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BASL urges Rule of Law applied to alleged unlawful BBS conduct
View(s):The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has called upon the relevant authorities to carry out full and unbiased investigations into a spate of incidents involving members of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and take all relevant steps according to the law, including commencing prosecutions as may be required by law.
The Executive Committee of the BASL said it had already brought this matter to the notice of the Attorney General, urging him to call for Reports on the Investigations and prosecute the offenders, if it transpires that criminal offences have been committed.
The BASL noted with grave concern, certain recent acts alleged to have been committed by the BBS, including the forcible disruption of a press conference held by the Ven. Watareka Vijitha Thera at Nippon Hotel, in April, 2014, certain utterances reported to have been made by the BBS general secretary, allegedly misquoting the Quran, and making derogatory remarks about Islam and the Muslim Community, as well as an incident where, several persons who identified themselves as BBS members are alleged to have forcibly entered a government ministry building and caused disruption.
“Such conduct appears to be in violation of the law and amount to criminal offences including the promotion of racial and religious disharmony, and are contrary to all recognised norms of good behaviour, and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” the BASL said.
“In the circumstances, it is essential that, full and unbiased investigations are carried out into these incidents expeditiously,” the BASL said in a statement.