Special courts should be introduced to consider cases of bribery and corruption, Deputy Minister of Public Enterprise Development Eran Wickremaratne told guests at a ceremony to mark International Human Rights Day yesterday. It was organized by the Intellectuals for Human Rights (IHR).Speaking on fraud, corruption and violation of people’s rights, the Deputy Minister said making laws to curb these unsolicited acts is not the issue, but their implementation and quick recourse to justice should be the basis on which Sri Lanka should pull itself out of its corrupt practices. “Corruption is undoubtedly a grave obstacle to our country’s civil, political, economical, social, religious and cultural development. To overcome this situation, the governing mechanism should ensure that transparency, accountability, non-discrimination and meaningful participation by the people are upheld,” the Deputy Minister said.
Wickremaratne said that the country has proper laws and regulations to sustain any and every situation and the problem lies in enforcing the laws. “We have many a time stated that specials courts should be introduced to deal with corruption and bribery, despite many opposing this proposal,” he said.
Stating that under ‘yahapalana’ although the government has restored the faith people had in the judiciary, the government has yet not been able to fulfill a necessity, overcoming delays in the dispensing of justice.
JVP MP Vijitha Herath said that although Sri Lanka has to abide by the International Covenants on Human Rights which it had signed, it should not be the sole reason to uphold the people’s rights. “Sri Lanka is due to submit a report at the Human Rights Commission in Geneva next March. It is with this in mind that the government is preparing the new Constitution as it hopes to present the draft constitution at this meeting. But does this mean that Sri Lanka should not uphold the rights of its people if we were not held accountable by Geneva?” he queried. He emphasized that it is the duty of the government to ensure the rights of the people and any government should not forego this duty. If at any point, the government fails to do so, civil society should apply pressure to put it back on track.
The former Chairperson of the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption, Dilrukshi Dias Wickremasinghe was the keynote speaker at the event. She spoke lengthily on the rights of the people and outlined on the rights upheld by the Constitution.