Tough action against terror suspects

Ethnic, political and social factors not considered :

Rafik Jalaldeen

COLOMBO: The police will not hesitate to detain any suspicious character with links to terrorist organisations, IGP Victor Perera asserted yesterday.

"We will not consider their community, political affiliation or official stature as we have a duty to ensure national security," Perera told journalists at a news briefing at Police Headquarters.

"In fact, we apprehended several journalists and others for the sake of public security. Our main duty is enforcing law and order in the country to provide security for the public. When necessary we have to arrest the right person to avoid any calamity," the IGP added.

The IGP said the Police have to arrest suspects based on available intelligence, whether they are Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim. In the recent past police have arrested a number of Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims, including officers and other ranks in Armed Forces, police, media personnel, NGO officials and heads of departments.

Three groups including several journalists were arrested recently. "We have concrete evidence that these journalists have received training at LTTE camps in the North and Kilinochchi.

They revealed they have carried out 13 disruptions in the South and planned to carry out more attacks. The suspected journalists were involved in several major assassinations. They also said they were paid by the LTTE to carry out these tasks," IGP Perera said.

"Around 19 persons who had received training at LTTE camps were arrested. Six more are to be arrested. One of these groups has given training to three teachers in Upcountry," Director of the Terrorist Investigation Division SSP Chandra Vakista said.

These suspects were detained without any ethnic bias to protect the nation, he added. The public should know the police are doing their best to bring wrongdoers to justice. In the mean time, the public should cooperate with Security Forces to combat terrorism.

"The International and local community's attention is directed on human rights in Sri Lanka. Five corpses were found from a marshy land in Kandana. Five more corpses have been recovered in Anuradhapura today.

The bodies were not identified but we have information about these killings. This can be done by individuals or by a group. The information will be confidential and can be revealed after investigations," the IGP added.

In the recent past there were many abductions and disappearances in the South and the North and East. These abductions were perpetrated by individuals and groups in connivance with underworld gangs, former CID DIG Ashoka Wijethilaka said.

He said over 452 persons were arrested in connection with abductions and extortion. Most of the abductions have taken place with the cooperation of underworld gangs.

"Some of them were even compelled to pay ransom in Singapore upto the equivalent of Rs.4 million in Singaporean currency", he added.

Several abduction cases were for personal gain and some others for political gain. "Some people are making false complaints of abduction or disappearances. Later, they go to embassies and seek refugee status showing the copies of complaints they made," DIG Wijethilaka pointed out.

Tamil female journalist Munusami Paremeshwari was arrested for allegedly having a close relationship with an LTTE suicide bomber with whom she had shared her room.

"Some investigations are very deep and we have to go deeper to conclude. Some of the evidence lies in uncleared areas which our investigators cannot access. So they have to unearth the evidence in other ways. Until the case is proven we have to keep the suspect under custody," he remarked.

"The public ought to wait until the investigations are completed. There is vital information with regard to abduction and extortion. We have to keep the probes very restricted and secret as some Security personnel are also involved," DIG Wijethilaka said.

It's a pity that organisations agitating over the violation of human rights do not speak about the deaths of innocent civilians. "There had been instances where police officers who took action against terrorists who were violating fundamental rights of innocent people have been taken to task for violating human rights," the IGP said.

"We must take action against the violation of human rights by anybody and the police should take maximum precautions to prevent any type of human rights violations," he observed.