Basil: Justice for Easter Sunday terror victims possible only from a legitimate govt.

By Norman Palihawadane

Justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks can be served only when the rulers are established on the basis of law, the Asian Human Rights Commission has said.

Director of AHRC, Attorney-at-Law Basil Fernando, addressing a press conference organised by the Collective of Catholic Lay Organisations (CCLO) in Colombo, last week, said that it was naïve to expect true justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday carnage from a government led by rulers without legitimacy to rule the country.

“Justice cannot be expected in a country without the rule of law. The Easter Sunday terror attacks are in indication of the insecurity that has come to stay in this country because there is no rule of law. The process of delivering true justice could only commence the day after legitimate rulers are appointed to govern this country,” Fernando said.

Addressing the press conference organized to mark the completion of three years and seven months since the Easter Sunday terror attacks, Fernando said that the absence of rule of law has also been one of the main causes behind the collapse of the economy in Sri Lanka. “A state that cannot ensure the protection of the lives of people cannot protect the economy at all.

Therefore, people should come forward and fight to get a government elected for the purpose of expecting true justice,” Fernando added.Convener of the CCLO, Tilina Alahakoon, President of the Yukthiya Foundation Dexter Fernando and social activist Chirantha Amarasekera also addressed the press.