Stanley Perera and Jayantha Liyanage two patriots whose attempts to stop TNA were foiled.

It is interesting to present the  two patriots who dared tried to cross the threshold to legally remove TNA from the political scene in Sri Lanka.  Though their efforts were to end in frustration the efforts themselves were remarkable.  It is more the so when TNA is calling loud and clear for terrorism, when they are suppose to give the people they represent peace, security and happiness.  If tomorrow’s voting is going to be in their favour it would be a sad aftermath of a heroic effort of our soldiers, their sacrifice of lives and limbs to give the Tamil people in the North and East who suffered most from terrorism an existence of peace and security.

It would certainly have been ideal if the PC elections were held  with a legally eliminated TNA and a Constitution without the repugnant 13A.  When most of us wrote against the TNA and the necessity to remove the 13Amendment, both Stanley Perera and Jayantha Liyanage  wanted action and not words.

Stanley Perera

Stanley Perera is a retired Medical Researcher  from Australia. He loved his country above everything.  He was overjoyed when terrorists were finally eliminated, and Sri Lankans were able to live peacefully. 

But he was irritated that despite the elimination of thirty years of terror and bringing back peace, and the Government was taking vast strides in the development of the Country the Tamil National Alliance was doing everything possible to discredit the government  here and abroad without contributing in any way for the improvement of the lives of the Tamil people in the North and East who suffered most under terrorism. 

Stanley sent  passionate articles  to the Lanka Web against those who irrationally downgraded the progressive work that had been undertaken by the President Mahinda Rajapakse and his Government.  He was irritated that the Tamils who should be more appreciative of the  President and the Government  were allowing the TNA  to carry on its campaign of hatred. 

Stanley Perera was against the 13Amendment and thought it gave strength to TNA and their goons to pervert the truth and  put the International community against Sri Lanka.   He was angry that nobody was taking any action to stop the TNA following the destructive path of thwarting the governments progress for development and reconciliation.

He hated to sit there in Australia while his  motherland  is being dragged in the muddy waters of disgrace and dishonour, and the heroic army accused for war crimes just because they eliminated ruthless terrorism. He decided to take some  positive action. 

The only way to stop the devastating propaganda that was being carried out against the government  by the TNA, is by filing legal action against TNA and legally  disbanding it as a political party, for the breach of the Article 157 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka.  In early February,2012,  Stanley Perera came to Sri Lanka, with the determination to file a  fundamental rights action against TNA. He had to contact appropriate people to find out how the case should be filed. He was prepared to finance his project.  

Stanley Perera had a great respect to the President Mahinda Rajapakse, and did not want to file a case against TNA without first consulting the President.  But he had  no one to put him in contact with the President.  On his flight to Sri Lanka, he met Mr. K.T.Rajasingham. He told  Rajasingham of his project and his wish to have the President’s approval for such an action. 

Rajaratnam told him that he should meet the President and perhaps get his point of view on the subject.  He promised  Stanley Perera to put him in contact with the President.     But KTR did not contact him, and Stanley soon lost contact with him.  Stanley Perera thought it is right to inform  the President or some members of his cabinet to have their views before  filing a FR case against the TNA.

He wrote to the Lankaweb and got some of the Contributors to the website to  support him. Stanley was going to finance the case on his own , but  some of the contributors to  Lankaweb came forward offering help if he were to go ahead with the case.

Stanley Perera  began his preliminary fact finding mission, by contacting the leading lawyers of Sri Lanka to  get their advice.  He met Gomin Dayasiri, who told him that filing a case against the TNA is a mind boggling matter.  He told him that it will take a long time, and advised him instead to petition the Election Commissioner to ban the TNA as a political party, which he said will not cost much.

Thereafter he met another lawyer whose identity is kept back in his interest. He described  the Sri Lanka Judiciary at the time -in February, 2012, as multicultural, dominated by fundamentalist Islamists, and Tamils. The Sinhala judges would do any thing for money.  Siri Pawan he had said is a better Sinhala than the Sinhala, but he would go along with the majority.  He had mentioned Shiranee Tilakawardhane (Booran)  appointed to high court by Lalith Athulathmudaly and later married to his assistant Tilakawardhane.  She is said to be a  fundamentalist Christian and anti Buddhist. 

He mentioned  another Lawyer who demolished the Buddhist Statue in Trincomalee,  who was later appointed as  the Chairman of a very powerful Commission which put Sri Lanka into a worst dilemma out of which it is unable to struggle out. Stanley Perera listening to all  that depressive information  about the Sri Lanka Judiciary  was very much  discouraged.

This same lawyer had told Stanley that he has a better chance filing a FR case against the 13 Amendment.  He had added, “ … we have to wait for the right time.  The right time is after we have formed pressure groups and made a public awareness campaign so that the GOSL will have to listen to the people…..”  This would take time and it means lot of organisation for which Stanley did not have the time and the necessary contacts. 

