Parliamentary employees appeal to President over delay in justice for harassed official

By The Pulseline News Desk

A group of Parliamentary employees has written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressing concern that justice has still not been served to an officer attached to the Department of Information Systems and Management of Parliament who was allegedly subjected to harassment.

In the letter, the employees have stated that it was deeply regrettable that the Parliamentary administration had failed to act fairly despite findings made by an investigation committee headed by former High Court Judge Sujatha Alahapperuma.

According to the employees, the committee’s final report had clearly stated that the officer had been subjected to various forms of verbal harassment, intimidation, and discrimination. The committee had also made several key recommendations and instructed the Parliamentary administration to ensure justice and fairness for the officer concerned.

However, Parliamentary sources have reportedly stated that although more than six months have passed since the report was handed over to the Speaker, none of its recommendations have yet been implemented.

The employees have further alleged that instead of acting on the recommendations made by a former High Court Judge, the decision to obtain another report through a Parliamentary official appeared to have been carried out with an ulterior motive. They have pointed out that such actions only delay justice and fairness for the affected officer.

In their letter, the employees have stressed that they expect nothing more than justice and fairness from a government that came to power pledging equal application of the law to all citizens.

They have also noted that several leading electronic and print media organisations in the country had continuously highlighted the matter, but justice had still not been delivered. Accordingly, they have urged the President to intervene immediately and ensure that the officer receives justice.

The employees have further claimed that the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus had maintained silence on the harassment and intimidation allegations from the very beginning, suggesting that such silence may have resulted from external influence.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and Member of Parliament (MP) Mujibur Rahman had also recently raised concerns regarding the incident in Parliament.