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Sri Lanka : Street battles in Colombo : Opposition vows to impeach President |
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Angered over the decision of President Chandrika Kumaratunga to suspend Parliament for two months at a time when her Government was going to be defeated in a no-confidence motion after one of its key allies walked out of the Peoples Alliance, the Sri Lankan Opposition staged a noisy rally outside parliament on July 16. Many legislators defied the police barricades and forced their way into Parliament Complex where they vowed to impeach President Kumaratunga for her decision to prorogue the House till September 7. The UNP leader, Ranil Wickeremesinghe told reporters that the Opposition was looking into alternative means of convening parliament to impeach the President as the Speaker had ruled that it was not within his powers to summon the House after being prorogued by the President.
When the Opposition MPs enter Parliament a day after Speaker Anura Bandaranaika refused to summon the House in defiance of Kumratugna’s order proroguing it till September 7, police barricades greeted them all approach roads. However, many lawmakers removed them on their own and ventured into the complex. The opposition subsequently staged a mammoth demonstration by its supporters on July 20 to protest against Kumaratunga’s decision to prorogue parliament and hold a referendum which they described unnecessary. “Democracy is under thereat and must come together to protect it” said, Ranil Wickremesinghe. More than 15 parties across the political spectrum appealed to the Sri Lankans to join the protest march The Marxist JVP, however, did not join the call. Police banned the public protest on July 20 which invited derison and defiance from the UNP. The police chief invoked provision of the Referendum Act that bans any procession after a referendum has been called and warned that those violating the order would be arrested and prosecuted. However, UNP said, the protest would not be given up. Police from various areas converged on the capital and all entry points to the city were barricaded to stop the Opposition supporters from entering the city. Though the highway to the airport was closed, the police could not completely prevent the protest rally. Two persons were killed and 25 others injured when police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the angry opposition party supporters .
Justifying their action, Opposition leaders said, after a bid to avoid a no confidence motion called by a majority of MPs against the PA government and calling for a referendum for August 21 on whether the country needed a New constitution, this attempt to prevent them from entering the House was the last straw. Under the Sri Lankan Constitution, an impeachment motion needs the support of two-thirds of the membership of the House for automatic admission, but alternatively, the Speaker is allowed the discretion to admit it with the support of half the number of MPs. Thereafter, the charges in the motion are referred to the Supreme Court for determination whether they are true and if a verdict of “guilty” is returned by court, the House will have to approve it with support of two-thirds of the members. A key government ally crossed the floor of the house last month giving the combined Opposition 116 seats to the government’s 109. But the Opposition members include the Speaker, who cannot vote, and 10 legislators of the radical Marxist Peoples’ Liberation Front which did not take part in the protest. The JVP has also condemned the suspension of Parliament and joined the rest of the Opposition in denouncing the August 21 referendum called by Ms. Kumaratunga on her plans to change the country’s Constitution. But it has not openly thrown its lot in with the Opposition on several other issues, including the no-confidence vote.
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