Samagi Jana Balawegaya Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara has sought the intervention of international human rights and parliamentary bodies over what he alleges is the obstruction of a parliamentary privilege question and interference with his freedom of speech in Parliament.
MP Jayasekara has written to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, the leadership of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), outlining concerns over the handling of a privilege question he sought to raise in Parliament.
According to the letter directed by MP Jayasekara, the privilege question concerns Speaker of House Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne and his continued holding of office while a Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) investigation is reportedly pending in relation to matters concerning the exercise of his official functions.
MP Jayasekara said he submitted the privilege question on September 10, based on a document dated September 9, and subsequently sought permission to raise it in Parliament. He alleges that the Speaker declined to allow him to present the matter and indicated that he wished to study it himself.
MP Jayasekara has raised concerns over the Speaker's involvement in determining whether a privilege complaint concerning himself should proceed. He has cited the principle of nemo judex in causa sua, which provides that a person should not adjudicate a matter in which he or she has a direct interest.
The MP has requested that the matter be referred to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges, which is responsible for considering questions of parliamentary privilege.
Parliamentarian Jayasekara has further alleged that he was prevented from raising the substance of the privilege question while speaking during a separate parliamentary debate.
He has argued that the alleged restriction raises concerns regarding the freedom of speech and parliamentary privileges of an elected Member of Parliament under the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act No. 21 of 1953.
In his correspondence, MP Jayasekara stressed that he was not asking the international organisations to prejudge the allegations against the Speaker. Instead, he called for the matter to be examined in terms of democratic governance, parliamentary independence, freedom of expression, procedural fairness and institutional accountability.
He has asked the UN human rights office to take note of the complaint and assess the circumstances surrounding the refusal to allow the privilege question to proceed.
He has also urged the IPU and CPA to consider whether his parliamentary privileges and freedom of speech have been adequately protected and to encourage the Sri Lankan Parliament to ensure that the complaint is considered through an appropriate and impartial parliamentary mechanism.
MP Jayasekara has further requested the international parliamentary organisations to monitor the matter, where appropriate, from the perspective of parliamentary democracy, Members' rights and institutional independence.
