COLOMBO: Hundreds of rickshaw drivers choked the capital demanding the sacking of Sri Lanka’s chief justice in a protest organised by a pro-government group yesterday as the supreme court debated the legality of moves to impeach her.
Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake has been accused by the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance party of financial and professional misconduct in a case which has raised fears that the government is trying to control the courts.
The demonstration, organised by the pro-government Three-Wheel Taxi Drivers’ association, is the biggest public display of opposition to Bandaranayake, 54, the first woman in the country to hold the office.
The ubiquitous three-wheel public transport gathered en masse at the Town Council square in Colombo and drove towards the Superior Courts Complex causing more traffic jams along the narrow streets of the congested capital.
“We have about 700 of our members taking part at the start of this protest,” said M A Sarath Wimala as he drove his green-coloured Bajaj autorickshaw towards the courts complex.
AFP
