ISSN: 1391 - 0531
Sunday December 9, 2007
Vol. 42 - No 28
Columns - Lobby  

Bowling blows: Mass arrests of Tamils and the Murali factor

By Chandani Kirinde, Our Lobby Correspondent

Wimal Srikanth

While JVP Parliamentary group leader Wimal Weerawansa feted record breaking cricketer Muttaih Muralithran in the legislature last week as the glowing example of a unifying force among different ethnic groups in the country, the acrimonious debates that took place throughout the week centering on the mass arrests of Tamil civilians in Colombo and the suburbs highlighted the great divisions that remain between the two main ethnic groups.

While saluting the cricketer in his special statement to Parliament on Tuesday, Mr.Weerawansa also used the opportunity to lambaste the LTTE by stating that thousands of “Murali’s “trapped in open prison in Wanni have to be freed so they too can get an opportunity to display their talents in the same manner; but Tamil politicians had far greater concerns last week that superseded the achievements of a fellow Tamil cricketer.

Their focus was on the mass arrest of Tamil civilians in Colombo and the suburbs following the twin blast the previous week in Colombo and Nugegoda. Law makers of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) were joined by several Tamil MPs including those from the CWC and the UNP to speak about their concerns on the welfare of the arrested and detained persons. The UNP and the JVP too joined in protesting against the government indiscriminate arrests of Tamil civilians in the aftermath of the blasts.

TNA MP N. Srikantha who moved an adjournment debate on the issue said that the arrests and detentions were a gross violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed to all citizens of the country and said the reason these persons were arrested was only because they were Tamils.

Ratnasiri Anura Disanayaka

“One cannot be detained on the whims and fancies of a person however powerful he might be. The President can have all powers, Ministers and MPs can also have powers but when it comes to rights, all the citizens of this country have equal rights and these have to be upheld,” Mr. Srikantha said.

UNP MP Maheswaran too made an impassioned plea on behalf of the detained Tamil civilians going as far as to say he could personally guarantee none of them were connected to the LTTE. Speaking at the Committee stage debate on the votes of the Defence Ministry, Mr.Maheshwaran chose to address many of his grievances directly to the officials present in the officials’ box including Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and other senior military officials instead of addressing the Chair.

The UNP and the JVP too joined in expressing their displeasure at the government conduct in carrying out mass arrests with JVP Kurunegala district MP Anura Dissanayake stating that this kind of action would only push Tamil youth into the hands of Prabhakaran. The Government defence against the allegations was that the majority of those taken in for questioning have been released and those being detained are only persons against whom there is credible evidence of links to the LTTE.

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said that “if there is peace in the country, if no bombs were exploding, if no assassinations were taking place, then the normal law could have prevailed and such instances could have been avoided. The Constitution itself has given Parliament powers to enforce emergency laws when such a need arises and that is what is prevalent in the country today. The duty of the government is to protect each and every citizen of the country and it does not believe in discriminating against one race,” he said.

Hence on Thursday when the vote on the Defence Ministry and the extension of the emergency were taken up, the TNA asked for a separate vote on both matters. Happily for the government, it got the backing of all 37 JVP MPs giving it a very comfortable 141 votes in favour to just 15 against the two motions despite the fact that several CWC and SLMC members were absent and the UNP abstained from voting.

If this vote is looked upon as a precursor to the final budget vote on December 14th, the government can be content it can weather the political storm that the UNP is promising to create on that day.

 
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