The Bar Association of Sri Lanka has denied it organized the ‘Fifty Years at the Bar’ felicitation event for President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Though the BASL has not issued a formal denial, a senior member of the association posted on social media denying it has any role to play in the event and said media had published incorrect news linking the BASL to the event.

While felicitation ceremonies of this sort are a norm, however, this event appears to have divided the legal community and also drawn the ire of the public due to the current economic crisis which many have put down to the fault of past rulers as well as Wickremesinghe’s perceived role as the protectors of the Rajapaksa clan. Many lawyers who attended the event have been forced to explain their attendance on social media as others, especially younger lawyers criticized those who chose to attend claiming it was an issue of ethics due to Wickremesinghe’s role in the current situation in Sri Lanka.

Many were seen questioning Wickremesinghe’s contribution to the legal fraternity and if he had in fact practised as a lawyer after taking oaths as a lawyer.

The event was organised by a group of legal professionals in Sri Lanka and was held on Saturday at the Shangri-la Hotel in Colombo. Around 900 Attorneys were in attendance.