Vacation of lodgings: President asks IGP for immediate report
COLOMBO: The Inspector General of Police has been asked to submit an
immediate report to the President on the manner in which the exercise to
transport Tamil persons living in lodges in Colombo and its suburbs to
their places of permanent residence in the North and East was carried
out on Thursday and about reports regarding hardships and inconvenience
caused to the persons concerned.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has taken serious note of the concerns
expressed by Members of Parliament, Civil Society organisations, Human
Rights organisations and activists, religious leaders and the media
relating to the exercise on Thursday, leading to the vacation of
temporary lodgings by Tamil persons primarily from the North and East, a
Presidential Secretariat release said.
Over 350 persons residing in Colombo and its environs are reported to
have been transported to the North and East.
These included persons who reportedly could furnish neither adequate
proof of identity nor sufficient reasons for their choosing to stay in
and around the city of Colombo at this time of heightened threats to
security in the city and its suburbs.
The President has called for an immediate inquiry to be initiated to
ascertain the basis for this security related operation.
Allegations that officials exceeded their authority in implementing
this initiative will be thoroughly investigated and appropriate remedial
action taken, including disciplinary action against any wrongdoing on
the part of any Government official, the release said. |