Tamil political parties in the Northern Province staged a protest yesterday (4) demanding a thorough investigation into the threats made to former Mullaitivu District Court Judge T. Saravanarajah, and measures to ensure the safety of Judges and the independence of the Judiciary. 

This protest was staged by several Tamil political parties such as the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi, the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front, the Tamil People’s National Alliance, the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation, the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam, etc. In addition, many non-governmental organisations had reportedly joined the protest. The people who participated in the protest made a human chain from Marandanamadam to Jaffna.

On Tuesday (3), lawyers in the Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Vavuniya, and Mullaitivu districts launched a token strike in this regard as part of the Northern Province legal bars. Sources within the Northern Province bars told The Daily Morning that due to lawyers withdrawing from court proceedings, the daily activities of courts in the province were hampered. The Mullaitivu Lawyers’ Association said that the Mullaitivu District lawyers will conduct a formal investigation into the threats against Saravanarajah and demand that the authorities enforce the law against the concerned persons. The sources also said that a decision on a continuous strike is to be made if the authorities fail to provide them with a proper solution.

Judge Saravanarajah, in a letter to the Judicial Service Commission, resigned from all his judicial posts recently, citing death threats and stress, and he has subsequently left the country. The threats are attributed to orders he has given in a controversial case concerning the Kurundi Temple. The Inspector General of Police and the Criminal Investigations Department have since been ordered to commence a probe into the resignation and the circumstances of the same, while the Bar Association has met the Chief Justice for the same reason.