Complain if arrested without reason

The Civil Monitoring Commission (CMC) has asked people who have been victimized by arbitrary arrests or detention by the Government security forces and police to make a complaint to the CMC.

CMC convener Parliamentarian Mano Ganesan told The Sunday Times that the figures given by the Government concerning the number of people arrested recently were inaccurate. He also challenged the Government to provide the names of those who have been arrested under the special detention order which was issued by the Defence Secretary.

“We are receiving conflicting reports from the Government which recently gave some figures of people who have been arrested or detained. We have made an appeal to their families to make a complaint to the CMC so we will know who exactly the people are,” he said.

Early this week Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle told journalists at a media briefing that over 2000 Tamils who had been arrested in Colombo and its suburbs had been released. He said after the bomb blast in Nugegoda 2554 persons were arrested under suspicion out of which 1559 were released immediately and 393 of them after their identities were ascertained.

102 people who had failed to provide their identity had been later produced before a magistrate and 100 people who were suspected to have been having links with the LTTE were held for further investigation under special detention orders of the Defence Secretary. However, the legality of detaining the 100 suspects under the special detention order has come into question as the Government has not released the names of those who were under arrest.

Last Wednesday Colombo Chief Magistrate Mohamed Mackie ordered the release of 42 Tamils who had been taken into custody on suspicion of having terrorist links in a cordon and search operation carried out by the security forces and police last Sunday.

The Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) informed court that its investigations had revealed that the 42 persons in question were not involved in any terror activities. 17 upcountry Tamils - nine males and eight females - were produced in court along with 25 Tamils who were arrested in Colombo South.