-By Anubhavanananda
(Lanka-e-News -12.Aug.2026, 7.10 PM) On February 13 this year, lawyer Buddhika Mallawarachchi and his wife were shot and killed in broad daylight in the Akuregoda, Thalangama area. The two of them were travelling in a motor car when the shooters, who had arrived in another motor car, carried out the attack. The police stated that a T-56 firearm and a pistol had been used in the attack. Preliminary police investigations revealed that the deceased lawyer had appeared as a lawyer in several cases involving an organized criminal known as “Karandeniya Sudda.” The police suspected that an organized criminal network was behind the murder. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka strongly condemned the killing of lawyer Buddhika Mallawarachchi and his wife, saying that the attack was a serious threat to the rule of law. The opposition and other anti-government groups also took forward the allegations of the Bar Association, saying that the NPP government had failed to maintain law and order in the country.
On the day after the murder, that is, on Saturday, February 14, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka called a special general meeting. This was the first time in fourteen years that the Association had called an emergency special general meeting. The purpose of that special general meeting was to discuss the murder of lawyer Buddhika Mallawarachchi and the threats and obstacles faced by lawyers while engaging in their profession. At the meeting, the leaders of the Bar Association accused the NPP government of being unable to uphold the rule of law as well as maintain law and order in the country.
At the meeting, it was unanimously decided that lawyers would not appear in all courts across the country on February 16. As a result, court proceedings across the island were severely disrupted.
At this special general meeting, lawyer Achala Seneviratne also presented facts regarding an injustice that had been committed against her. On January 27 this year, she appeared at the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court on behalf of a client in connection with a court case. At the end of the court proceedings that day, a victim in the relevant case asked a police officer why he had lied to the court.
Angered by this incident, the police, on the following day, reported facts to the court making lawyer Achala Seneviratne, who had appeared on behalf of the victim in the relevant case, a suspect as well. This was an unlawful action taken to harass and inconvenience her, as well as to obstruct her professional activities.
Regarding this unfortunate incident, lawyer Achala Seneviratne submitted the facts in writing to the Bar Association on February 6, requesting the parent Association to intervene in the matter.
However, up to the day on which the special general meeting was held, none of the officials, including the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Rajiv Amarasuriya, had taken any action whatsoever regarding the incident. Lawyer Achala Seneviratne publicly questioned the silence of the parent Association regarding this incident at the special general meeting.
Although the leaders of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka had convened this meeting with the intention of launching a political attack on the NPP government, claiming that the NPP government had been unable to uphold the rule of law as well as maintain law and order in the country, with Achala’s questioning, a danger emerged that the real problems faced by the legal community would come to the surface.
It was Gunaratne Wanninayake, the notorious lawyer, who came forward to suppress lawyer Achala Seneviratne’s presentation of facts. He loudly requested the leadership of the Bar Association to switch off the microphone that Achala had obtained. This is the “Amma-ta Siri” democracy of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka.
There is no freedom for a lawyer to speak at a general meeting of her own parent Association about an incident concerning the inability of a lawyer to freely carry out her professional activities. When Achala questioned the silence of the officials, including the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Rajiv Amarasuriya, why did the notorious lawyer Gunaratne Wanninayake get “hedgehogs in his ass”? The main reason for this is that it would expose how the group including Rajiv Amarasuriya had served him with one spoon and lawyer Achala Seneviratne with another spoon.
A major controversy erupted when Gunaratne Wanninayake addressed a constable who was at the Mount Lavinia court premises in the familiar language that he had grown up with and normally used in his everyday life.
While he was addressing the “nation” from the court premises, he clearly said, “Call Priyantha, call Watagala.” Under the intervention of Priyantha and Watagala, the constable connected to the relevant incident was arrested and produced before the court.
Although it would have been possible to release him on police bail, the police produced the constable before the court, and the judge remanded him in custody.
As the occasion when Gunaratne Wanninayake addressed the “nation” at the Mount Lavinia court premises was circulated through social media, a social discourse was created regarding the constable who had been subjected to injustice while attempting to enforce the law.
Because of that social discourse, the Inspector General of Police, who had until then been sleeping dishonestly, was forced to wake up.
