By S. Rubatheesan-Sunday, June 21, 2015
Police in the Jaffna district have undertaken special round-the-clock patrolling and formulated an ‘Anti-drug plan’ to eradicate this menace from the region, said a senior police official. Newly appointed Headquarters Inspector (HQI) of Jaffna, Fredrick Woodler, said he has started awareness campaigns on the use of these dangerous drugs in all the schools in the district.
“We have identified issues in the district other than drugs such as alcohol abuse, children and women abuse, use of mobile phones, social media, and conduct of the younger generation. I have cleared all the vadey carts and ice cream vans near the schools, which sell ganja and drugs mixed with arecanuts, to schoolchildren, in the guise of normal vendors,” he said.
Following serious concerns over the rapid increase of drugs and alcohol usage in the Northern Province, the authorities got into action with the arrest of 12 persons with ganja, this week alone.
In an urban high school in Jaffna this week, a teacher noticed some students in her class using a different kind of arecanut and informed the principal. The arecanut aroused the suspicions of the principal who informed police and disciplinary officers attached to the Jaffna District Secretariat.
When police questioned the students as to how they came by the arecanut packets, they identified the source. Subsequently, two persons were arrested and were found to be operating a small manufacturing unit of this arecanut called ‘mava’.
A special team comprising 5 Vavuniya Excise Dept officials, under the directive of its Commissioner, visited Jaffna to investigate how narcotics are smuggled into and distributed in the region.
“All those arrested this week are in their 20s. We were concerned that these youngsters are exposed to this menace at this age. We expect to conduct raids like this in future,” said P. Ragunathan, who headed the special team from Vavuniya.
Last month, the Jaffna District Secretary, in a letter to the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Jaffna, identified the places and schools where illicit sale of liquor and drugs took place in the District, and where incidences of sexual abuse and exploitation have increased significantly after the end of the conflict in 2009.
According to a study by the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB) in Jaffna District, there were 130 drug related arrests last year alone, including 8 for possessing heroin. Alcohol consumption in the district too increased proportionally with the use of drugs. In 2014, 21 million litres of arrack, 4.2 million litres of beer, 33.6 million litres of brandy, and 10.8 litres of whisky were consumed.
Not surprisingly, the study found, when comparing with the other 15 Divisional Secretariats in the Districts, the highest heroin use was reported from the Delft, where last month a 17-year-old schoolgirl was raped and murdered.
Considering the population of 15-year-olds and above in the Delft, the study reveals that cannabis use has gone up to 3.31% from 0.2% recently. It also points to the increased use of various medicinal drugs and CorexD cough syrup which is significantly high in the Delft DS which is 2.16 and 1.32% respectively.
In one instance, the Sunday Times learns that many youth are involved in drug trafficking using smart phones reload system, which enable them to deposit money to a particular mobile number with a secret code. They have to make a reload to one of their contact’s specific number, and when they want to collect the ‘stuff’, they have to show the verification code from the mobile service provider.
“Mava”, an arecanut based drug is like chewing-gum among schoolchildren. They keep the arecanut inside their mouth for a long time which gives them a heady feeling. Vendors in the guise of selling ice cream in a box, turn up around schools at starting and ending time, and distribute ‘mava’ only to specific ‘customers’.
Fr, Elil Rajan, co-spokesman for Tamil Civil Society Forum, a network consisting of more than 100 Tamil Civil Society Activists from the North-East, said, getting the schoolchildren and youth addicted to drugs is a form of counter insurgency used by external actors in the North and East.
“Distribution of drugs is not possible without the knowledge of authorities deployed to enforce law and order. Victims of the brutal war should have access to counseling and the right to mourn. Failure to do so will result in violence. This environment is manipulated so that their rights are not a priority.”
Fr Rajan pointed out that the ultimate goal of these forces is to dismantle the social and moral values that would divert the attention of the youth away from the cause and their rights they have been demanding for. The counseling assistant to Jaffna, appointed by the NDDCB, Edwin Rojar said it’s high time to act on this menace, and to do that, many things need to be done, including setting up a rehabilitation centre in the province.
“Even though they have been engaged in an active campaign with awareness programmes against drug use in the province, subtle actions by the police and other security agencies, is inevitable,” said Kokuvil Hindu College Principal, Velayuthapillai Ganakanthan.
“From last week, police officers, Divisional Secretariat officers and Public Health officers have flocked to our school to enlighten students on the dangers of these drugs. I hope there will be a marked change in the near future, but we have to wait and see.” he said.
The Military rejected allegations that suggest it may be behind the drug trafficking in the Northern Province and insists it informed the police when they got to know of such instances taking place in the area. Military Spokesman Jayanath Jayaweera told the Sunday Times that the Military maintains its fundamental disciplines not only in the north but also in the south.
“We maintain strict discipline. After civilian administration was restored to the north, it is up to the police to take necessary actions,” he said. Former Chief of Police Narcotic Bureau, Anthon Jeyanathan said the Northern people’s lifestyles, along with the financial support from the Diaspora, may have led to this sudden decadence.
“It is natural that, after almost 3 decades of war, the youth would tend to experiment with the liberated situation they got after 2009. Access to Internet and mobile phones have become common, but the prospects of employment are relatively low. Hence, they seek this type of relief,” he said.
Mr Jeyanathan said the police, along with the other responsible actors, should get into action to eliminate this menace that has started to destabilise the people of the region.
The speculation is that Parliament will be dissolved soon, which is a demand of the UNP as well as the JVP. SLFP is adamant that 20A should be passed and no confidence motion should be taken up, before the dissolution and whether it is possible to put 20 A into practice at the next election is on doubt due to technical issues. It appears that the Cabinet has decided to conduct the next election on the same proportional system to enable rich and powerful to enter parliament with ferocious infighting among contestants on preferential system of electing MPs. UNP is linked has 20th Amendment to the no confidence motion against Wickremesinghe threatening to jeopardize the 20th Amendment which appeared to have been settled. Read More
