Arrest of MP Ranawaka - a violation of Parliamentary traditions : Speaker's Office

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Arrest of MP Patali Champika Ranawaka has violated the norms of arresting a Member of Parliament, the Speaker's Office said.

Issuing a statement it claimed that the arrest was a violation of the customary traditions of Parliament.

It added that the Procedure for the arrest of a Member of Parliament was adopted by the Speaker of Parliament to protect the privileges of Parliament and its Members

The statement referred to previous instances where former Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa upheld these traditions in instances mentioned in hansard Reports of 232/12 dated 03.03.2015 and 234/6 of 21.04.2015

Further, the statement said that the present Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, has maintained that the Speaker should be briefed prior to the arrest of a Member of Parliament.

"Especially in the last four years, it is shocking and sad that the then Opposition Party, which has been a staunch advocate of this tradition, has allowed that tradition to be violated as soon as it gains state power," the statement said.

The statement added that the arrest was in violation of the procedure of parliamentary democracy and the priviledges of the people's representative.

It said that the above action not only challenged important traditions of democratic governance, but was also a dangerous harbinger of the breakdown of Parliamentary democracy.

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