Mar 27, Colombo: Former Chief Justice of Sri Lanka Sarath N. Silva has said that the British colonial rulers imprisoned Sri Lanka's political leaders even without a court trial under emergency regulations introduced to the country by them during the colonial period.

Delivering the keynote address at the 42nd Commemoration Ceremony of the late Philip Gunawardena held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), the former Chief Justice said that the emergency regulations are now a focal point of the foreign communities.

He observed that these regulations were used by the British Colonial rulers to imprison country's heroes such as Philip Gunawardena and Dr. N. M. Perera even without a court trial.

The former Chief Justice pointed out that although the international community speaks of human rights violations today, the colonial rulers had violated those rights and imprisoned heroes and deprived them of their civic rights and seats in the Senate.

He added that these actions were taken sometimes even without a Court trial or using henchman of the imperialists to achieve their ends.

According to Silva, the country needs heroes such as Philip Gunawardena to face the pressures of the imperialist foreign pressures against Sri Lanka.