The lawyers he contacted were  however favourable to a case against TNA MP Sivajilingam who made a speech in the Parliamenrt suggesting to send 4000 plastic body bags to transport the Sinhala soldiers from the North.  The speech had been expunged from the Hansard, but a case is still possible.

Thereafter he had met Udaya Gamanpila who had painted still  more grim a picture of the situation when Stanley asked him what he thinks about an FR case against the 13Amendment. He had said, “In 1987 Supreme Court declared by 5-4 majority that 13A is constitutional.  Even if it is repealed by 2/3rd majority in the parliament, it is political and not constitutional.

“Furthermore under Indo Sri Lanka accord even the Trincomalee oil tanks cannot be leased out to America without India's approval or Sri Lanka cannot be used by America as a base without India's approval.  Therefore SL is not a sovereign country and 13A cannot be repealed by the parliament. But he had said a  High Court case against Sivajilingam and Adela Balasingham is a possibility, but MR is under enormous pressure from India to implement 13A and plus.”

Then Stanley had asked him about Jayantha Liyanage  who he had heard was preparing to file a case agains the TNA.  Gamanpila had said that he knows nothing about  either the Secretary Jayantha Liyanage nor Sinhala Jathika Peramuna involved in the National issues.  It was news to him.

By then Stanley was quite confused. In the meantime he had met the secretary of Basil Rajapakse and he had said that he will arrange a meeting with Basil Rajapakse , which raised his hopes a little. 

Later he  had an appointment to meet G.L.Gunasekara.  Gunasekara apparently had a vague idea of the Sinhala Jathika Peramuna which he had said was formed by R.G.Senanayake long time ago.  He had said a petition filed against the TNA will be an utter failure, as MR does not  want to upset India, and MR will surely ask the court to refuse to accept the petition.

But  when Stanley told S.L.Gunasekara about an action agains the 13A, he  told him just the opposite of what Udaya Gamanpila had said.

Stanley Perera says that, “   SL's advise to me is totally different.  SL said that,  If MR has the backbone to repeal 13A with the 2/3rd majority, that is all needed.  The UNP govt. was ten years in power since 13A, but never implemented 13A fully.  But MR does not want to upset the Indians as he has no back bone. 

SL further says that MR govt. is so unpopular now, it could collapse anytime.  MR is also becoming more and more unpopular, but he will be in power for the next ten years at least as there is no suitable alternative leader.  Reluctantly though SL also will support MR.  If Ranil gains the power, the Tamil parties will play pugs with the Sinhala Government.  I said even now the North is getting by and by disintegrated from the South.”
 
About  a case against Sivajilingam, S.L.Gunasekara had said that an action against him will make a hero- a martyr of him, and achieve nothing out of such an action and better drop it. He had also said  that an action against  Adela Balasingham had to be initiated in a Court in UK.
 
“S.L's advise to me is that this woman should be sued in UK court.  If you get a conviction in Sri Lanka's court the UK will not take that so serious.  Then I said about Tony Blair's conviction in Malaysian court on war crimes in Iraq.  He says what purpose is that going to be?  Simply humiliate Tony Blair.  So if we are interested in Adela Balasingam being sued it must be done in UK Court.”

G.L.Gunasekara had added that, “ .. .. a still unknown person had imported thousands of cars and three wheelers from India.  I exposed the synthetic lawyer the invincible importer.  Before the imports the duty and taxes were dropped heavily, after the imports were completed duty and the rest increased by 30%.  So all these were forced on the car dealers to sell and pay.  This is the $500 million given by India as a credit facility.  So MR is under obligation to India.  Furthermore 500 busses and 500 land tractors given to North is also a bribe.  It must only be given to North.  The railway and the 50,000 houses are also to the Tamils only.  North is taken up by India with the Indian Consulate.”

Stanley  heard from the Secretary of  Basil Rajapakse.  Basil had told him that it was an interesting project and that he would give him a date to meet him and discuss the matter after the New Year.   But the meeting was kept postponed and did not take place.

Stanley Perera had a very unpleasant meeting with the Minister of Construction  and Housing Wimal Weerawansa. When Stanley Perera went to see the Minister he was ushered into his room.  The Minister was busy signing letters.  Stanley Perera is an elderly gentlemen.  The Minister,  Stanley says did not take his eyes off the letters he was signing.

Stanley was not even offered a seat, therefore he asked  the Minster whether he could sit down, the Minister  made a sign for him to do so, and asked what he wanted,  still reading his letters.   Stanley Perera said that he had come to Sri Lanka from Australia with the intention of filing an action against the TNA and so on.  The Minister continued to be busy and at the end he got up looked at his wrist watch and told Stanley that he is sorry he has an urgent appointment he cannot miss and walked away.

