Untitled - International Commission of Jurists
Untitled - International Commission of Jurists
Untitled - International Commission of Jurists
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that things might get out <strong>of</strong> hand. Deputy Solicitor General GPS de Silva who<br />
appeared for the State at the beginning later dropped out citing personal<br />
reasons. He was considered a person who would have been uncomfortable<br />
about lowering his ethical standing. His place was taken by State counsel<br />
ADTMP Tennekoon. 227<br />
Victims’ lawyers objected to State counsel ADTMP Tennekoon’s manner <strong>of</strong> leading<br />
the police witnesses. <strong>Commission</strong>er Sansoni dismissed these criticisms as<br />
unjustified. 228 However, the question <strong>of</strong> the politicisation <strong>of</strong> the Sansoni <strong>Commission</strong><br />
continues to raise no small measure <strong>of</strong> debate.<br />
Former Chief Justice Miliani Claude Sansoni was a man fighting a battle with<br />
himself. During the later stages <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Commission</strong> hearings, he remarked to a<br />
confidante gravely “I have never before headed a political commission.” 229<br />
This quotation as well as the fact that threats were levelled at the <strong>Commission</strong> during<br />
its sittings has been vehemently contested in recent times. 230 More generally,<br />
revelations <strong>of</strong> information that raise questions regarding the integrity <strong>of</strong> Sri Lanka’s<br />
commissions <strong>of</strong> inquiry – whether due to internal motives or external pressures - are<br />
typically strenuously contested.<br />
Private conversations with legal personalities <strong>of</strong> the day intimately connected with<br />
these events (but who understandably prefer to remain anonymous) indicate the subtle<br />
pressures at play in such contexts. In this particular instance, the police hierarchy<br />
supported by key political figures <strong>of</strong> the day, made known its displeasure with the<br />
efforts <strong>of</strong> then Deputy Solicitor General (DSG) G.P.S. de Silva to lead evidence<br />
fairly, which meant that the actions <strong>of</strong> certain police <strong>of</strong>ficers were liable to get<br />
exposed. It is confirmed on the most impeccable <strong>of</strong> testimony that (then) DSG de<br />
Silva’s withdrawal from the <strong>Commission</strong> sittings was not as had been portrayed for<br />
personal reasons.<br />
Ins<strong>of</strong>ar as the functioning <strong>of</strong> the Sansoni <strong>Commission</strong> was concerned, <strong>Commission</strong>er<br />
Sansoni allowed lawyers to cross-examine witnesses. He also admitted confessions,<br />
using Section 7(d) <strong>of</strong> the COI Act <strong>of</strong> 1948 and overruling objections raised in that<br />
regard. 231 His rationale was that the makers <strong>of</strong> such confessions were not being<br />
charged in a court <strong>of</strong> law and that therefore there was no valid reason to disallow their<br />
admittance. 232 The objection that the makers <strong>of</strong> such confessions should be noticed to<br />
227 ibid, at p. 36.<br />
228 The Sansoni <strong>Commission</strong> report, Sessional Paper No. VII, July 1980, at pp. 19 and 20.<br />
229 Hoole, Rajan, op. cit, at p. 37.<br />
230 See Secretary to the Sansoni <strong>Commission</strong>, Tissa Devendra’ss rebuttal <strong>of</strong> this writer’s column Focus<br />
on Rights titled ‘Further Reflections on <strong>Commission</strong> Inquiries and Rights Violations, Part 111’ The<br />
Sunday Times, 17.02.2008. Mr Devendra statedthat (then) Deputy Solicitor General GPS de Silva<br />
withdrew from the Sansoni <strong>Commission</strong> not due to his disillusionment with the proceedings but<br />
because ‘he had to go back to the Department which just could not spare the services <strong>of</strong> the Deputy<br />
Solicitor General to assist a long term <strong>Commission</strong>.’ See also ‘Rebutting a Defence <strong>of</strong> the Sansoni<br />
<strong>Commission</strong>’ in Focus on Rights, The Sunday Times, 24.02.2008 and ‘More on the Sansoni<br />
<strong>Commission</strong>’ The Sunday Times, 02.03.2008 for the somewhat acrimonious dialogue that took place on<br />
this matter.<br />
231 The Sansoni <strong>Commission</strong> report, Sessional Paper No. VII, July 1980, at p. 5.<br />
232 ibid.<br />
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