Stricter laws to combat illegal human and drug trafficking: Minister Premitha Tennakoon

State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon said that strict laws will be implemented to curb illegal human and drug trafficking through the Indian Ocean.

He expressed these views on Thursday during a press conference themed ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country’ held at the Presidential Media Center (PMC).

The Minister commented "The security of the Indian Ocean is a concern for both India and Sri Lanka. The Navy contributes significantly to the security of the Indian Ocean region and does so with great responsibility.
Every year, the Sri Lankan Government obtains a report on national security for the following five years. This assessment covers crimes related to geopolitics, terrorism, extremism, and illicit activity. In accordance with this evaluation, steps are taken regarding the security of the country as a state. When making decisions, these evaluations are taken into consideration.
The stability of the nation's economy is primarily impacted by the rule of law. Therefore, no nation that has not created the rule of law can be expected to advance.
In the aftermath of war in 2009, measures were taken to right- size the security forces. The security soldiers won't be evacuated in this circumstance. A census has already been conducted on the individuals who deserted the armed forces and the individuals resigning from the armed forces. In the future, members of the armed forces will be recruited within a certain limit.

Attention has been focused on encouraging students to join the National Cadet Corps (NCC) in the Northern and Eastern areas and deploying them for social intelligence to combat various threats that endangers the youth.
Security personnel have so far been stationed in a number of institutions and services. In order to maintain the reputation of the security forces, the Government has made steps to remedy that issue in the future and secure their services.

The Minister also said that relief measures have been implemented for those who have been affected by the adverse weather and necessary amendments will be brought to prevent misuse of existing circulars in providing disaster relief