Police weak against abductions, ransoms

The Police, as an arm of the government, are weak in containing abductions and threats-for-ransom while the role of permanent Secretaries must be re-defined by Parliament, an email poll by The Sunday Times FT shows.

A majority of the respondents from the business community and professionals said the police had failed in their duty while some also accused the police of involvement. “The police are not doing enough as some of them are also involved,” said one respondent.

In its poll which drew a large response including top corporate leaders, The Sunday Times FT asked:

On abductions – Are the police and the authorities doing their best to tackle this problem?

On high officials – Following a statement made by Tiran Alles, former chairman of the Airport and Aviation Authority implicating two senior officials of the current administration– Lalith Weeratunga and Dr. P.B. Jayasundera – in a non-administrative discussion with an LTTE official, is there a need for Parliament to review the role of the permanent Secretary and ensure that they are apolitical?

Business community – Should the business community join hands with civil society to urge both the government and the LTTE to stop fighting and resume peace talks? Should the business community help to restore law and order in the country?

A resounding 95 percent said the police was not doing enough on the law and order situation; 93 percent agreed that Parliament should redefine the role of the permanent secretary, nearly 80 percent said the business community has a role in ensuring peace talks resume and 80 percent agreed that business must help to restore law and order.

In the additional comments provided by the respondents, one corporate leader said “we may be witnessing the subversion of the rule of law and its replacement by the rule of man.”

The Sunday Times FT has been running several email polls to test public response to a plethora of issues that affect the business community. The current poll was based on the deterioration in the law and order situation, particularly in the context of abductions and ransom demands. The government position has been that there have been few complaints. In many cases, the Sunday Times FT learnt, businessmen had paid up ransoms and not informed the police out of fear of the reprisals against their families.

Respondents said the law enforcement authorities were heavily politicised and thus ineffective in tackling crime.

On the question of parliament redefining the role of the permanent secretary, one respondent said permanent secretaries and other civil servants are not elected representatives of the people and should not be negotiating and/or dealing with terrorist organizations, especially in an unofficial capacity.

Another respondent while agreeing that parliament has a role, said: “Unfortunately parliament votes on party lines.”

On the role of the business community, there was general agreement that business has a role as peace is essential for business. “The business community should however include all business people not just the Colombo elite who unfortunately seldom see the bigger picture,” one respondent added.