The arrest of General Sarath Fonseka is against Sri Lankan and the international law, said former Chief Justice Sarath N Silva at the formal occasion associated with the inauguration of the internet petition aimed at bringing pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to release General Fonseka. 

Following is the complete text of his speech.

“ I see this arrest as a political one, aimed at imprisoning the hero who saved our nation from the LTTE menace. His arrest has been made with the intention of breaking his spirit, his will to go against all odds to serve this country. It is with responsibility that I state Sarath Fonseka is a political prisoner. There are certain provisions in our law concerning the arrest of a person. Now all of those provisions have been thwarted. The international community views us as a land where law does not exist. But on the contrary, we have a system of justice that is still valid – our Supreme Court was established in 1802, considered the first in this region. I had the opportunity to hold the post of Chief Justice in those hallowed halls of justice. I clearly state that we have a strong system of justice, one that has been recognized by the international community. “

“ The law of the land stems from the Constitution. Section 13 of the Constitution clearly states the conditions under which a person could be arrested. The second sub section under Section 13 states that the person arrested must be produced in a court of law within the time limits stipulated by law. Legal time frame as per the Criminal Procedure Code would amount to 24 hours within which the arrested person must be produced in court. When general Fonseka was arrested, none of these formalities were observed. Witnesses to this are Mr Somawansa Amarasinghe and former MP Sunil Handunetti.”

“According to the law, an arrest must be made in accordance with the criminal legal frame. The arresting police officer must inform the person being arrested concerning the reasons for the arrest. General Fonseka was not arrested according to the criminal law but dragged down a staircase, in the middle of a political discussion, treated worse than a common criminal.”

“ Since the arrest of General Fonseka was not made under the accepted law of the land, I call this arrest a political one. The law I talk about is not limited to the Constitution. That’s why I agreed to the internet based petition against the arrest of General Fonseka. This is a sacred part of the international law. At the end of the Second World War in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was made with the intention of securing the rights of individuals. Section 09 of the Declaration states that an arrest must be made in accordance with the Constitution and the law of the land. Sri Lanka was one of the first signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and thereby, we are bound by it.”

“In 1978, Sri Lankan took part in the Human Rights Convention which in its Section 09 states the same thing. That is the accepted international law and that’s why we are appealing to the international community to take note of this arrest. This arrest has violated not only the Constitutional rights in Sri Lanka but also the internationally accepted law.”

“ Friends, international law did not commence after 1948 but in 1215 with the Magna Carta declared by the British under which rights are ensured. The book of law states that when an arrest of a person or the denying of the rights of a person is done it must be within the law of the land. This is therefore not to be taken lightly. Once again, the arrest of General Fonseka violates both Sri Lankan and the international law.”

“ Some state that this arrest was done with the Army Act but the Army Act does not supersede the international or the constitutional law. We must understand that. The Army Act comes under the Constitution and the International law. The Army Act exists to ensure discipline in the Army. Many may have many opinions but I state with accountability, as the former Chief Justice, that Section 13 of the Constitution clearly states that a person must not be arrested outside the law. Section 15 states that these basic rights can be used within limitations to ensure discipline in the Army. There are 03 points very adequately highlighted here. One states that in order to ensure the proper discharge of duties and their accepted code of conduct that Army personnel can be brought within the limits of the law. Which means that an officer serving in the Army can be brought under the law to ensure that he properly discharges his duties and maintains the accepted code of conduct within the Army. However, this does not apply to General Fonseka since at the time of his arrest, he was no longer serving in the Army. Therefore, Section 15 has been completely twisted and misunderstood in this entire episode. According to the Constitution, three conditions must be fulfilled in order for someone to be prosecuted under the law as stated in Section 15 – the person must be a serving officer of the Army, it must be within the Army’s accepted code of conduct and it must concern a violation of discipline. For an example, an officer of the Army refusing to go to war can be arrested within these conditions which limit one’s fundamental rights assured by the Constitution.”

“ It is unfortunate that those engaged in the law have not examined the law closely. We presented a Fundamental Rights Application on behalf of General Fonseka to Court but that has not been postponed until April 26^th, following the conclusion of the General Election. We do not question the authority of the Supreme Court to postpone a hearing. However, Section 126 of the Constitution clearly states that a case concerning a Fundamental Rights Violation must be argued within 02 months of presentation. There have been occasions when that has been violated. However, we strived to conclude this soon but when it is postponed beyond the 02 month frame stipulated, anyone will assume that there is no justice in this land, which is indeed a tragedy.”

“ For the first time in the history of this country, the leader of a key political alliance that include over 30 former MPs, has to operate an election campaign while being in prison. Mrs Anoma Fonseka therefore has to carry the weight of the campaign and we wish her all the best. But more importantly, we call on everyone to light a lamp of hope in our hearts. We must spread the love of humanity – we must hope that truth in our action will triumph. We wish that General Fonseka will truly experience the freedom that he ensured for all of us.”