• Judiciary must now take action, not the Police
• Unfair to blame present Govt. for Easter attacks probe
• Formerly-weakened Intelligence services now strengthened
• Underworld almost eliminated; drug menace being tackled
• When women are respected, most crimes disappear

By Marianne David The Police has finalised all investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks and now it is in the hands of the Judiciary, says Minister of Law and Order Sarath Weerasekera. “Our Government took action and is taking action. We have indicted 24 main people, including the main brain behind the attacks. What else can we do? It is up to the Judiciary to take action, not the Police,” the Minister said, in an interview with The Sunday Morning. In this backdrop, he said he did not believe the Catholic Church was being fair in blaming the Police or the Government for the delay in meting out justice to the people. “People must be happy that within a very short period of two-and-a-half years we have been able to indict people. With the September 11 attacks, it took 20 years to bring the culprits to book; in the France 2015 attack, they filed a case only about three months ago; the Lakshman Kadirgamar case, Gotabaya Rajapaksa case, Dalada Maligawa attack – all of these took many years,” he pointed out. In the course of the wide-ranging interview, the Minister also spoke about Sri Lanka’s current law and order situation, custodial deaths, the safety of women and children, and the upcoming UNHRC sessions.  Following are excerpts: As Minister of Law and Order, how would you rate Sri Lanka’s current law and order situation? Where do things stand at present and what areas need improvement? The Law and Order Ministry has been formed by the President to ensure the people live without any fear or suspicion. He has appointed me as the Cabinet Minister, so it is my duty to ensure that the President’s vision is being implemented. For people to live without any fear or suspicion, there cannot be any extortionists, underworld activities, child abuse or rape, or any drug menace. Most importantly, there cannot be any extremism and terrorism. Those are the fields that I am giving attention to.  The underworld is almost non-existent now and the same goes for extortionists. In the case of drugs, we are apprehending daily, but Ice is still available. We are an island so it is very easy for people to engage in the drug trade here.  We are trying to control this menace in three ways. Firstly, we are going to physically prevent drugs from reaching the country. The drugs are being manufactured in Afghanistan and coming through Pakistan and Iran. They are operating in the Indian Ocean and even as we speak, the big ships of the Sri Lanka Navy are being stationed strategically. That’s how we have apprehended dealers and seized hundreds of kilos of heroin.  Secondly, we are going to reduce demand. That will be done through the younger generation. There are more than 10,000 schools in the island. In every school we have already appointed committees, comprising old boys, parents, teachers, and student leaders. We are going to train three teachers per school in the anti-drug operation and educate the children. Thirdly, we are not going to jail drug addicts hereafter. Addicts are patients. We are going to rehabilitate them. We are in the process of amending the law in this regard.  In terms of extremism and terrorism, we know the main biggest menace is Islamic State (IS) terrorism. It is an ideology. Unlike the LTTE where we can find out who the members are, we do not know who believes in the IS ideology. It is a very dangerous concept.  Our intelligence service is very good now. When the Easter Sunday attacks took place, the main reason was that they had weakened the intelligence set-up. But we have again strengthened the intelligence set-up and also community policing.  We are going to check the people. First people become isolated, then they go to extremism, and then they go to terrorism. With Facebook comments and so on, you can find out who is having these extremist ideas. There are madrasa schools which teach only religion and language. Schools cannot teach whatever they want. From five to 16 years, there is a Government-accepted education policy. If there are madrasa schools or any school teaching only religion and language, we are going to ban those, for the benefit of all the people. These are the general outlines and I think we are on the correct path. What are the key challenges and shortcomings? We have about 89,000 people in the Police and 597 Police stations. I am going to increase this by another 100. There are challenges relating to the strength of the force. Although we have 89,000 people, for actual duties we have only about 45,000 people for the Police stations.  