The dissolved Sri Lankan Parliament on Tuesday extended the emergency laws by another month. The extension came two days before the parliamentary election.
Parliament alone has authority to extend the life of emergency regulations and that too for one month. The extension is the second since Parliament was dissolved in February. Emergency has been in vogue since the assassination of the then Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in August 2005.
Since the military defeat of the LTTE in May last year, some opposition parties have been questioning the need to keep alive the emergency laws. The government's case is that the security forces are engaged in unearthing the sleeping cadres of the Tigers.
The State of Emergency was passed with 58 voting for it and 5 against. Members of Tamil National Alliance and the ultra left JVP voted against the motion.
The resumed proceedings of the two court martials against the former Sri Lankan Army Commander, General Sarath Fonseka, were adjourned again for a later date. The courts martial were held in Colombo.
The first court martial, hearing the charges of participation of General Fonseka in political work while in active service, was adjourned to meet on May 5. According to his lawyer, the proceedings have been postponed following a Court of Appeal order.
