The police yesterday said that the eight new detention centres gazetted earlier this month were purely for administrative purposes and not to stifle democratic dissent, as had been claimed by certain members of the Opposition.
The eight new detention centres, listed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mahinda Balasuriya, were gazetted under the 2005 Emergency Act on February 3 and 8.
“These detention camps were not hastily selected,” Police spokesman SSP Prishantha Jayakodi told the Sunday Times. “In the past, there have been similar instances when detention camps were gazetted like this. These new centres have been named for administrative convenience. For example, if a person is taken into custody in Vavuniya, legal proceedings can be conducted in Vavuniya, without having to bring the person all the way to Colombo.”
SSP Jayakodi said security was a prime concern, and that was why military camps had been chosen for the new detention centres.
The new centres are the Saliyapura Army Camp, Anuradhapura; Army Headquarters, Colombo 2; the Panagoda Army Camp; the Polhengoda Military Police Regimental Headquarters; Navy Headquarters, Colombo; the Naval Detention Barracks SLNS – Gemunu, Ragama; the Sri Lanka Navy Dockyard, Trincomalee, and the Nelukkulama Technical College Camp, Vavuniya.
Several Opposition party members, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in particular, voiced concerns over the sudden move to establish these detention centres. |
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