The others are, for example, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Terrorist Investigation Department (TID), Mounted Division, Police Headquarters, and so on. Then there are Police officers who are doing non-Police duties – in the Court, guard duties to VIPs, etc. We are in the process of replacing them with home guards. We are also recruiting and training people. Last year we recruited about 12,200, but at the same time there are people who are leaving. When it comes to vehicles, we have to be thankful to the President who gave 2,000 three-wheelers to the Police force. People laughed, but three-wheelers are essential. For example, when delivering summons, there are Police officers who have to go to the courts, there are Scenes of Crime Officers (SOCO), then to get small complaints, etc., we use the three-wheelers for these things. We can’t use the only jeep available for all these matters. There are Police stations without any vehicles as well, let alone jeeps, but we are managing. There is an Indian line of credit and about 750 jeeps are on the line and we will be able to manage with that. When taking people into custody, how aware is the Police force about the law, the process to be followed when detaining people and recording statements and so on? What is the training and education process and do you feel this knowledge has filtered down to the entire force? All Police officers are being trained; all the Police constables are given thorough training of about six months on these processes. People are talking about media freedom. We have arrested Shehan Gamage, who was having a media conference. Media or freedom of expression does not mean that you can say anything. He implied that the former and current President were the people who organised the Easter Sunday attacks so that the present President would be elected. This is a very dangerous and serious allegation. It is natural that the CID calls him and asks for evidence.  Father Cyril Gamini said that Suresh Salley had connections with Zaharan and that he had Zaharan’s support. Sally made a complaint. All the people who were affected by these attacks are angry with him and his life is in danger. Naturally we have to call Father Cyril Gamini and ask how he got that information. After obtaining information, we report the facts to the Attorney General (AG). That is the procedure. It is the AG who gives the order on whether to arrest or not. It is the AG who gave the order to arrest Shehan Gamage. He was arrested, produced in Court, and given bail.  This procedure is followed in relation to any arrest. Whenever someone complains, they are summoned and their statement is taken, evidence is called, and then the facts are reported to the AG. It is the AG who decides whether there is a prima facie case or not. We adhere to his directions.  Custodial deaths are an ongoing recurrence in Sri Lanka. Under your watch, what steps have you taken to arrest this trend? Sometimes people die by suicide. That’s why the shirt and belt are first removed when people are arrested and put into a cell. Someone is always on watch. That is how we monitor. You must be referring to the people who go in search of weapons and are then killed. If that type of thing happens, the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) is called, the magistrate comes, and then the facts are reported to the courts and the AG. It is the Judiciary that must take action. I cannot comment more than that. These are all wanted criminals who have hidden their weapons.  There has been immense positive feedback on the release of Attorney Hejaaz Hizbullah, but there are many others being held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) – 275 people in remand custody and you last week said there were another 60 under Detention Orders (DOs). What is being done in this regard? It is now 34 under DOs, I was informed of this at the Security Council meeting today [15]. Their cases are pending now. There is a trial-at-bar and I think from next week onwards the cases will be heard every day; we are expediting this. When it comes to the Easter Sunday attacks, there have been inquiries, committees, and reports, but three years later there is seemingly no real progress. What is happening and when can we expect some answers? It is very unfair to blame the present Government for the delay in the investigations. What about the last Government under whose tenure this incident took place? There were more than 10 incidents prior to the Easter Sunday attacks, but the last Government did not take any action. But your Government promised to take action? Definitely. Our Government took action and is taking action. As far as the Police is concerned, we have finalised all the investigations. But investigation is a continuous process. As far as the personnel who are involved directly and indirectly in the attacks, we have taken action and there are a few cases in about 12 High Courts at the moment. We have also indicted 24 main people, including who I call the main brain behind the attacks – Naufer Moulavi. What else can we do? It is up to the Judiciary to take action, not the Police. As far as the Police is concerned, we have already finished that.  As you say, there are several committees and the Attorney General has filed 23,000 charges. The CID has gone through 110,000 telephone calls. It’s a very tedious task. The files at the Attorney General’s Department are about four feet tall. Because there are four committees which have produced this, we have to check for any contradictions in every single piece of evidence. This takes time.  