JHU not in favour of Special Police Unit

Showing its displeasure over the setting up a special police unit under the Religious Affairs Ministry to inquire into complaints on religious matters, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) said yesterday the move would result in unnecessary consequences in the country.

It states that if there was a need to create a mechanism to inquire into complaints on religious matters, it should have been done through Parliament in a much more appropriate manner.

“Such impulsive moves cannot be trusted. This may ultimately lead to having several separate religious police units in the country and many other negative consequences,” JHU General Secretary and Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka told a news conference yesterday.

He said a move by the JHU to submit a Bill connected to religious affairs in parliament was turned down. “We were discouraged by some MPs when we wanted to submit a Bill outlining a proper mechanism to address issues pertaining to religious affairs including unethical religious conversions,” he said.

The minister said all laws should apply to all religious groups equally and not only to Buddhist monks. “The laws should apply not only to the Bodu Bala Sena or the Sihala Ravaya but even to groups like the Tauheed Jamaat and Mannar Bishop Rayappu Joseph,” he said.

On a directive by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne set up a Special Police Unit at the Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs Ministry to inquire into complaints on religious matters. With regard to the illegal resettlement of Muslim IDPs on the border of the Wilpattu National Park, the minister said the resettled people should be removed from the area immediately.

“Muslims have suffered a lot from the war. We respect and ac

cept that they should be resettled and we fully support that right. But they should be resettled legally and not inside a National Park. They should be removed immediately and resettled elsewhere before the National Park is

ruined,” he said.