Faizer and Arun opposed to giving police powers

Two UPFA minority members, a deputy minister and a district organiser vehemently opposed the holding of the Northern PC polls without removing the land and police powers as, they said, it would otherwise do irreparable harm to the country’s national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity if the TNA came to power.

Deputy Investment Promotion Minister Faizer Musthapha, at a media briefing held jointly with the SLFP’s Batticaloa Organiser Arun Thambimuttu in Colombo, said they totally agreed with and supported the proposed changes to the 13th Amendment to remove police and land powers.

“Do not forget that, Varatharaja Perumal not only demanded police powers and land powers but went to the extent making a unilateral declaration of independence at the very first opportunity he got after being elected as the Chief Minister of the North-East Provincial Council. We have no doubt that the TNA will go further and place paramount importance on the removal of police and land power from the 13th Amendment before the September PC polls, said Mr. Musthapha.

He added that it was wrong that the IndoLanka agreement that introduced the 13TH Amendment identified the North-East as the traditional homeland of the Tamil speaking people while a large number of Tamil speaking people lived in the other seven provinces.

“What about the nearly one million Tamils living in central Sri Lanka and in the estate sector? Unfortunately neither, India nor the TNA utter a word on behalf of these Tamils,” he said.

He sounded a warning that if the TNA came to power in the North while the police powers remained intact in the 13th Amendment, it would be a disaster to the country as the national police and the IGP would lose authority in the North and even a policeman would not be permitted to enter the Northern Province in uniform.

He emphasised that those all living in Sri Lanka --Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims – must promote a Sri Lankan identity as one nation and not their ethnic divisions.

Arun Tambimuttu, whose pa- rents were assassinated by the LTTE, said the terrorists formed a Civil Volunteer Force to forcibly recruit Tamil youths to create the Tamil National Army to fight the Sri Lankan armed forces.

“Who can rule out such a scenario if the TNA emerge victorious in the North?” Mr. Thambimuttu asked, and added that giving police powers and land powers would no doubt be a stepping stone for the TNA to create a separate Tamil state in the North.

He asked who will take care of the eastern Muslims in the event of a merger of North-East as one province as the TNA Chief Minister will dictate terms in such a scenario.