Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala commenting on ‘Maaveerar Naal’ commemorations in Sri Lanka said that certain politically organized groups are attempting to use the event to promote divisions and racism in the country.
Addressing Parliament today, Minister Wijepala reiterated that although there is no possibility of holding events using LTTE signage or symbols, people were not obstructed from remembering their relatives who died in the war.
“244 commemoration events were observed in the North, according to Police. Out of these, only 10 commemoration events had displayed signage or symbols of the LTTE, against which the Police had acted,” the Minister said.
“Facts have been reported to the Kilinochchi Magistrate’s Court on two incidents, while facts were also reported to the Point Pedro Magistrate’s Court regarding four incidents. One incident has been reported to the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court. A resident of Chunnakkam has been arrested for promoting the LTTE and remanded until today (Dec 4),” he explained. The Minister said that several others were arrested for publishing or promoting images related to the LTTE recently.
The Minister also revealed that a complaint had been lodged with the Criminal Investigation Department against a newspaper for distorting and publishing his earlier comments on the matter.
“Some in the South attempt to spread false news online, especially using images of commemorative events held elsewhere in the world. These are politically organised attempts to promote divisions within communities,” the Minister said.
Several persons were arrested for such online activity which were politically motivated, the Minister said, adding that two out of those arrested had contested for the elections under the Gas Cylinder symbol.
Meanwhile former Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara charged that the Police have discriminated against the people of the North and South, claiming that two laws have been used to file charges on similar offences on the matter.
“The cases you have filed have been filed under two different laws,” Jayasekera said in Parliament. “In the South, the charges have been filed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, while in the North, charges have been filed under the Penal Code,” he said.
Responding to the statement, government Ministers including the Public Security Minister accused MP Jayasekara of inciting racist comments. (Newswire)