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Release the innocent: Colombo

COLOMBO: Amid protests by various parties in Parliament and representations from several organisations and families, President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday instructed the Inspector-General of Police to release innocent persons detained during recent search operations in and around Colombo.

Fear psychosis has gripped Tamil citizens after the authorities detained over 1,000 persons in one of the largest ever combing operations in search of LTTE suspects. In the wake of the Nugegoda parcel bomb last week, which killed 20 persons, the police have conducted raids on several localities in the last three days and rounded up a large number of persons for questioning.

Chief Government Whip and Minister for Highways and Road Development Jeyaraj Fernandopulle told agitated members of the opposition that suspects taken in for questioning on December 1 and 2 would be released.

“The Government has to take certain steps in the interest of national security. We are aware that 54 per cent of the Tamil speaking people live in the South. All these security check ups are in the interest of all communities. The forces have taken into custody over a thousand on suspicion. They will be freed after their identifications are established and above suspicion,” he said.

The Minister said the forces had a duty to protect the areas where suspects are feared to move.

Leaders of TULF, PLOTE and EPRLF-Pathmanabha were so engaged with the indiscriminate arrests that they chose to lodge a strong protest with the President through an open letter.

“We wish to lodge our strong protest against the manner in which thousands of Tamil youths are arrested at cordon and search operations and detained under the detention order from the Ministry of Defence.

“It will not serve the purpose for which it is intended and will prove counter productive.

“It will only strengthen the claims of the LTTE and the pro-LTTE elements all over the world that the government is harassing the innocent Tamil people,” said the letter.

Meanwhile, the military claimed that in successive confrontations with the LTTE in the last 24 hours in the north, at least 35 Tiger cadres were killed and 25 were injured.

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