| Now, lawyers under attack |
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Lawyers came out in strength Tuesday to protest against the attack on Weliamuna
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By Dilrukshi Handunnetti
The midnight grenade attack on reputed human rights lawyer and Executive Director, Transparency International - Sri Lanka (TISL), J.C. Weliamuna's Kohuwala residence has shaken not just the victims of that violence, but also other legal practitioners who may now be persuaded to practice caution when wanting to take up someone else's grievances and seek redress on their behalf.
The support witnessed by Weliamuna was outstanding as lawyers cried out for justice on Tuesday in a symbolic protest when the membership of Bar Association of Sri Lanka gathered to express solidarity with their colleague - a unique gathering that came second only to a well attended meeting following lawyer Wijeyadasa Liyanarachchi's murder during the height of the JVP insurgency in the '80s.
But not just the legal profession, local and foreign organisations including Amnesty International and the European Union issued messages demanding urgent action against the perpetrators and to prevent a violation of the human rights lawyer's right to justice.
Culprits at large
But as of today, the culprits are still at large, for the police have made no arrests during the past one week. And the incident bears all the tell-tale signs of a case that is likely to be swept under the carpet soon enough.
"We have not made any arrests. There are no leads to follow," was the cryptic reply of a police officer attached to the Kohuwala Police.
As for the shocked lawyer, still unable to grasp as to why someone should attack his house for the work he does, it is a chilling reminder of the violence that prevails in the country, targeting different people for varied reasons.
"Hooliganism and thuggery will not intimidate me or stop me from doing my work. This work is not just that of lawyer's, but also of a citizen who feels responsible for the destiny of a nation. I won't give up," vows a determined Weliamuna.
Despite his brave words and his brave work, Weliamuna had to move his family to a safe house following the grenade attack on September 27. "I am so relieved that my family survived this, but I can't risk their safety," he noted.
Sudden thud
That night, the Weliamuna couple were putting their kids aged four months and two and a half years to sleep when they first heard a sudden thud. When checked from the upper floor of the two storey house, it turned out to be a three-wheeler leaving their gate.
The grenade attack occurred some 20 minutes later, around 11.40 pm. The grenade exploded on the balcony of their bedroom. The older boy began to howl and cry immediately making the mother carry the kids and rush to another room seeking safety, as there was no escape route to leave the house.
The explosion caused extensive damage to the house and caused the wall of the neighbouring house also to crumble.
Weliamuna then called the neighbours and sought help - by finding out whether there were any intruders in the garden.
The police arrived some 20 minutes after the explosion. They recovered a pin first and then the bomb. Further searching led to the recovery of a second bomb in the compound which was quickly detonated.
According to Kohuwala Police, both bombs were identical, known as JR type grenades and powerful. The impact was such that the next-door neighbour's wall collapsed instantly as Weliamuna's house also suffered substantial damage.
Lawyers livid
In the meantime, angry lawyers gathered before the Supreme Court complex last Tuesday (30) to protest against the intimidation and harassment of Weliamuna and demanded an end to the intimidation and harassment of other members of the profession.
As the protest progressed, an unidentified person tried to enter the Transparency International Colombo office. The time was around 2 30 pm and the intruder was looking for the TISL chief.
The intruder neither identified himself nor provided any valid reason to enter the TISL premises. Having failed to enter the premises, he moved around suspiciously close to the TISL office.
Subsequently, the staff members spotted the said person leaving the area on a motorbike. The Cinnamon Garden Police is conducting investigations but when telephoned, had no information to offer.
Meanwhile, Parliamentarian Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena said that the incident would be taken up at the 115th sessions of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva this month.
Jayawardena added that the country's failure to protect human rights activists was well demonstrated by this incident and connected the state's failure to implement the 17th Amendment as a reason for the lawlessness that prevailed in the country. "Not forgetting that Weliamuna campaigned vigorously for its implementation," he noted.
State media mute
It is also pertinent to note that not a single state media institution reported the attack on J.C. Weliamuna's home, despite his credentials as a respected lawyer and an activist par excellence. As far as the state media went, both electronic and print, the incident was either of no importance or a matter to be ignored. It is this silence that has raised many an eyebrow.
As for his case profile, Weliamuna does admit that 90% of his cases are sensitive, and some are so unusual that a lot of lawyers have been reluctant to deal with them. "I took up those somewhat tricky cases because I feel for them as a citizen," he explains.
He acknowledges there is some measure of anti NGO sentiments, but says that the TISL is more academic as it looks at issues systematically and never individually.
However, it was only on September 23 that the TISL released the latest global corruption index - always a controversial document - in which Sri Lanka was 92nd out of the list of 184 corrupt governments around the world.
Police malpractice
Importantly enough, in September, Weliamuna was also the legal representative in a case involving serious police malpractice which was heard by the Supreme Court. As a result, the court ordered an investigation into police intimidation and the filing of false charges against his client.
As the country moves towards sheer lawlessness, protesting lawyers last week were also being reminded of the likes of Wijeyadasa Liyanarachchi and Sarath Ambepitiya. At the protest, despite the hot mid day sun, a collective chill went down the spine of all lawyers gathered there as senior lawyer Upul Jayasuriya noted that if the present trend continued, there could be another 5,000 Weliamunas, not just one. And that it was time not just for the Bar Association membership but for the entire country to fight for justice, for safety, for fundamental freedoms. Posted on 05 Oct 2008 by APS
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