Wed, Mar 7, 2018, 11:06 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Mar 07, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Leader of Opposition and the Leader of main Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) R. Sampanthan seriously questioned the inaction of law enforcement authorities in response to the recent attacks on Muslim establishments in Ampara in the East and Digana area in the central hills.Speaking in parliament on the chaotic situation in the Kandy area, the Opposition Leader said all these people who have engaged in these hostile activities seem to have been able to get away without being obstructed by the law enforcement authorities.
He said such incidents are clearly unacceptable and is indicative of sense of impunity. "People seem to have the confidence that they can engage in such acts and that the arm of the law would not reach them; that the Rule of Law would not be enforced against them," Sampanthan said.
He said it is not sufficient that some actions to be taken after the incident is over. The role of law enforcement authorities is called into serious question, he added.
"Have we reached a stage when people think that the law enforcement authorities can be taken for granted? And the law enforcement authorities are not a deterrent to whatever the activities they are engaged in," he asked.
Such incidents happening intermittently & frequently, the TNA leader pointed out. "History is replete with such incidents against people in numerical minorities. That's not a good reflection on the majority people," he remarked.
'Are they indicative of a purely law & order situation, or is there a deeper dimension to it?" he asked.
"What is the point of having 4-5 ministers of a particular community in the government when those people whom the ministers represent are not safe in this country?" he asked.
The opposition leader said under the present government structure the ministers of the minority communities cannot achieve what the people they represent deserve.
"Under the present system of governance there must be alterations and amendments, advancement of the system of government to enable all the people in this country to feel that they are equal without any one community feeling that they are superior to the others," he said.
He said it is the duty of the state to ensure that the system of governance is altered in such a way as to ensure that all the people in this country feel equal.
