'Want Sri Lanka to be a global partner in early warning system' : INTERPOL Sec. General

INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock addressing a media briefing in Colombo today (Aug 27) called on Sri Lanka to be a global partner in INTERPOL’s early warning system.

Mr. Stock said great efforts were made to further enhance the co-operation that was established in the aftermath of the Easter Attacks.

He further said that global terrorism was high on INTERPOL’s agenda as terrorism was becoming more international and global than ever before. He said to date INTERPOL was providing a global platform to share relevant information by providing 17 different databases to be used by member countries.

“This is something authorities have been doing in the aftermath of these attacks so that crucial information was shared with international law enforcement,” Mr Stock said. 

In addition, he said that INTERPOL databases contained more than 50,000 profiles of foreign terrorist fighters.

He added that discussion with authorities revolved around how INTERPOL could help the Sri Lankan Police to continue using modern technology for investigative purposes while pointing out that training was one of the important services that INTERPOL provided.

Mr. Stock praised the Sri Lankan authorities for the “excellent” support that was received by the INTERPOL team that arrived in the country on April 23, 2019.

Further Mr Stock praised President Maithripala Sirisena, the Ministry of Defence, Sri Lanka Police, and intelligence services for swiftly taking action to apprehend the criminals who were responsible for the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. 

Meanwhile, President Sirisena was presented with an INTERPOL medal by Mr Stock during a meeting at the President’s Office in Colombo today (August 27).

(Pictures by Sameera Weerasekera)