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Special PCoI into political victimisation: Opposition locks horns with Govt. 

02 May 2021

By Yoshitha Perera    The report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into Political Victimisation was handed over to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 8 December last year. After tabling its final report before Parliament, serious concerns arose within Opposition parties regarding the implementation of the recommendations made by the PCoI, over whether it would possibly destabilise the independence of the Judiciary, and if it would eventually lead to abolishing the civic rights of certain members of Parliament.  However, following the submission of the final report of the PCoI, the President appointed a Special PCoI on 29 January, under the Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2212/53 with reference to the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry Act No. 7 of 1978.  Responding to The Sunday Morning’s query with regard to the progress made by the Special PCoI and implementing its recommendations, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said: “The Committee is still observing the recommendations made by the PCoI into Political Victimisation and we would implement them after the final decision is made by the Special Committee.”  The final report or the interim report of the Special PCoI was expected to be submitted within three months of its appointment, which ended on Thursday (29 April).  Earlier, on 30 March, when several writ petitions filed against the PCoI on Political Victimisation was taken up before the Court of Appeal, President’s Counsel Sanjeewa Jayawardena, appearing on behalf of Presidential Secretariat Director General of Legal Affairs Hariguptha Rohanadheera, informed the court that the President does not intend to implement recommendations made by the PCoI until finalising the recommendations of the Special PCoI.  “The President will seek legal advice before implementing any of the recommendations of the PCoI report,” he had noted.  The Special PCoI is handled by Court of Appeal Judge Sobitha Rajakaruna and Supreme Court (SC) Justices Dhammika Priyantha Jayawardena and Hema Kumuduni Wickramasinghe. Accordingly, on 2 April, the President expanded the powers of the Special PCoI and assigned it to further investigate to what extent the officials who were mentioned in the final report of the PCoI have been responsible for the cited misconduct.  Consequently, the Special Commission has had to further observe the recommendations made by the PCoI on whether these officials violated the provisions of the Constitution, abused or misused power, took political revenge against someone when making an appointment or transfer, granted a promotion, terminated the service of someone, and/or violated any written law.  The Parliament, during its last session, conducted a debate on the final report on the PCoI into Political Victimisation and its recommendations.  Sharing the stance of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) on the recommendations, SJB and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa told The Sunday Morning that the party’s first step was to quash the arguments made by the Government and that the rest would follow.  “The Political Victimisation Commission is trying to destroy the political enemies of the Government with one report. The name of this Commission should be changed to ‘Commission for Revenge on Political Enemies’,” he stated, speaking to The Sunday Morning.  Premadasa went on to say the Commission has recommended the abolition of the civic rights of several Opposition MPs targeted by the Government and assured that the SJB would initiate legal measures within a democratic framework.  “If the Government attempts to attack Opposition MPs through the final report by the Political Victimisation Commission and abolish their civic rights, we will take supreme legal measures,” he added.  Speaking about the threat posed by the Commission’s recommendations to the independence of the Judiciary, Premadasa said that Parliament could be the courts but the courts could not be the Parliament and there should be democratic stability in society.  Also sharing his views about the PCoI recommendations with The Sunday Morning, Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella said: “There was a two-day debate held at Parliament, but not a single Cabinet Minister spoke about the recommendations made by the PCoI into Political Victimisation.”  In an interview with The Sunday Morning, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the Commission had inquired into 78 incidents out of 136 complaints it received and that he had been charged for 10 complaints out of those 78 incidents.  The PCoI has recommended that separate complaints be filed with the relevant departments against him, he said.  Dissanayake added that these recommendations are currently being considered through a Special Presidential Commission. “The power of this particular commission is to inquire whether or not to abolish civic rights, and they have no power to impose penalties. The term of the Special PCoI is due to be completed on 29 April,” Dissanayake said.  Moreover, filing a writ petition at the Court of Appeal, Dissanayake mentioned that no statement was recorded from him by the investigation unit attached to the PCoI into Political Victimisation during the inquiry, adding that he was not aware of any charges or matters pertaining to the inquiry.  By filing the petition, Dissanayake had urged the court to quash the findings, decisions, and recommendations made by the Commission. He has further mentioned in the petition that he had not been a member of the Anti-Corruption Secretariat, National Executive Council, or the Emergency Response Unit that was questioned by the Commission during the testimony, which were mentioned in the final report.  It is further noted in the petition that he had appeared before the Commission on 28 September and 13 October 2020, following an order issued by the PCoI. However, the PCoI had failed to lead the inquiry properly, he noted.  The petitioner has named the members of the PCol, retired Supreme Court Justice Upali Abeyratne, retired Court of Appeal Justice Daya Chandrasiri Jayathilake, retired Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandra Fernando, its Secretary, the 26 members of the Cabinet, and the Attorney General (AG) as respondents.  In the meantime, during the two-day debate held at Parliament, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran PC noted that the findings and the recommendations made by the PCoI posed a grave threat to the country’s criminal justice system.   


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