Politics · Sri Lanka Bureau
Peiris urges President to release Ven. Gnanasara following CIABOC summons
Professor G.L. Peiris, Convener of the Janathawadi Joint Opposition, has called on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to rectify administrative lapses and secure the release of Ven. Gnanasara Thera, following his appearance before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.
LSN Sri Lanka ·
Prof. Peiris acknowledged that the President's Office had committed an administrative error in 2019 when former President Maithripala Sirisena granted a presidential pardon to Ven. Gnanasara Thera, the General Secretary of the Janathawadi Joint Opposition. Speaking after his own summons by CIABOC, Prof. Peiris urged the current administration to address these shortcomings.
The opposition politician appealed to President Dissanayake to take remedial action to rectify whatever deficiencies existed in the previous pardon process. Prof. Peiris emphasized the need for the President to intervene and facilitate Ven. Gnanasara's release, arguing that correcting the administrative lapse fell within the purview of the executive.
The case highlights ongoing disputes regarding the implementation of the 2019 presidential pardon. Prof. Peiris's remarks suggest tensions between the opposition and the current administration over the handling of matters related to the previous government's decisions and their enforcement under the new administration.
Photo: G.L. Peiris, then Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, May 2012. U.S. Department of State via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).