Lanka just cannot become an exception in history.
Those independent commissions were never in place from 1932 todate. MR cannot be singled out for that.
Muslim Congress was part of govt. before & after Eastern PC elections, it was a strategy to contest separately, so mush so, even “Divineguma” bill was passed by new Eastern PC , by SLMC & SLFP led PC.
Did you have a better democracy in Eelam under blood sucking vulture V Praba, who is in hell for next one million years.
Winning the election by vote rigging, thuggery, kidnapping, bribing, intimidation, in short every available “force” is not democracy!!!
They were not “elected” they elected themselves in by force!!!
We never had a true Leader in this country since independence!!!
John,
Your surmise is flawed.
There have never been truly FREE and FAIR elections since independence.
The voters have never been able to vote without fear and coersion.
No party wants a truly powerful independent Election Commission – like in India,for example.
Outsiders you quote cannot ‘brainwash’ voters.
The 17th amendment which may have implemented free & fair elections,was negated by the 18th.
17 A never had teeth, only dead letter even before 18 A came in & mind you 18 A was passed by SC & incumbent CJ too sitting.
“mind you 18 A was passed by SC & incumbent CJ too sitting”
That does not say anything!!The incumbent CJ and the former CJ are all stooges of MR one time or other until their relation ship “soured”. This the story of SL in the recent past.
reality
12/27/2012 • 8:36 am
if so, why do you worry about this judiciary ?, appointed by political bosses (not elected by people) & changing stance at liberty ?
Politicos are somehow elected by people from 1932 on wards & should face people at hustings & answerable to people at least at election time, whereas judiciary higher ups have none of it.
Even a small child could understand that Hon.MR is not a suitable person to rule a country like ours. We faced three rebellions during the past 45 years.our RULER must be a innovative man.
What I am trying to say is that there is nothing “free and fair” in SL from the time of independence. But this govt. has surpassed any previous ones, as everything is controlled by the “Brothers Inc.”
“politicos somehow are elected” is not democracy!!! The whole trouble is that “somehow”. That somehow involves, murder, intimidation, favoritism, vote rigging, vote buying, bribery etc. etc. And is still continuing to remain in power, and will continue to silence the whistle blowers!!!
I never condone any major party i;e; UNP/SLFP/FP/TULF etc, it’s they who are responsible for whole saga from 1948 on wards,they created terrorists, but still for all I think they are marginally better than terrorists themselves i;e; JVP/LTTE etc, because I never believe armed struggled never brought anything good for people, only death & destruction, from 1917 Bolshevik Revolution to Arab Spring, they only expressed anger but back to square one, perhaps after several decades, by that time millions had paid supreme price, millions of children lost their parents.
Corrupt politicos are the bane of the society, yet better than terrorists.
Typographical error, correction,
..because I never believe armed struggled “never” brought anything good…
The word “never” should be corrected as “Ever”
Justice Wigneswaran’s analysis of the Constitution says where all the trouble lies. People who really love this country should spearhead a movement with the sole objective of changing it. Period.