Two east-based political activists have been summoned to Sri Lanka’s counter-terrorism police unit within a day after a north-based lawmaker sent a letter to the President requesting that ongoing police harassment against Tamil political activists be stopped.
Regional correspondents said that Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) Batticaloa district youth wing’s former chairman Lohitharaja Deepakaran and Tamil Youth People's Movement Coordinator Jeevarathinam Thaveswaran have been summoned to the Counter-Terrorism Investigation Division (CTID) office in Batticaloa on 11 and 12 June.
Tabling in the Parliament a letter sent to President Ranil Wickremesinghe on 4 June, MP Sivagnanam Shritharan warned of a plan to disrupt the day-to-day lives of Tamils through investigations and intimidations conducted by the CTID targeting north and east-based political leaders.
Requesting the President to stop these harassments, the ITAK Leader had provided the details of seven Tamils who had been summoned to the CTID during the past three months alone.
Through a ‘Police 265’ message form issued on the following day (5 June) issued by Kokkadicholai Police Station’s acting Officer-in-Charge’s (OIC), Thaveswaran had been asked to appear before the CTID’s Batticaloa Sub-Division at 8 am on 11 and 12 June. He had been further informed to bring the Tamil Youth People's Movement’s documents for ‘investigation purposes.’
The political activist believes that the CTID move is politically motivated.
“While the Tamil Youth People's Movement has given full support to the work of putting forward a Tamil public candidate as a symbol of the Tamil national race in the upcoming Sri Lankan presidential election, I strongly condemn such violation of rights and threatening activities and emphasize that it is the duty of the Sri Lankan government and all sections of the government to respect and protect the rights of humanity,” said Thaveswaran taking to facebook.
Meanwhile, through a ‘Police 265’ message issued on 6 June and signed by CTID Batticaloa Division’s OIC, Deepakaran had been informed to appear before the CTID’s Batticaloa Sub-Division at 9 am on 11 June to record a statement in connection with an investigation.
Moreover, MP Sritharan had requested the President to pay attention to the above mentioned incidents, adding that these investigations and arrests, carried out in a manner that amounts to intimidations and harassments against the social and political activism of many north and east-based activists, have resulted in a negative perception about the present government.
