News
Bimal rocks the poaching boat, sends tough message to India
View(s):- As hunt for fugitive police chief draws a blank, Govt. source says Deshabandu a disgrace to Police Dept.
- Govt. keen to defuse NPC-Acting Police Chief spat over appointments
- Govt. rejects UNHRC proposal for international mechanisms to probe alleged war-time human rights abuses
- Local council politics gathers pace; SJB to go it alone, UNP Gen. Sec still wants to field a combined team
By our Political Correspondent
House Leader and Minister Bimal Rathnayake had some harsh words for the Indian central government and the Tamil Nadu state government regarding the long-standing fisheries issue.
Stop the boats—Bimal tells India
During the budget debate on the expenditure head of the Ministry of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Mr. Rathnayake directly addressed the Indian government and the Tamil Nadu state government, urging them to do more to prevent Indian fishermen from poaching in Sri Lankan waters and noting that such poaching by Indian trawlers was having a devastating impact on the livelihood of northern fishermen.
The Northern fishermen are among the poorest segments of society in the country and were poorer and more vulnerable than their Southern counterparts, the minister observed. He noted that the fishermen in the North only have fishing to rely on for their livelihood.
“The people of India protected the Northern Sri Lankans when they fled to India during the war. We respect that, but the biggest help the Indian government, the Tamil Nadu government and their members can offer the people of the North is to stop allowing the only means of livelihood of these people from being destroyed. Implement the laws in India to prevent this from happening. There is no point in talking to us about the welfare of the Northern people without this being done,” Mr. Rathnayake said.
Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) Leader Mano Ganesan suggested that the subject of poaching by Indian fishermen be included in the agenda for talks during the upcoming official visit of Prime Minister Modi. “This is the biggest problem for Sri Lankan fishermen. Our resources are being stolen. It is true that they (India) helped the people during the war, but the war has been over for more than 15 years now,” Mr. Ganesan stressed.
Mr. Rathnayake insisted that the Indian government could stop the problem. “No matter how much the Indian government assists Sri Lanka, there is a serious question whether any of this assistance is genuine if they aren’t giving this help to Sri Lanka.” He added that the matter had become a day-to-day issue for Northern fishermen. “The fishermen in Mannar have told me that they now have to go out to sea for five days to earn what they used to earn in one day. As such, we would like to take this opportunity to urge both the Indian and Tamil Nadu governments to please end this problem. This has gone on long enough,” Mr. Rathnayake insisted.
Mr. Rathnayake’s comments came in the backdrop of the NPP government taking a tough stance on poaching by Indian fishermen. According to the Sri Lanka Navy, 19 Indian fishing boats along with 145 fishermen have been taken into custody for poaching in Sri Lankan waters from January 1 to March 6 this year. The latest incident came on Thursday, when a fishing trawler with 14 fishermen was taken into naval custody in an operation in the sea area south of Mannar. The Fisheries Ministry also recently directed regional fisheries department offices in the North to dispose of some 37 seized Indian bottom trawlers by public auction.
NPP’s hardline approach to poaching
Last week, a group of fisherfolk leaders from Tamil Nadu were getting ready to board a flight from Chennai to Colombo to attend a fisheries-related regional conference when they heard that 38 Indian fishermen had been taken into custody for bottom trawling in the Mannar Sea. Those in custody included the son of a Rameshwaram-based fishing union leader who was due to attend the conference. The son had been taken into custody with his fellow crew members along with one of the union leader’s trawlers worth millions.
The news led to the union leader cancelling his trip to Colombo. He returned to Rameswaram, where the fisherfolk community took part in a protest demanding the immediate release of the arrested fishermen.
After discussions with their fishing unions, Tamil Nadu authorities have now increased compensation being given to boat owners whose trawlers are seized by Sri Lankan authorities. Accordingly, the compensation has been increased from INR 600,000 to 800,000. The state government has also increased the daily rations being given to the families of arrested fishermen from INR 350 to 500. The increases have been welcomed by fishing unions, though it may not be welcome in Sri Lanka, given that the Indian fishermen are mindful that their families will now be better compensated even if they are arrested for poaching in Lankan waters.
