Lawyers in the Northern Province have struck work and protested against government MP Sarath Weerasekara, accusing him of insulting the Mullaitivu magistrate again.
On 25 August, agitations condemning him took place in front of the court complexes in Mullaitivu, Chavakachcheri and Mannar.
Participating lawyers denounced the MP’s remarks made in parliament three days earlier against the Mullaitivu magistrate.
They demanded that the judiciary be not threatened or interfered with by politicians, and wanted a guarantee for the independence of the judiciary and a halt to the abuse of parliamentary privileges among others.
Weerasekara criticized the magistrate for having allowed Hindu religious activities at Kurundi archaeological site in Mullaitivu also claimed by Buddhists.
He also insinuated that the magistrate was suffering from a mental illness.
The MP urged the justice minister, Judicial Services Commission and the Bar Association to replace him with a better magistrate.
Previously, Weerasekara said during a House speech on 07 July that he would remind the Mullaitivu magistrate that Sri Lanka was a Buddhist country.
That too, was met with strong denouncements by lawyers in Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar, Kilinochchi, Batticaloa and Trincomalee.
