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Appeal for political will to combat international criminality

by Panduka Senanayake and Sarath Malalasekera

A former DIG and founder of the Police Narcotics Bureau R. Sundaralingam Tuesday appealed for the political will and strength to assist the drug enforcement agencies to combat international criminality and the spread of hard drugs.

Sundaralingam, who was also a specialist advisor, Anti-Narcotics at Interpol Headquarters in Lyons, France before joining the CIB, India recently, was a special guest at Monday's commemorative ceremony held to mark the 30th anniversary of the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB).

The event, commemorated with the Minister of Interior and Christian Affairs John Amaratunga as the Chief Guest, was held at the Central Bank Auditorium in Rajagiriya and comprised speeches, cultural events and a stage drama which depicted the activities of the PNB during the past three decades.

Addressing the gathering, Sundaralingam said that it gave him great pleasure , pride and satisfaction to be associated with the event. He recalled how, at the inauguration of the PNB, the then Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike had inquired from him about the drug problem faced by Sri Lanka. Pointing out that Opium and Cannabis posed problems for the island at the time, he had said that bilateral talks with India would be necessary to combat the former while a successful eradication program by the police would be necessary to combat the latter. He pointed out that the bilateral links established in this regard at the time had developed strong ties and today the two neighbouring countries were able to progress in combating the drugs menace.

He recalled the 1970s and 80s when Sri Lanka became a transit point for narcotics and the dedication of the officers of the PNB arrayed against the menace. Mentioning the officers who spearheaded the war on drugs, he named former directors, Hema Weerasinghe, Donald Mendis, Anton Jeyanathan, C.L.Ratnayake and Deputy Director Nimal Mahagamage as having brought a high recognition for the PNB abroad. He said that their work had led to the PNB earning a high reputation at Interpol and other European countries as a professional outfit.

Referring to the global drug trade as an inflated balloon he said that when the grip on one end is tightened the other end enlarges. Pointing out that drugs are becoming cheaper and deadlier he said that heroin never went out of fashion and cocaine is expanding its market with new clientele. Synthetic drugs is the world's new drug menace. Citing Thailand, he pointed out how the Thai Prime Minister had placed synthetic drugs as the country's number one security problem due to one million of its 16 million population being addicted to synthetic drugs.

He said that drug demand and supply go together and efforts at combating them too should go hand in hand. He mentioned how, when former US President Clinton had requested the Columbian President to stop the narcotics supply to the USA, the latter had requested that the former stop the demand in his country! Sundaralingam said that the police should tackle the reduction of supply while NGOs took on the problem of reducing the demand by educating the people on the evils of drugs.

He appealed to the leaders to ensure that the political will is there to assist drug enforcement agencies to combat international criminality and the drugs trade.

Minister John Amaratunga said that Sri Lanka is at the center of the drug triangle of the east on the world drug map and that unlike in the past, the drugs trade is big business second only to world trade. Criminal gangs and drug cartels are making increased use of advanced technology available to ply their trade. He said that Sri Lanka is deeply concerned because of the side effects such as arms smuggling, which has led to increased criminal activity in the country. Calling it a threat to democracy he called for action to ensure that drug financed activities do not take control as has happened elsewhere in the world.

The Minister suggested that a re-orientation of the problem be made by the police to face the challenges posed by the drug menace in the future in order to save the Sri Lankan society.

The Minister also handed over a certificate and a cash award to Viroshan Wickramaratne who had designed a new logo for the PNB.

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