At the end of it he says, “ Frankly the politicians are not interested including Basil and MR.  I am returning with a lot of frustration.  I am doing a favour to MR govt. by not revealing the truth that I got from the horses mouths....... The Marxist politicians are the biggest enemy of the Sinhala…..”

Having come to Sri Lanka in February, 2012, Stanley  Perera went back to his family in Australia in April, 2012, a frustrated man, not wanting any more to waste his time trying to fight against the enemies of Sri Lanka.

Jayantha Liyanage

It is soon after Stanley Perera, that Jayantha Liyanage came forward representing the Sinhala Jathika Peramuna (SJP) to take the challenge to take to courts the TNA which stands against unity among  the Communities;   TNA  which is the stumbling block against all attempts to unite the Communities;  TNA with its only preoccupation of going round poisoning the minds of the Tamil people in the North and East of Sri Lanka against the President and the Government of Sri Lanka,  taking instructions from the pro-terrorist Tamil Expatriates abroad.

Jayantha too had his share of difficulties.  Nevertheless, as a true patriot desirous of settling scores with an enemy of his motherland, decided to fight it out with available means. Therefore, with the consent of the Sinhala Jathika Peramuna, Jayantha despite all the risks involved has come forward to appear before the Supreme Court presenting his case against the TNA, as he says “…  we did not see any other way to bring the separatist issue into an open discussion”

Thereafter, Jayantha Liyanage was on his own, he has not appealed for contributions but has managed with available means and with the help of donations from some Sinhala expatriates. He had consulted lawyers he knew at that time but they would not appear for some unknown reason.  He decided to appear for the case himself having failed to get any  lawyer to appear for the case on a  voluntary basis.

He was determined to go ahead with the case.  He was not sure what the reaction of the government would be, but that was not his concern for the moment as he thought that it was very important to rid the country of TNA the barrier to the unity of all Communities and above all to stop TNA from all its efforts to divide Sri Lanka to set up a separate Eelam State.

There are many organisations that want to fight against the separatism of the TNA, but when Jayantha Liyanage sought their help they were apparently not willing to unite forces with Jayantha or the SJP.

Jayantha Liyanage cordially invited, the Savi Jana Ekamuthuwa, and such other Associations to join hands with him to make a success of the fight against TNA, and create a public opinion against Separatism and the efforts of the TNA to set up a separate Tamil State.

Jayantha Liyanage says, “ …. we the SJP,  are doing what ever little we can  with the means we have ….”  The FR case was filed by him with the Supreme Court and it was to be heard on the 14^th September 2012.

Jayantha says further that , “   we of the SJP can do things only according to our resources. Our main disability is that we do not have a good vehicle to go about and organize conferences because public expect such people to come in good vehicles. If we have that and sufficient finances, we  will be in a better  position to give publicity to our “effort” and create a public opinion against the TNA.  Until then we simply have to wait for some one………to  turn  attention towards us and the effort we are making for the cause of our motherland,”

 Jayantha says, it is not his political ambition that is at stake, it is the unity of a people and the attempt of the terrorist rump represented by TNA attempting to divide Sri Lanka to set up a separate Eelam State. 

At the first hearing of the case it was postponed for want of supporting documents. At the second hearing which was taken by the Supreme Court Judge Shiranee Tilakawardhane, The Judge Tilakawardhane , advised  Jayantha Liyanage that Sri Lanka is a multi ethnic society , therefore each community should make and effort to live in peace with each other and therefore she would ask the petitioner to withdraw the case as it hurts others.   

At that point Jayantha had said that it is the  South  that says this is Sri Lanka, but it is the TNA that says that they are different and have nothing common with the Sinhala in the South. The Judge simply ignored what Jayantha said and went on to say that she does not like to entertain these types of cases in her  Court House.  Jayantha decided to withdraw the case instead of going into a clash with the Judge.

Subsequently without being discouraged by the Judicial indifference, and disappointed by the declaring of an election in the North by the President, without removing the clauses of the 13A that helps separatism. Jayantha filed another Writ case demanding a restraining order to hold back the PC Elections in the North until the resettlement of the Sinhala and Muslim IDPs in North and also to buy time for the government to do something about the 13A.

 The case was taken up by Judge Skanadaraja, the President of the Appeal Court and the verdict was that as the PC elections were ordered by the President of Sri Lanka, the Courts cannot intervene to issue an interim order to stop the PC elections from being held.

Jayantha was disappointed and the result of the PC elections held on the 21 September 2013 could have been different if the elections were held after re-settling the Sinhala and Muslim IDPs who were evicted by the ruthless terrorists.