People must be happy that within a very short period of two-and-a-half years we have been able to indict people. For example, with the September 11 attacks, it took 20 years to bring the culprits to book; in the France 2015 attack, they filed a case only about three months ago; the Lakshman Kadirgamar case, Gotabaya Rajapaksa case, Dalada Maligawa attack – all of these took many years.  These culprits get the best legal representatives and they know where to creep through. We have to close every gap, which is why this is taking a long time. It is very unfair that we are being blamed.  Concerns have been raised by the Catholic Church on the lack of progress in the investigations. Don’t you think this is fair? I don’t think that the Church is being fair. I respect the Cardinal very much and I have met him a couple of times, but I don’t agree with him when he tries to blame the Police or the Government for the delay in meting out justice to the people. We are doing our maximum.  When it comes to the safety of women and children, especially in the background of the pandemic and given the growing concerns about domestic violence and sexual abuse, what steps are you taking? How is the Police force geared to deal with these issues? In a country where women are respected and protected, most crimes disappear. About 120 years ago a beautiful woman was able to take a gem in her hand and travel from Point Pedro to Dondra without any problem. That implies that there was protection in this country for women.  In Singapore, even at midnight, a female can go anywhere without any problem. But in our country – where we listen to pirith when we wake up in the morning and before we go to sleep at night, where we listen to bana daily – women cannot do this. Not only should the Police be ashamed, the entire Sri Lankan society should be ashamed.  We are empowering women. Right now we have appointed four women Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs). In every Police station I have given importance to establishing a section for children and women. In most of the Police stations I have appointed Women Sub-Inspectors (WSIs) to record such complaints and ensure the protection of women and children. I have also opened the 118 and 1997 telephone numbers.  There is also the issue of blackmailing women using social media. I have categorically said we can always trace the blackmailers; we have the wherewithal and facilities required. If there is any blackmail happening, I request people to file complaints with the Police. Society has to be educated. This is why I was insisting on military training for our youth. This does not mean that we are going to make military men. I meant military training in the sense that they have all the facilities to train people. Our youth should be taught about the country, our history, the importance of our strategic location, and why Sri Lanka had to undergo so many invasions. If someone controls Sri Lanka, they can control the entire region. National pride comes with knowledge about our history and achievements. Now there is no national pride. The youth does not love the country because they do not know its history. The education system has failed. There is a pandemic on, but where is the commitment of the public? Where is the commitment of the Government servants? Is taking to the streets demanding higher salaries the need of the hour? Everyone must commit. Tourism is down, foreign remittances are down, industries are closed, and salaries need to be paid. All must make a contribution and make sacrifices – the politicians, the Government servants, and the public. We are all Sri Lankans. All of our people should have that feeling. That is the only way we can develop as a country.  What are your thoughts on the upcoming UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions? It all originated from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) report, where we were charged with eight war crimes – four under International Human Law and four under International Human Right Law. I went to the UNHRC alone. I rebutted all eight charges and submitted that rebuttal. For example, one of the charges against us was that during the war time we deliberately prevented aid from reaching the north, which is wrong. I was in the Navy at that time and there were hundreds of ships plying north with aid. The international community, including the UN, commended Sri Lanka on this. Mullaitivu GA Emelda Sukumar said at any one time they had stocks for three months. With all these things, Mangala Samaraweera went and accepted these war crimes.  There were six internationally-acclaimed and recognised war crimes experts attached to the Paranagama Commission. All six have said we have not committed any war crimes. Then why are certain countries refusing visas to our war heroes? Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris is doing a good job. Theresa May said she would even amend human rights law to protect her soldiers fighting terrorism. She is going to that extent. Why is this being done to us? These are all bogus and false programmes and we must challenge them.