Open letter to Ali Sabry: Tread cautiously in amending laws

I am addressing this note to you as I believe that you are man of the world with a road map for the Nation. I have listened to your pre-election speeches, delivered in Australia, and read your orations, in Sri Lanka, which outlined your vision for the country and the nation. And, I still believe that you have a lot to contribute to the Nation.

I am rather puzzled with two recent propositions made by you which fly in the face of the picture of you, I had in my mind. Still. I have implicit trust in you as I am of the view that which I discuss below will receive your close scrutiny.

Grasping the Nettle, I may point out that your proposal to ‘amend the Antiquities Ordinance, repealing the provisions therein, preventing the courts from releasing persons charged with or accused of related offences on bail” (article in The Island by K Tiranagama) reminds me of the attempts of some to hunt with the hounds and run with the hare. As you no doubt agree the Antiquities are part of our living history which we have to protect and handover to our future generations. As a small country, we have been cheated by a number of invaders who pillaged our invaluable treasures of historical value and stole many others which are now stored in prestigious museums of the West. Your efforts to tackle “the prison congestion “by tinkering with the Antiquities Ordinance is not acceptable to a nation which is at the receiving end of systematic robbery of her artifacts by the colonial powers and, at present, by the greedy and the well-planned destructive forces,

So, Hon Minister, you should consider looking elsewhere, if your objective is to reduce the prison congestion. If at all, you should introduce stringent measures to the Antiquities Ordinance to deter persons from robbing the nation’s history. We hear that yearly over 750 complaints are received annually by the police and the Dept of Archaeology, about vandalism directed at our antiquities. If you do implement your misdirected proposal, such vandals will have a field day.

The second proposal which is equally, or more, damaging, is included in the gazette notification no 2208/13 -2020 issued on council of legal education dated 30.12.21/which says.

“Part I : Sec. (I) – GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA – 30.12.2020 5A (d) the Special Entrance Examination shall be held during a specified month as determined by the Council, of the year preceding the year of entry to the Sri Lanka Law College. (2) immediately after rule 28 thereof, by the insertion of the following new rule:- ” 28A. (1) All courses conducted at the Sri Lanka Law College shall be conducted in the English Medium. “

Why should the law be taught only in English, vitiating the Official Language Act? As you no doubt agree law affects everybody in Sri Lanka and the opportunity should be made available to the average Sri Lankan to understand and to act according to the law. Once the education is provided in English only, as per the proposal, the whole legal machinery, including the hearing of court cases, will be conducted in English only. You may remember how the ordinary villager Silindu, in the well know novel “Village in the Jungle” had to face justice when he had to look up and accept the judgement against him, delivered in English, a language which he did not comprehend! There will be many more Silindus in Sri Lanka who will have to come to the courts and suffer in silence to the dictates in English if the proposed scheme comes into operation. The law had been taught in the Sinhala language for more than 25 years and is not a subject to be used internationally, except with regard to special occasions which can be handled even by using official translators as in the case of eminent international leaders who are not conversant in English. You are only attempting to turn the clock back to the colonial period. Please reconsider and revert to the existing system in providing legal education as per the Official Language Act

RANJITH SOYSA