Regarding the obstruction of the duties of the police constable, the police began taking action to commence an investigation against Gunaratne Wanninayake. Along with that, Gunaratne Wanninayake fled from his house. The police were unable to arrest him. Wanninayake, who had remained hidden for several days, surrendered to the court. When he surrendered to the court, the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Rajiv Amarasuriya, appeared on his behalf.
Rajiv Amarasuriya pointed out to the court that this was a very minor incident and that, since the Sri Lanka Police and lawyers are two parties who work together, this was a minor internal dispute. Therefore, the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka emphasized that there was no need to remand Gunaratne Wanninayake, who had been evading the police for several days, in custody.
Accordingly, he was granted bail without any problem. The priority given by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka to Gunaratne Wanninayake, who insulted the court by using obscene words at the Mount Lavinia court premises, is not given to Achala Seneviratne, who faced professional harassment, pressure, and injustice.
Lawyer Achala Seneviratne expected that the Bar Association would take swift action regarding the injustice caused to her because she raised her voice at the special general meeting. However, instead, a letter sent to her by the Bar Association on March 5 stated that a committee had been appointed, headed by President’s Counsel Rienzie Arseculeratne, to investigate the incident.
In our country, appointing committees is a method of making problems elastic. According to the summons of that committee, lawyer Achala Seneviratne explained to the committee the professional injustice, retaliation, and harassment she had suffered, and prepared and handed over the documents relating to the incident.
The court date relating to the relevant incident was March 25. Even by that day, there had been no response from the committee. Although more days and weeks passed, no solution was received to her problem.
The next court date relating to lawyer Achala Seneviratne’s case was scheduled for June 19. Against this background, on May 29, she went to the office of the parent Association to meet the President of the Bar Association, Rajiv Amarasuriya.
However, as soon as he saw her, Rajiv Amarasuriya got up from his chair and went outside, saying, “A committee has been appointed for your problem. Give your facts to them.”
The President of the Bar Association did not have even one minute to listen to her. Achala stood in his way and asked about the action being taken regarding her problem.
He promised Achala that he would provide a quick solution to her problem by the following Monday, and also requested her not to publish anything about it on social media until then.
Although the President of the Bar Association, Rajiv Amarasuriya, could not spare even one minute to discuss a professional problem of one of his members, that very night he could be seen on television news broadcasts meeting and discussing with the “Three-Wheeler Lawyers” organization.
Even after several Mondays had passed, the President of the Bar Association did not fulfill his promise. The next court date relating to the relevant incident was scheduled for June 19, and even by that day the Bar Association had not intervened in any way regarding lawyer Achala Seneviratne.
Under these circumstances, lawyer Achala Seneviratne met a senior executive officer of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and inquired about the Bar Association’s intervention regarding her incident. In the presence of Achala, that executive officer telephoned the former Secretary of the Bar Association and inquired about the matter. The former Secretary said that “Achala had been holding up boards against the Attorney General.” Lawyer Achala Seneviratne revealed at a media briefing that she heard the former Secretary’s response very clearly.
When Rakhitha Rajapaksha, who had worked to “brighten” the legal profession while maintaining connections with underworld criminals, was arrested, within a few hours the notorious Gunaratne Wanninayake, as the representative of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, appeared before the court together with more than one hundred other lawyers to obtain bail for Rakhitha Rajapaksha.
In the Kapila Chandrasekara incident, the Bar Association acted immediately and made representations in defence of President’s Counsel Rienzie Arseculeratne. These are only a few examples of the interventions made by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka during the past several months.
Why does the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, which intervened immediately on behalf of Rakhitha Rajapaksha and in defence of President’s Counsel Rienzie Arseculeratne, not intervene on behalf of lawyer Achala Seneviratne even six months after the incident?
The reason is that “Achala had been holding up boards against the Attorney General.” In other words, lawyer Achala Seneviratne did not agree with the political agenda of the group including the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Rajiv Amarasuriya, and acted against it.
When such a lawyer faces professional difficulty and injustice, refraining from appearing on their behalf and taking revenge against them is the “mafia” strategy of the group led by the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Rajiv Amarasuriya. Their objective is to silence such lawyers by censoring them.
Whether lawyer Achala Seneviratne holds up boards against the Attorney General or not is her personal decision. It is her fundamental freedom. There is no precondition that all members must comply with the decisions of the Bar Association.
Achala Seneviratne is a non-partisan lawyer. She is truly a lawyer of the general public. She has raised her voice against the unlawful actions of every government that has come to power.
