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Emergency lifted but armed forces given powers to assist police
View(s):Despite Emergency Regulations being lifted after four months, the military will remain deployed across the country to assist the police to maintain public order and peace.
This is in terms of a Special Gazette notification issued by President Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday .
Military Spokesman Sumith Atapattu told the Sunday Times since emergency regulations had been lifted, military personnel could be withdrawn other than in necessary places but the military would continue to assist the police to maintain public order and peace.
“The military won’t be taken to barracks until the security situation is returned to normal completely,” he said.
Under the state of emergency, the military was able to detain a person for 72 hours, but under the existing regulations, it will not be able to make such detentions.
Also under the emergency, the military had powers to search, seize and arrest and initiate legal action, but now it would have to accompany the police.
“Now if we need to carry out a search operation we need to inform the police and go with them, in contrast to carrying out searches on our own,” Brigadier Atapattu said.The Defence Ministry which comes under the purview of President Sirisena, announced yesterday that lifting of emergency regulations after four months since the Easter Sunday attacks would not impact on the ban imposed on three terrorist organisations, a statement from the National Media Centre said.
“The National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), the Jamathe Millathe Ibrahim (JMI) and the Vilayath As Seylani have been banned under Clause 27 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act No 48. Therefore, the banning of these organisations under 2123/3 gazette extraordinary issued by the President on May 21 will continue,” the statement said.
Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said the lifting of the state of emergency would also have no impact on those taken into custody over the Easter Sunday bombings as they were being held under the PTA.
The President’s directive calling out the armed forces for maintenance of public order will lapse in a month but can be re-imposed via a fresh gazette not requiring parliamentary sanction.
The gazette invoking Section 12 of the Public Security Ordinance (PSO) was issued on Thursday, when the state of emergency imposed since April was allowed to lapse.
Section 12 states: “Where circumstances endangering the public security in any area have arisen or are imminent and the President is of the opinion that the police are inadequate to deal with such situation in that area, he may, by Order published in the Gazette, call out all or any of the members of all or any of the armed forces for the maintenance of public order in that are””.
The order shall be in operation for one month from the date of its publication in the Gazette (although it could be rescinded earlier) or to the making of a further order at or before the end of that period.
Members of any armed forces called out by the order can, for maintaining public order, use powers of search and arrest conferred on police officers.