Women in the firing line as cops show ‘zero tolerance’
Fury over arrest of two women for staging a placard protest
Are the police under orders to follow a ‘zero tolerance’ policy toward any form of protest? Or was last week’s police crackdown on two women’s peaceful march, merely an isolated act of a few cops going beyond the call of duty out of personal hatred to see even a solitary placard raised?
Lanka’s Human Rights Commission took no chances on what it described as ‘a serious threat to the life of a democratic society and the rule of law in the country’ and has summoned the IGP and the Police Ministry Secretary to appear on Monday before the Commission to account for the Police Force under their command.
The incident occurred in Panadura last Saturday when two women protesters were arrested during their walk from Kalutara with two placards asking for the release of two rights activists held under PTA. A heavy police contingent had been deployed to arrest the two protesters. Video footage of the incident showed cops intimidating the two women during the arrest while another senior cop did not spare the female constables either, grabbing them by the scruff of their necks and pushing them forward.
The harassment sparked a fury of protest by human rights watchers. The UN’s resident coordinator in Lanka, Hanaa Singer condemned the treatment of women in a tweet on Sunday.
The Bar Association, while condemning the attack, said: “Police brutality continues because of the failure and the lethargic attitude of those who have the power and authority to deal with them.’ The
The Government should be thankful for the indispensable role the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission performs to fulfill its mandate by being the constitutional check to prevent the excess of power
attack on the female cops made the IGP launch an internal investigation to probe why a senior cop had acted improperly towards female police constables.
But, according to a report in a Sinhala daily newspaper, the Divaina, on Wednesday, the police inquiry had so far been told by the accused cop that he had done it to motivate them while the two female cops had said, they hadn’t minded the rough treatment at all. That’s rich, isn’t it? Akin to the sadist inflicting pain on the masochist who shouts for more?
The SLFP women’s wing held a press conference on Tuesday to condemn the harassment of female protesters by the police and asked: “On what legal basis did the police attempt to block Kalutara’s peaceful march and arrest these two women?”
On Tuesday, another group of women protesters led by SJB’s Hirunika, who were staging a protest against the harassment of women were arrested. The arrested 14 were produced in court. Despite the court being urged by the police to remand them, they were released on bail.
In a statement issued the same day, the Rights Commission declared: “These kinds of activities cannot be condoned from a defence body bound to protect the law and order of the country.”
On Wednesday, the IGP, and four other senior officers, kept their appointed date before the Supreme Court where they tendered unqualified apologies to court for their failure to obey the court’s order and pay the salary of former CID sub inspector Sugath Mendis who was arrested and interdicted along with former CID Director Shani Abeysekera. The order, made on May 18, had not been followed for the last six months.
Now the IGP and Police Secretary have a further date at the Human Rights Commission on Monday to hear the riot act read out to them since the Commissioners have decided ‘to advise the parties on the actions that they should take to prevent human rights violations in the future’.
The Government should be thankful for the indispensable role the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission performs to fulfill its mandate by being the constitutional check to prevent the excess of power. So must the people be grateful to the Commission, fast becoming the last resort of refuge against human rights violations, for taking, unbidden, swift action against the perpetrators.
A Commission, however high flown its name may sound, is only as good as the calibre of its members. The present Commissioners of Lanka’s human rights watch, under the alert eye of its chairperson, former Supreme Court judge Rohinie Marasinghe deserves the nation’s praise for acquitting their duties with honour.
If not for this dynamic body of human rights guardians, Lanka would have easily slid into a police state of repression. But, alas, they cannot perform the task alone. The other institutions, the four pillars on which the heavy weight of democracy rests, must fearlessly step in to reinforce the integrity of the threatened edifice.