Some of the current NPP government’s weak and spineless policies, as well as the “Nanaikkara Marusiya” of the Minister of Justice, have also been subjected to her sharp criticism.
As lawyer Achala Seneviratne revealed to the media, the majority of the entire legal community is against the political agenda of the group including the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Rajiv Amarasuriya.
What the majority of lawyers want is a Bar Association that stands up for their professional problems and rights, not an association that brings forward the political agenda of a minority group. Especially, the majority of lawyers outside Colombo strongly hold this view.
However, lawyer Achala Seneviratne points out that they remain silent because of the fear that they may be subjected to retaliation and because of their unwillingness to be dragged into unnecessary problems, and she stated that she represents the voice of that silent majority.
After Kaushalya Navaratne was appointed President of the Bar Association, he appointed lawyer Achala Seneviratne to a senior executive position in the Association. However, she rejected that position in writing, pointing out that she was not prepared to accept positions in an association that did not stand up for the needs of the majority of its members.
Therefore, it is clear that she is raising this voice not because the group including the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Rajiv Amarasuriya, has failed to intervene in her professional problem.
According to the reports of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, their membership is more than 35,000. The President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Rajiv Amarasuriya, proudly revealed to the media that the number of lawyers who participated, including through the “online” method, in the meeting held to oppose the Twenty-Second Constitutional Amendment presented by the NPP government was 3,000. (However, many observers pointed out that this number was false.)
Let us assume for a moment that the number stated by Rajiv Amarasuriya is correct. If so, only 8.6 percent of the entire legal community participated in the meeting they called.
Only 8.6 percent of the entire legal community have opposed the Twenty-Second Constitutional Amendment presented by the NPP government.
We do not say that the remaining 32,000 lawyers are in favour of the Twenty-Second Constitutional Amendment. However, they have not stood with the political agenda of the group including the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Rajiv Amarasuriya.
We know that it is difficult for lawyers living in distant areas to suddenly participate in a meeting held in Colombo.
However, there was an opportunity to join this meeting very easily through the “online” method, even from an ordinary telephone. Yet the overwhelming majority of lawyers did not have such an interest.
Lawyer Achala Seneviratne represents this silent overwhelming majority. On behalf of this group, she gave a very simple and clear message to the group including the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Rajiv Amarasuriya, at a media conference held recently.
If the group including Rajiv Amarasuriya wants to do their politics, then form a separate political organization for that purpose. Avoid using the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, which once had a long and prestigious history, for that purpose.
She emphasizes that using the Bar Association for narrow political agendas will result in further destroying the image of lawyers that exists among the general public.
The person delivering this message to the group including Rajiv Amarasuriya is not a nominal lawyer. Achala Seneviratne is a courageous daughter who has won the love and respect of the ordinary people of this country who value justice.
For the past six or seven years, we have spoken from time to time about her interventions. That was to express, even with a word, our support, respect, and love for her struggles.
The message given by the silent majority of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka to the Rajiv Amarasuriya group has great political value and weight.
The group, including the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Rajiv Amarasuriya, represents the elite compradors of that Association.
One representation of the groups (Enablers) that supported the rule of the elite political class that governed our country for more than seven decades and facilitated its activities is this elite comprador group that has seized control of the Bar Association.
Such elite groups of enablers are present in many places, including the Government Medical Officers’ Association, Current Attorney General and the Attorney General’s Department, the nerve centres of the deep-state, and elsewhere.
At the last presidential election and general election, the people of this country decisively defeated the elite political class. However, the elite zombies who acted as their enablers still do not have a proper understanding of the defeat suffered by their masters.
Therefore, they are launching every possible conspiracy to defeat the mandate of the NPP government.
It appears that the defeated elite political forces have now also joined them in one front and are launching attacks against the NPP government.
This is their “Rakemwa, Miyenma moment.”
At such a moment, the silent majority of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka is telling the Rajiv Amarasuriya group not to mix their elite-protection political agenda with the priorities of the Bar Association.
It is the voice of the majority of lawyers who have their feet firmly planted on the ground.
They do not all support the NPP government. But they refuse to become puppets of the defeated elite political class.
It is our belief that they have delivered the clear political message that the lifespan of the elite-protection political performances of the Colombo comprador group including Rajiv Amarasuriya is short.
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by (2026-08-12 13:28:50)
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