PANDEMONIUM IN PARLIAMENT AS SPEAKER DISREGARDS COURT ORDER AND SWEARS IN A JHU REPLACEMENT MP WHILE MACE OF THE PARLIAMENT REMOVED
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles
June 09, 04.00 AM:Pandemonium broke out in Sri Lanka Parliament when Speaker W.J.M.Lokubandara called in a replacement Buddhist monk Member of Parliament to be sworn in as a new member disregarding a restraining court order not to allow that Buddhist monk to sit in the parliament.
The scuffle between the government MP’s and Opposition MP’s occurred, June 8, when the allegedly opposition leaning Speaker called in Akmeemana Dayaratna to give oaths disregarding the restraining order of the Colombo District Court preventing the Jathika Hela Urumaya Member from being appointed as a Member of Parliament, eye witnesses said.
The court issued the restraining order when the JHU parliamentarian, Kathaluwe Rathanaseeha alleged in the court that he was kidnapped by the JHU Buddhist monks and a lay leader called Champika Ranawaka and took his signature under duress to a letter of resignation from the seat of the parliament. Another rebel Buddhist monk parliamentarian, who like the kidnapped monk broke rank with his party, has alleged that Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara has collaborated in this kidnapping of the parliamentarian with the alleged kidnappers.
When the newly selected member was called in to give his oaths regardless protesting government parliamentarians took the mace of the Parliament that should remain in front of the Speaker and ran while the Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara administered the oath regardless.
This is the first time that the Parliamentary Mace, a staff that indicates the authority of the parliament while it is in session has been removed. out of the chambers in the history of the Sri Lanka Parliament. When the mace is not in the parliament it is tradition that the sessions are suspended and the mace brought inside. But the eager speaker administered the oath of the new MP regardless. Constitutional experts were discussing whether the oath administered by the Speaker was legally acceptable or not since the parliament was not in session legally.
When the government Minister Jeyaraj Fernando Pulle raised the point of order that the new MP should not be sworn in the Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara regardless went ahead with the oath taking process. Eyewitnesses said, about 20 members of parliament ran towards the well of the House blocking the new Member of Parliament walking towards the Speaker.
But United National Party Parliamentarians, the sources said , provided guard to the JHU MP and took him in front of the Speaker to administer the oath. This is when the Mace of the Parliament was removed out side the chamber of the House.
Immediately after the fracas the Speaker adjourned the House and summoned the party leaders to an emergency meeting but he could not bring about a compromise since many alleged the Speaker was acting partial. The Speaker decided to postpone the parliament until July 20.
Athuraliye Rathana, a Buddhist monk parliamentarian alleged that in the ensuing scuffle, the new member of parliament Akmeemana Dayratna and another MP, Kolonnawe Sumangala were injured and hospitalized. Government MP’s said their claimed injuries were exaggerated for political purposes.
While Ratana said they had concussion injuries that happened in the brawl Jeyaraj Fernando Pulle said they were all right in the parliament and getting admitted to a hospital is a later idea to stir up public opinion. Jeyaraj Fernando Pulle said the Buddhist monk parliamentarians were using “utter filth” in the parliament that provoked others.
The Sri Lanka parliament had to be postponed every time over Speakers decisions after the new minority government was formed following the last general elections. Jeyaraj Fernando Pulle alleged that the UNP was conspiring with the JHU to overthrow the government. He said if this continued the government would dissolve the parliament and ask a fresh mandate from the people. He said the government had an overwhelming victory at the recently held Wayamba Provincial Council elections. It would continue to do the same in the coming provincial council elections too.
