Criticizing the President over the scope of his significance, privileges and executive powers before various foreign entities, such as embassies, unions and organizations lowers the dignity of the country and its people, Judge and Law Professor of Canterbury University, Essex London and former Advisor to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees Prof. Dinesh K.Gunasekara said yesterday in an interview with the Daily News.
He was interviewed on the current political climate in the country after President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved Parliament.
Prof. Gunasekara said “former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has acted, as if his voter base is in the US, UK and Norway, and not in Sri Lanka. He has let down a sovereign nation before the world. The Speaker must take responsibility for aggravating the situation who consistently contradicting Gazette notifications issued by the President using his mandated prerogatives under the Constitution to appoint the Prime Minister and other ministers, and to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament by his proclamation,” Prof. Gunasekara said.
On being pointed that Wickremesinghe and UNP Parliamentarians were saying that the President’s action s were incompatible with the Constitution, Prof. Gunasekara said, “if they had a problem with the Constitution they should have acted in accordance with the Constitution and sought assistance of the Supreme Court.”
“But he said Wickremesinghe went about tarnishing the President’s image making various statements against Presidential powers, actions and legality of the President’s actions. Instead he was seeking assistance of various foreign embassies and hegemonic powers, as if they had voted him in as Prime Minister.”
“Is it the High Commissions of Australia, UK or Norway or the US, that are going to vote for Ranil and the UNP at an election, or is it going to be the people of this country?” he asked.
“It is a shame to behave like this before other countries and degrade a sovereign nation as men of state,” he stressed, “I hardly know any statesmen behaving this way putting their country’s pride at risk of being looked down upon by other nations.”
“This is setting a bad precedent and it is also a display of shamelessness, lack of civility and moral sense of our statesmen,” he said.
“The truth is Ranil Wickremesinghe went before the international community to vocalise that his being sacked as Prime Minister by the President was unconstitutional, because going to an election and winning the people’s vote is a nightmare for him,” he said.
“As a lawyer I have no doubt that the President has acted in accordance with the Constitution, but the countrymen can know it better once the Supreme Court gives its determination on those Fundamental Rights petitions seeking the quashing of the President’s order dissolving Parliament and Holding Elections.”
“Ratnajeevan Hoole who has filed a petition in this respect is also a member of the independent Elections Commission.
He should resign from this Commission and file this petition, otherwise it would seem that his independence has been compromised,” he said.
“I request the public of this country to be vigilant about these actors for they can be quite misleading,” he said.
“Always remember that the President of a country is elected by all countrymen, he is not a man restricted to some precinct or district, and he and his decisions must be respected at all times by the people. The external influences always come with the country having to pay a price. All political parties must bear in mind it is the people of Sri Lanka who are going to vote for you, and not them,” he explained.