The sole business of Parliament last week was to enact a progressive piece of legislation that would help raise the professional standards of the Sri Lanka Police. But given the present climate, where those entrusted with enforcing the law are constantly on a collision course with the public, the debate was expected to raise tempers.
From the start of the debate on Thursday, on the National Police Academy Bill, Opposition members lashed out at the conduct of the police, which they attributed to political interference.
Things came to a head when UNP’s Kurunegala District parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekera was on his feet and National list MP A.H.M. Azwer was presiding. The references made by Mr. Jayasekera to the conduct of President Mahinda Rajapaksa brought objections from Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardena and after repeated requests to the UNP MP to refrain from doing so, Mr. Azwer ordered his removal from the Chamber.
In the ensuing commotion, the House was adjourned and Mr. Jayasekera escorted out of the Chamber.
The UNP onslaught on the Police began with Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga opening the debate who said the Police were looked upon with disgust by the public due to their conduct. “Today, the morale of the police is very low. They have become a frustrated force,” Mr. Amaratunga, who himself served as the minister in charge of the Police Department while in government, charged.
While he said that police personnel were getting step-motherly treatment, salary and facility-wise, when compared with members of the armed forces, he did not say why, as minister in charge of the Police Department, he had failed to increase their salaries or improve their facilities.
Mr. Amaratunga‘s remarks, obviously, did not go down well with ruling party members, with Minister Jagath Pushpakumara reminding Mr. Amaratunga of the manner in which he politicised the Police Department during his tenure. “You transferred 300 policemen overnight for political reasons,” Mr. Pushpakumara alleged. He also reminded the UNP MP that it was during the time of the UNP, that 800 policemen, ordered to surrender to the LTTE, were massacred.
From then on allegations flew to and fro. Ironically, as always, it was Government members who defended the police, while Opposition members bashed them. However, inevitably, when sides change, today’s critics, almost always, become the defenders, while today’s defenders become tomorrow’s critics. It’s in sharp contrast to the media who usually become the darling of the opposition and the enemy of the Government, but once they change sides their roles get invariably reversed.
Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who introduced the Bill, said that its main objective is to raise the professional standards of the Police and train them better to bring the Academy on par with the Defence colleges in the country. “The Defence colleges have grown in stature, and we want the Police Academy to equal those standards,” he said.
Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe did not take part in the debate on the Bill, but prior to that, he too had an axe to grind with the Police, this time with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) himself.
The reason was that the new IGP had issued instructions that no police personnel deployed for security could be used to drive vehicles assigned to the Leader of the Opposition, but drive only police vehicles.
Mr. Wickremesinghe raised this matter as a privilege issue, requesting the Secretary General of Parliament to intervene in the matter. Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody, who presided, promised to act promptly to resolve the problem.
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