The new batch of Indian poachers in the custody of Sri Lankan authorities
Police hunt their own chief
While the fisheries issue is set to continue for the foreseeable future, another, more immediate thorn in the government’s side is the saga involving the country’s fugitive police chief, Deshabandu Tennakoon. Mr. Tennakoon has been prevented from performing his duties and functions as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) by order of the Supreme Court since July last year, with Priyantha Weerasooriya appointed as Acting IGP after the NPP came to power.
On February 28, the Matara Magistrate’s Court issued arrest warrants for Mr. Tennakoon and seven others, including officers attached to the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) and the Acting Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Weligama Police Station, over a shooting that took place near the W15 hotel in Weligama on December 31, 2023. The shooting left one police officer dead. The Acting OIC of the Weligama Police has so far been the only suspect to have surrendered to court after the arrest warrants were issued. He was released on two personal bails of Rs. 500,000, with the court also issuing an overseas travel ban on him. The Matara Magistrate’s Court also issued an overseas travel ban against Mr. Tennakoon following a request by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Mr. Tennakoon is yet to surrender to court or be arrested. In a rather embarrassing turn of events that also made international headlines, police on Thursday requested public assistance to arrest their own chief. No reward has so far been offered for information that would lead to his arrest, unlike in the case of Ishara Sewwandi, the 25-year-old woman alleged to be the mastermind behind the brazen shooting at the Aluthkade Magistrate’s Court complex, leading to the death of underworld figure Sanjeewa Kumara Samararatne alias “Ganemulla Sanjeewa.” The Rs. 1 million reward initially offered for information on Sewwandi was increased to Rs. 1.2 million this week. No sooner had police made the public plea for help to arrest Mr. Tennakoon than comments started flooding in on social media from users mockingly asking how much the police were willing to pay for information leading to their chief’s arrest.
Speculation as to where Mr. Tennakoon might be hiding has swirled throughout the week. Police, meanwhile, have insisted he will be treated as just another suspect.
A senior government source acknowledged the whole saga was a “grave embarrassment” for the entire Police Department and accused Mr. Tennakoon of bringing disgrace to the police. “If he is not guilty, all he has to do is surrender and prove his innocence. The fact that he has opted to go into hiding instead indicates he has something to hide,” the source claimed. He added that Tennakoon had become a political stooge of the former government and said it would take considerable time to undo the damage he caused to the department.
Government looks to resolve
Acting IGP-NPC dispute
One aspect that the government is trying to change from the Tennakoon era and before is the politicisation of the police, the source further claimed, adding that this was the reason behind such a large number of transfers that the police have experienced in recent weeks. However, the matter in turn has caused friction between Acting IGP Weerasooriya and the National Police Commission (NPC). The clash is now out in the public domain, following several instances where Mr. Weerasooriya has been publicly critical of the NPC for refusing to approve some of the appointments and transfers he had requested.
Under the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, the NPC has wide powers over the appointment, promotion, transfers, disciplinary control, and dismissal of police officers other than the IGP. Vested with powers to act as an independent oversight body for the police, its main objective is the depoliticisation of the Police Department.
The NPC sought a meeting with the Attorney General this week after Mr. Weerasooriya wrote to them requesting that he be delegated the responsibility of making the OIC appointments. He made the request based on what he claimed was the AG’s interpretation of the law. The NPC had replied, rejecting the request and copying the letter to the Constitutional Council, widening the dispute between the two parties.
The dispute between the Acting IGP and the NPC is “extremely regrettable,” said a government source with knowledge of the matter. He noted that Acting IGP Weerasooriya had risen through the ranks from the position of Constable, and as such, there was a general belief that he was more sympathetic than his predecessors to the concerns of junior officers. However, the mass transfers and appointments were being made as part of efforts to remove officers who had been given those appointments owing to political biases, he insisted. “The NPC must also understand that the government was given an overwhelming mandate to change this situation,” he argued, adding that the government was moving to try and resolve the dispute.
Lanka at UNHRC: Old wine in a new bottle
The spectre of alleged human rights violations and the failure of successive governments to seriously address accountability issues is one that the NPP government has inherited and one that will haunt it in the years ahead, until and unless it decides to take meaningful measures to address these issues.
