Rehabilitate Gotha and release university students. Opposition parties denounce

Monday , 17 December 2012

Jaffna University students who are detained at the Welikanda camp will be released after rehabilitation, was the statement made by Defense Secretary Gottabaya, which cannot be accepted was stated by opposition parties.

They pointed out that Gothabaya is functioning with arrogance beyond his limits and he needs rehabilitation.

Who is Gottabaya to take court actions arbitrarily? He is a normal government official. He can only function under limited powers given to him was mentioned by Tamil National Alliance and all the opposition parties. Parties urged for the immediate released of the detained university students.

Recently 12 Jaffna university students were arrested by the Terrorism Investigation police and were taken to Vavuniya for inquires. On conclusion of the investigation, 8 students were released and the remaining four were detained at the Welikanda camp.

A crucial discussion was held between the Jaffna university administrators and Defense Secretary Gottabayaka Rajapakese on last Friday at the Defense Ministry.

During the discussion, Defense Secretary notified the four students are on detention will be released after they are rehabilitated.

Tamil National Alliance, United National Party, Democratic Peoples Front, Nawasamasamajee party and Tamil National Party were asked about their opinion and the party leaders gave their views in regard to this.

Suresh Piremachandran

Defense Ministry Secretary's duty is not to rehabilitate anyone. Defense Secretary has a habit to speak whatever crops up. Only the court could decide whether the arrested students could be rehabilitated or they should serve prison sentence.

Police during midnight crept inside the students homes and on threat have arrested them. This is an erroneous act. Threatening them to surrender is the second crime committed. The arrested students should be produced in courts.

Gothabaya being the youngest brother of President speaks with arrogance and assumes that he could do anything and functions according to his desire was mentioned by Parliament Member Suresh Piremachandran.

Wickramabahu Karunaratne

Defense Secretary Gottabaya Rajapakse has not still realized about the post he is given and functioning, hence he is the first person who should be given rehabilitation. He is only affected from power prestige.

Gothayaba is a state official and in what authority, he had ordered the students for rehabilitation. By utilizing the terrorism prevention law and if investigations are conducted, he does not have authority to order rehabilitation. The actions of Gottabaya are strongly condemned by us.

We will voice for the release of the students. Discrimination in education was show in those days, was the cause for war in the country. Therefore government should not play with the student society was stated by Nawasamasamajee party General Secretary and Dehiwela Mt.Lavania Municipal Council Member Prof.Wickramabahu Karunaratne.

Mano Ganeshan

Approximately thousands of Tamil political prisoners are detained in prisons and detention camps. They should be given rehabilitation and released or atleast released on bail for which in several occasions we appealed the government. Government without taking any attention to our pleas, with its officials had beaten and arrested the students moving freely in attending to their education and stating they should be rehabilitated is a brutal act.

Sri Lanka government at many times was condemned by the United Nation but has not still reformed which clearly establish from such incidents was mentioned by Democratic People’s Front Leader Mano Ganeshan.

Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam

The activity of government in rehabilitating the arrested Jaffna university students is illegal. If government actually has concern towards the welfare of the arrested students, they should be released without rehabilitation

Arresting the Jaffna university students is illegal.

False accusations were charged against them and were arrested. Inquiries were not conducted in the proper manner for the accusations charged against them.

Tamil National People’s Front Leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam said, without carrying out investigations, students cannot be detained in rehabilitation camps without proving.

Haren Fernando

By stating that the four arrested Jaffna university students require rehabilitation, and detaining them in rehabilitation camp is an erroneous act. Government's such act is a mystery why and for what? We cannot accept the government’s activities of plundering the rights of the University students on threats.

Due to the 30 years’ war in the country, Jaffna university students faced some drawbacks. Hence considering their education activities, government should take action to provide the basic trainings. This is essential at the present atmosphere.

By identifying their flaws government should process activities to overcome it. Other than this, arresting the students in the manner of threats and government processing rehabilitation activities by snatching their rights which cannot be at all accepted was mentioned by United National Party MP Haren Fernando

Jaffna University students' union leader B.Bawananthan, union secretary P.Tharshanth, Arts Faculty students' federation leader K.Jenamey Jayanth, Science Faculty students' union member S.Solaman, are the four students still serving detention.