• Proposal broached by top Tamil Jaffna MP who also suggests more uniformed but unarmed cops for expanded community policing  

An influential Tamil Parliamentarian from the North had, during yesterday’s (26) all party conference convened by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, proposed the recruitment of more youth from the Northern and Eastern Provinces to the Police service and the expansion of community policing in the said areas, in the event the 13th Amendment to the Constitution cannot be implemented with Police powers.

An all party meeting was held at the Presidential Secretariat last evening to discuss the issues of the North and the East, particularly the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Jaffna District Opposition Parliamentarian Angajan Ramanathan said that MPs representing the Tamil community had expressed varied views on the proposed implementation of the 13th Amendment without Police powers. "One of the political party leaders said that we should have more youth from the North and the East in the Police so that the language issues that people are having when dealing with the Police should be resolved if the Police powers cannot be given. The proposals were to recruit more youth from the North and the East to the Police, and to expand community policing in the areas."

According to SLFP General Secretary and Opposition MP Dayasiri Jayasekara, who spoke to The Daily Morning, one Tamil MP from the North had proposed a compromise on the thorny issue of Police powers, suggesting to evaluate a regional uninformed but unarmed Police, who can take up certain specific duties such as traffic policing and community policing, such as that which is practiced in some regions of India. When queried about the SLFP’s stance on the full implementation of the 13th Amendment, Jayasekara said that the SLFP was of the view that devolution of power can be considered for development purposes, but not on racial or religious grounds. He added that several parties called for Local Government Elections to be held before any final decision on the 13th Amendment is enacted. 

Several attempts to contact the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Thamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani (TMTK) Leader and Jaffna District MP C.V. Wigneswaran to get a confirmation on the matter from the Tamil political parties, proved futile.

The main Parliamentary Opposition, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) claimed that the all party conference convened by the President was merely a part of the President's regular political process aimed at short term political gains rather than a genuine desire to resolve the issues in the North and the East. In a media statement issued yesterday, SJB General Secretary and MP Ranjith Maddumabandara said that issues of the North and the East could only be solved with utmost 'good faith'. "The President's approach should be founded on unwavering integrity. However, the current exercise by the President appears to be a programme aimed at achieving short term political gains rather than a genuine implementation driven by a sincere desire to resolve the matter."