Immediate crackdown on illegal arms - President

*Two suspects in Bharatha killing arrested in India

*No one will be allowed to take law into own hands

All illegal arms in the country are being seized forthwith and all security personnel accompanying VIPs will be required to be attired in official uniforms, to enable them to be clearly identified, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday at his monthly breakfast meeting with newspaper Editors at Temple Trees.

He said that two suspects in the Bharatha Premachandra killing who had escaped abroad have been apprehended and are being brought back to Sri Lanka for questioning.

It will be probed as to how they managed to flee abroad. The law will be observed to the last letter on this issue, the President said.

The President said that the preferential voting system and the resulting ugly squabbles for votes among politicians, compel some of them to hire private security personnel too. This makes it difficult to distinguish Police personnel assigned to politicians from their private hit-men. Explaining that any lingering lawlessness in the country would be eliminated systematically,

the President said that the problem of political violence was compounded by the fact that some politicians depended very heavily on the underworld and other illicit outfits for the purpose of protection and support.

It must be remembered that the politicians are not few who hail from the same social background as these illegal, criminal outfits. Accordingly, the observer should not be surprised that if in an election ‘Choppe Aiya’s son confronts Pala Aiya’s son’ - both ‘Choppe’ and ‘Pala’ being notorious local underworld figures. The outcome is violence and lawlessness.

It should be also considered that some security personnel assigned to politicians have been with them for as long 14 to 15 years. This also adds to the problem of lawlessness because these security personnel tend to be uncontrollable, the President pointed out.

He said that while these problems are on the country’s plate, there are sections in the media who are fattening themselves on LTTE funds, and giving publicity to ‘warrants’ allegedly issued by foreign courts to important functionaries of the Lankan state. However, the crying need is for all sections in Sri Lanka to cooperate in ending the issues facing Sri Lanka. The government is speeding ahead with development, and with economic advancement the current problems would ease. Politics must be based on values and it is useless to exercise violence, the President said.

‘The humanitarian operation undertaken by the state in the North, saved tens of thousands of lives and no civilian deaths occurred. The state has launched a head-on campaign against Channel 4 and like anti-Lanka propaganda thrusts’, the President said.

Focusing on issues pertaining to attacks on police stations, he said that these attacks are of an organized nature. Criminal elements are brought to the scene of these attacks through SMS messages. There is no sudden provocation in these acts of lawlessness. On the contrary, this is ‘organized provocation’, carried out by a few persons. However, no one can be permitted to take the law into their hands.

He explained in answer to a question that there are no negative consequences for the government from the lawlessness in Mulleriyawa. Those responsible would be apprehended and punished he said.

The following are a couple of more issues raised with the President and the answers given by him:

Talks with TNA: The PSC is the best forum for this. Appointing the PSC is a task for Parliament. But the TNA must resolve their internal differences.

Fisheries issues with India: Continued trawling is the problem here. However, there is an Indo-Lanka Joint Commission to resolve these issues.

Websites that vilify: These websites are fed from abroad. The daughter of the late Bharatha Premachandra is a victim of the character assassination efforts of these websites. CMC polls outcome: Irrespective of the results, the government would stick by its commitments.

Private Medical College: We must provide the opportunity for parents to educate their children here. Millions flow into foreign countries as a result of our children going abroad for their studies and the parents of these students are by no means rich.

The GMOA is of the opinion that all Private Medical Colleges should measure up to the specifications for such institutions laid down by the state.

Local polls positions: Foremost positions, such as Chairman and Deputy Chairman, in Local Government institutions which went to the polls recently, would be accorded to those with the highest preferential votes, except in the case of two local councils.

(L.O.)