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Tamil Nadu's decision to send back Sri Lankan police officers hasty, says Anandasangaree

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Sri Lankan officers were undergoing training in Coimbatore

COLOMBO: Tamil United Liberation Front president V. Anandasangaree has taken exception to the Tamil Nadu Government's decision to send back the first batch of 200 Sri Lankan police officers undergoing training in Coimbatore, and said the decision "is not only a hasty one but also ill-advised."

In a letter to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, the TULF leader said the Tamil Nadu Government had not been briefed properly on the ground realities in Sri Lanka and urged him to visit to the island nation for a first-hand assessment of the situation.

"I hasten to lodge this complaint to you to prevent any misunderstanding and deterioration of relationship between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. The misunderstandings that prevailed earlier between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu due to false propaganda has started clearing up during the last few months," the letter said.

Mr. Anandasangaree said a good number of Sri Lankans, Sinhalese Tamils and Muslims genuinely felt that Mr. Karunanidhi could play an important role in finding a solution to the ethnic problem. "Many people wish that you should pay a visit here. I too requested you to pay a visit and fulfil a long cherished ambition of yours. This is the best time which you should not miss," the letter said.

The TULF leader said the police force in Sri Lanka was not a fighting force and it consisted of peace officers entitled to carry only small weapons. Their job was to maintain law and order, settle disputes, investigate crimes, assist court in the proceedings and file plaints.

He said a large number of Tamil police officers had been killed by the LTTE over a period and now only a handful of them were left.

"Although recruitment is open to all communities, Tamils, from the North in particular, do not apply at all. A negligible number of Tamils apply from the Eastern Province and, one by one, they are also killed. A few years back all police officers in the Eastern Province were ordered to lay down their arms and were asked to assemble at a given point. The Tamil officers were asked to run away. The remaining Sinhalese and Muslim officers, numbering over 600, had been shot dead and buried in mass graves," the letter said.

Mr. Anandasangaree said the irony was that all VVIPs, including Tamil Members of Parliament of the Tamil National Alliance, were given security by the police, most of whom were Sinhalese. The Tamil public often complained that there were no officers who knew Tamil in the more than 200 police stations in the North and East.

In recent times, a number of Sinhalese officers had also been killed by the LTTE. "There are thousands of vacancies in the police force for Tamils. Unfortunately, no one applies. It is more correct to say that no one is allowed to apply by the LTTE. Those who defy them and apply, face the consequences one day or the other," the letter said.

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Tamil Nadu's decision to send back Sri Lankan police officers hasty, says Anandasangaree

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