Dismissal of the Chief Justice in Sri Lanka

 A Statement from the Commonwealth Secretary General forwarded by the
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

 SRI LANKA: Dismissal of the Chief Justice in Sri Lanka

 Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma today expressed deep
disappointment at the dismissal of the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.

The Secretary-General recalled his earlier statements about this
matter, in particular his statement following the decision by
Parliament on 11 January to impeach the Chief Justice, in which he had
urged the Executive to pause and reflect carefully on the
constitutional ramifications of the differing positions taken by the
country's Judiciary and Legislature.

Reiterating the Commonwealth's profound collective concern at the
recent developments and noting the deep divisions this had caused in
Sri Lanka, the Secretary-General said,

"The dismissal of the Chief Justice will be widely seen, against the
background of the divergence between the Judiciary and the
Legislature, as running counter to the independence of the judiciary,
which is a core Commonwealth value.

"I have been in touch over recent days with the Government of Sri
Lanka at the highest levels and had offered Commonwealth assistance to
find a way forward from the constitutional impasse. I will continue to
remain engaged with the Sri Lankan Government following today's
developments. I will also consider further Commonwealth initiatives
and responses as are envisaged in situations that could be perceived
to constitute violations of core Commonwealth values and principles,"
he concluded.

The Secretary-General will be visiting Sri Lanka in February.