Cops must get star ratings for strict law enforcement
Whatever drawbacks the Lankan Police Force may have, they must get star ratings at any world forum for their dedication to uphold the rule of law through strict law enforcement.
After July 22 midnight crackdown on sleeping protesters at Galle Face Green and clearing the esplanade for public use, they haven’t rested on their laurels but have pursued relentless to bring to book the site’s activists and fellow strugglers for any criminal acts they have committed before or after their occupation of the historic Green.
Within two weeks, they have tracked down and arrested over 30 suspects who had allegedly committed offences during the occupation of the President’s House, the Presidential Secretariat, Temple Trees and the Prime Minister’s Flower Road office.
Even those who found Rs.17,850,000 at the President’s House, which
Gotabaya had left behind in his hasty flight, and had duly handed it over to police custody, counted to the last cent and recorded on video, were arrested and produced in court last week.
Painstaking detective work had also identified the man who had been the first to enter the Presidential Secretariat by drawing a knife before the security personnel and threatening to kill himself if not allowed entry.
Early last week the police launched a manhunt for the person who had appeared on a social media video resting on a bed draped with a sheet alleged to be Gotabaya’s personal presidential flag. On Friday the police successfully arrested the 54-year-old man after he surrendered to the police. And that’s not all. Another person who had entered the President’s House during the July 9 mass rush was arrested on Tuesday for having sat on a president’s chair.
But not all searches have led to successful arrests so far. High on the waned list is a prominent figure who had been in the people’s peaceful movement since its inception in April. Fr. Jeevantha Peiris, who is a Catholic Priest from the Dioceses of Ratnapura and, according to the Catholic clergy, is the parish priest of a small, poor and remote parish in the district, has been wanted by the police since July 27.
The Catholic clergy on Monday issued a joint statement, signed by 1,640 Catholic Priests, Sisters and Brothers from 23 congregations, expressing concern over his possible arrest and demanding the authorities to stop the repression. Fr. Jeevantha has since filed a Fundamental Rights petition in the Supreme Court, seeking the court’s order to prevent his arrest over any Galle Face Green protest incident.
The message from the police is clear and serves as a strong deterrent to any would be protesters seeking to undermine the state. The message warns that no stone will be left unturned to track down and arrest anyone protesting against the State if they commit acts held by police to be illegal.
The unspoken warning comes in the same manner American President Biden warned the world in his message given shortly after US drones targeted and killed a wanted Al-Qaeda leader hiding in Afghanistan on Sunday, when he declared: ‘No matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out’.