Supreme Court dismisses police chief: he neglected his duties in 2019 massacres
Accepted by the Sri Lankan Supreme Court nine petitions filed by Card. Ranjith, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), the Sri Lanka Young Journalists Association and relatives of the victims of the Easter attacks. Inspector Deshbandu Tennakoon is also under investigation for the suppression of protests against then President Rajapaksa in the summer of 2022. Aragalya activists: ‘A victory, but we are waiting for the guilty verdict’.
Colombo (AsiaNews) - Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has ordered President Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe to take steps to appoint a suitable person to the post of Inspector General of Police, issuing an interim order, thus removing Deshbandu Tennakoon from office. The order was issued considering nine fundamental rights petitions filed by different parties, including the Archbishop of Colombo, Card. Malcolm Ranjith.
The petitioners allege that Tennakoon neglected his duties during his tenure, when the Easter 2019 attacks took place - 273 people were killed - and when in the summer of 2022, during protests against then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, police launched a pre-meditated attack on the ‘GotaGoGama’ protest site at Galle Face Green, Colombo, where several protesters were brutally assaulted.
‘We believe it is a very important and appropriate decision that the Court has taken,’ comments Father Cyril Gamini, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Colombo. Moreover, it is the hope of the whole country that a person who is not subject to politics and who can work for an independent and fair democratic election without acting as politicians want, will get this position'. The petitioners - in addition to Ranjith, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), the Young Journalists Association of Sri Lanka and relatives of the victims of the Easter attacks - stressed that the post of police chief, responsible for law enforcement in the country, should be given to an individual with humane qualities, as opposed to someone who has acted contrary to his assigned duties and in violation of basic human rights, since his election in November 2023.
A three-judge panel of the Supreme Court, consisting of Yasanta Kodagoda, Achala Vengappuli and Mahinda Samayawardena, announced the measure. The President of the Collegium, Judge Yasanta Kodagoda, stated that the petitioners had managed to present a solid case before the court. Consequently, the Court decided to hold a hearing against the Attorney General, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and Deshabandu Tennakoon on behalf of the President.
If there are any objections to the petitions, the court ordered them to be filed within six weeks, announcing a convocation for 11 November. A three-member panel had already examined on several occasions the nine petitions filed by different parties, including the Archbishop of Colombo, Professor Savitri Gunasekara, former MP Hirunika Premachandra and many others.
Prosecutor Saliya Peiris pointed out that it is surprising that the same Attorney General's Department asked to keep Deshbandu Tennakon as Inspector General of Police and at the same time named him as a suspect in the criminal case related to the attack on the Galle Face Green protest. Several Aragalya activists shared their views on the verdict with AsiaNews and said that ‘this is a victory at this time, but we want to see it as a victory of democracy through a just verdict (guilty, ed)’.
The president of the Young Journalists' Association, Tharidu Jayawardena, speaking to the media at the court premises, commented: “We have seen how politicised the police have been in the past, what was their behaviour when the Galle Face Green was attacked, how much favour they gave to the previous government, and then when Ranil Wickramasingha came to power, how did Deshabandu work as he wanted?”
The Association filed a number of complaints against some police officers, but they did not react appropriately. ‘We therefore felt that to build a law-abiding country, it would not be normal for a person like Deshbandu to hold the position of Inspector General of Police. Therefore, we challenged his qualifications and appointment. Today, the High Court ruled that his appointment is not regular. We are waiting for this case to be concluded in the future,’ Tharindu said.
Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando told AsiaNews that there is a case against him in the Presidential Commission of Inquiry related to the Easter attack. "Such an investigation should be conducted by suspending his office. But no proper inspection has been done. And the inspection was conducted by officials below his rank. Therefore, it is not a mode we can accept."
"In recent judgments, we have seen that he was involved in the most severe torture of prisoners and had to pay compensation.
If such a person occupies the position of Inspector General of Police, we cannot expect justice and fairness. A person with such a past cannot be accepted as Inspector General of a country,' Father Gamini Fernando added.
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