Sunday, September 14, 2014
The news will no doubt shock unsuspecting Sri Lankans, particularly those who love being domestic tourists. The management of tourist resorts countrywide is now required to report to the Police Station in their area whenever bookings are made by local guests. Besides their names, the address, the date of arrival and departure are among the data sought.
One well-informed source said such data were often transmitted by the Police Station concerned to the District Intelligence Bureau (DIB). They in turn forward that information to the State Intelligence Service (SIS) at Cambridge Place, Colombo.
In other words, Police will know when a Sri Lankan with or without their family are holidaying and in which resort in the country. Needless to say, professionals, politicians and even ordinary citizens will not be entitled to their privacy when they have to spend time at a tourist hotel or resort. A resort manager said yesterday “we don’t like the idea of compromising the privacy of our clients. However, that is a new requirement by the Police and we have to comply. Otherwise they find fault with us.”
Another resort operator claimed that few countries in the world, those with highly authoritarian regimes, have this requirement enforced. In Russia, for instance, hotels will keep a foreigner’s passport, and locals from different provinces require a permit to visit Moscow. There were times when Stassi, the notorious then East German intelligence agency resorted to this practice. With the re-unification of East and West Germanies that has become a matter of the past. Sections of the Opposition complained that such practices are common in a Police State. “How can it happen in a country which is becoming a five star democracy and a Wonder of Asia?” asked one of them sarcastically.
