Police counter CM’s criticism of policing in NP

By Shamindra Ferdinando-October 27, 2013,

Police headquarters spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana yesterday said that all police stations in the Northern Province were geared to accept complaints in Tamil.

He told The Island that since the conclusion of the conflict, in May 2009, police headquarters had launched a special project to assign officers proficient in Tamil to police stations in the Northern Province.

The officer was responding to Northern Province Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran’s request to the government to appoint Tamil-speaking police personnel in the Northern Province, who would understand the people’s aspirations, language and culture.

In his address to the inaugural session of the Northern Provincial Council, the retired Justice urged the government to ensure that the army stopped taking over private land in the North.

CM Wigneswaran said: "It is important to draw a time-frame for the military to return the land taken over in such a manner to the rightful owners."He also called for a civilian to be appointed as Governor of the Province. The present Governor, G. A. Chandrasiri, is a retired Major General, who once commanded Security Forces deployed in the Jaffna peninsula.

Police spokesman Rohana said that nowhere in the world were personnel recruited to police forces on the basis of ethnicity, language, caste or creed. Of some 2,800 police officers proficient in Tamil who were serving the department today in different positions, approximately 900 were deployed in the Northern Province, the official said. He said that some of the 2,800 personnel proficient in Tamil were Sinhalese.

According to SSP Rohana, since the conclusion of the conflict, in May 2009, the police had recruited nearly 1,500 personnel proficient in Tamil, including 60 Sub Inspectors to meet what he called the demand for policing in the Northern Province.

The Northern Range comprises Jaffna, Kankesanthurai, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mankulam, Mannar and Vavuniya.

SSP Rohana said that there were 42 police stations and 40 police posts in the Northern Range under senior DIG Gamini Silva.

The Northern Range senior DIG is on extension and expected to retire on Dec 3. Although Silva was to retire on Sept 3, he was given an extension due to the first Northern Provincial Council polls held on Sept 21.

Responding to a query, the police spokesman pointed out that Tamil youth were prevented from joining the police in the ‘80s by northern terrorist groups. Terrorists also carried out a spate of target killings of Tamil speaking police officers to discourage Tamil youth from joining the department, he said. "Threats prevented Tamils from joining the police until the conclusion of the conflict in May 2009. Unfortunately, those complaining about the dearth of Tamil speaking officers and men remained silent as long as they felt the LTTE could overcome the military on the Vanni front."

Asked whether officers had been deprived of promotions due to them being Tamil, SSP Rohana said that Rudra Rajasingham and T. Anandarajah functioned as the IGPs during the conflict. Apart from them, several other Tamil officers held senior positions during the conflict, he said, adding that the LTTE formed its own ‘police’ force in areas under its control.

The police spokesman emphasised that people of all communities could respond to police advertisements calling for recruits. It would be important to keep in mind that recruitment and deployment would never be on the basis of ethnicity, he said. During the conflict, the police had to adopt certain measures to meet the unprecedented threat to national security therefore it would be prudent to examine strategies adopted at that time in the context of the terrorism threat.