During his first appearance at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath reiterated the same stance taken by previous governments in addressing allegations of serious human rights violations, particularly those allegedly committed during the last stages of the military operations against the LTTE. He backed a ‘domestic legal process’ to address such issues, thus making it clear that the new government would not consider calls by the UN body as well as rights organisations to allow for an international inquiry into the said violations of human rights.
The government’s stance was also conveyed to the UNHRC by Himalee Arunatilaka, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, this week. She told the 58th Session of the UNHRC on Monday that Sri Lanka rejects all UNHRC resolutions relating to the country along with the external evidence-gathering mechanism initiated by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Ambassador Arunatillaka’s update followed the statement by Maarit Kohonen Sheriff, Director, Global Operations Division Office of the UNHRC. She said the decisive victory for the NPP in last year’s election signalled a mandate from the Sri Lankan people to undertake transformative social, political and economic reforms. “This is an important opportunity in Sri Lanka’s history that must now translate into meaningful progress on accountability and human rights to heal societal divisions and break the cycle of impunity that has for so long wracked Sri Lanka’s past. Our office is ready to support Sri Lanka and hopes it can report tangible results to this council in September,” she said.
Several government initiatives were welcomed by the OHCHR, including steps taken to appoint an expert panel to establish an independent prosecutor’s office. It said this could help address structural issues that have long obstructed justice and contributed to impunity. The OHCHR also welcomed moves to amend problematic legislation such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Online Safety Act while noting that its office continues to receive reports of surveillance and intimidation by security agencies in the North and East, highlighting the need for more fundamental security sector reforms.
The United Kingdom’s UN ambassador, Eleanor Sanders, who spoke on behalf of the Sri Lanka Core Group, comprising Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the United Kingdom, said they appreciated the government’s commitment to making meaningful progress on reconciliation and the initial steps taken, including returning land, lifting roadblocks, and allowing communities in the North and East to commemorate the past and to memorialise their loved ones.
“As the government seeks to make progress on human rights and corruption cases, we urge that any comprehensive reconciliation and accountability process carry the support of affected communities, build on past recommendations, and meet international standards,” Ms. Sanders said. However, not everyone is optimistic that the NPP will take any serious measures to address human rights issues. Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) President G.G. Ponnambalam and the party’s General Secretary Gajendran jointly signed a letter to the UNHRC calling for a new resolution on Sri Lanka.
The letter said the NPP government has rejected all HR resolutions as ‘intrusive and politically motivated,’ and it is abundantly clear that the present government, like its predecessors, will never willingly prosecute perpetrators.
Hence, the TNFP said it wants a new resolution on Sri Lanka, specifically with a referral of the situation in Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other international fora, if the resolution is to have the consent of the Tamil people.
For the next few months, the government will have some room to breathe until a comprehensive report on progress in reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka is due at the sixtieth session of the UNHRC in October this year. Unless the government delivers on its much-touted reforms for the security sector, abolishes the PTA, and enacts new laws to address human rights issues, the goodwill the UN body has extended to the new government may diminish fast.
Parties prepare for LG polls
Meanwhile, the NPP is set to face its first acid test when it faces the upcoming local government elections for 336 local councils in the next eight to nine weeks.
Major political parties that suffered a setback in the parliamentary elections in November believe they could make a comeback through the local polls, and most parties are preparing to contest on their own.
With the United National Party (UNP) and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) talks failing to reach finality, the SJB made it clear on Friday that it would contest under its party symbol, telephone.
“The SJB Working Committee endorsed the decision that we should contest under the telephone symbol,” National Organiser Tissa Attanayake said.
At Friday’s meeting, it was decided to get the nominations prepared on March 15. It was also discussed to set up a national nomination committee.
But UNP General Secretary Thalatha Athukorala said they were still trying their level best to get their party and the SJB to contest the upcoming local council election together.
She said that during the upcoming week they plan to give their final decision on contesting the local government election.
But already TPA Leader Mano Ganesan has declared that they would be fielding candidates under their Tami party alliance in the local councils in the upcountry, while Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem on Friday also made it clear that they would contest in the Northern and Eastern provinces under their own symbol while in the rest under the SJB.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and some of the former ministers who backed the Ranil Wickremesinghe government are also contesting separately, generating a keen interest in the election.
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!