SL CJ spurns compromise bid by government

Given the widespread opposition both at home and abroad to the impeachment of the Sri Lankan Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayake, some leading persons are trying to bring about a patch up between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the CJ so that the country’s institutional framework is preserved and its international image does not get tarnished further. But success is evading these “secret” moves.

“The government wants a patch up, but the Chief Justice has rejected the moves,” a source close to the CJ told Express on Monday. The CJ firmly held on to her stand that she was not guilty of any of the 14 charges, including the three on which she was indicted by the government-dominated Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) last week, the source said.

However, the Tamil daily, Sudar Oli, reported that the CJ had discussed the question of rapprochement with Lanka’s top Buddhist monks, the Mahanayakes or Chief Incumbents of the Malwatte and Asgirya chapters of the Maha Sangha, in Kandy on Sunday. It further said unofficial representatives of the President and the CJ were to meet in Colombo last Thursday, but it did not happen.

Meanwhile, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka called for a day’s strike in the CJ’s support on Wednesday.