Defence and UDA brought into the limelight in P’ment

By Ashwin Hemmathagama  Our Lobby Correspondent

The absence of a Deputy Minister from the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, who should be present in the House during the committee stage debate of the Appropriation Bill-Budget 2013, to respond to issues raised, became a serious concern which was emphasised yesterday by Opposition at large.

Moving the debate, Chief Opposition Whip in Parliament MP John Amaratunga identified such a lacuna as a “symbol of mistrust President Rajapaksa has placed on his Cabinet members as well his son Namal.”

“With a noticeable allocation of money, neither the Defence Minister – the President himself, nor a deputy, is here to respond. If he is not placing his trust upon the members of Cabinet, his beloved son Namal could be appointed. However, it is a commendable job that Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has done to develop the Parliament suburbs. This is the first time after such development was made, long after late President J .R. Jayawardena established this house on a marshland,” he said.

Listing issues that are directly in the preview of the defence, MP Amaratunga said: “Sri Lanka is becoming a killing field with the island-wide murders we hear on a day-to-day basis.  84 homicides were reported last October. Who is responsible for killing the Welikada Prison inmates who were in handcuffs? We need to know the amount of ammunition used for this operation and the person who authorised Special Task Force to conduct the controversial search operation.

“The National Museum located in a high security zone was robbed. During the last two years, it is estimated that over 800,000 abortions have taken place in Sri Lanka. We should not legalise abortions.”

“A Police officer receives a salary of Rs. 20,000 having being in the service for 25 years. In par with the armed forces, I request you to increase salary of the Police department. Adding more to it, the politicisation has prevented officers from getting promotions. They should be allowed to retire early as seen in armed forces, rather than making it mandatory to stay till they reach 55 years of age.”

“Recently you brought some toilet cleaners to protest against the Chief Justice. Well, we have nothing against sending the Chief Justice home if she has committed a crime or to exposing malpractices, but bringing in such people to protest sets the wrong example,” added MP Amaratunga.

In response, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said: “J. R. Jayawardena, the mastermind of the ’78 Constitution who claimed that he is only unable to convert a man into a woman, could not end the war. He withdrew at the last moment when he could have easily ended the war during the Wadamarachchi operation.

“Many of the other political leaders were also unable to end the war but President Mahinda Rajapaksa was able to take necessary decisions to eradicate terrorism. Many have died for this cause. So, what we spent here in Sri Lanka is negligible compared to the 2.7 per cent from the GDP spent in India for defence. Singapore also spends 3.7 per cent from the GDP for defence.

“The UDA plans to have 16 suburban cities with facilities similar to what you have in Colombo. This will help us to keep people in the villages from moving into cities. We have been making a change since May 2009. We are also making metro areas to have primary and secondary cities.”

Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi MP Rajavarothiam Sampanthan joining the debate stated: “The war that raged in northern Sri Lanka came to an end three years ago. Tamil people want to get on with their lives, putting the war behind them. But some people in this country think that the Tamil people want the armed forces out from the North and East. This is not correct.

“We accept that armed forces have to be present as they are in the entire country. We Tamil people want to be considered as a part of this country with dignity. If the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam or the Bandaranaike-Dudley Senanayake pacts were implemented, this country wouldn’t have been in this position.”

Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management and the Leader of the House of Parliament Nimal Siripala de Silva in his response said: “Our security forces have successfully eradicated the LTTE from this country, enabling all of us, including the Tamils and Sinhalese, to live in peace. I agree with some of the facts showcased by Sampanthan. Now we have a responsibility for national reconciliation.

“Forces previously engaged in the war are now busy with the development process. We need to expedite this process. We maintained massive military manpower due to the war. Now we can’t ask them to go home, having completed the war. Over 95 per cent of the defence allocations are used for the welfare of the military personnel.”

However, United National Party MP Eran Wickramaratne joining the debate compared the allocations made in 2012 with what is proposed for 2013, noting, “There is an increase of 18 per cent compared to last year. GDP-wise, this is an increase of 15.5 per cent compared to the other two years. The issue is about the usage of such an allocation.

“We are spending over 95 per cent from this particular allocation for salary payments. As an institution, the Police is failing due to many reasons that include low salaries and emoluments, less facilities, and the out of date technology used. When a suspect is taken into custody, they use unethical methods to make him confess to a crime and most of the time the suspect is innocent. We strongly believe that Police should be taken off from the Ministry of Defence.

“This is the general practice around the globe. The Police needs to be developed to be a public service organisation but not a nuisance. We also need to give additional training and opportunities for military personal to either continue in the military or to retire and engage themselves in private businesses. I also suggest that they should be given shares in the private ventures,” said MP Wickramaratne.

UNP Member of Parliament Sajith Premadasa, taking a different angle, requested the Government to increase salaries for the Civil Defence Force and the Police Assistant Service. “The Civil Defence Force has 41,000 personnel and made a significant contribution during the fight against terrorism.  But they are limited to a maximum salary of Rs. 15,000. They have an unconfirmed service that can be terminated at any moment.

“Another development is the Police Assistant Service. Being in operation for 14 years, this category also has a force less than 1,400 personnel. I suggest that they be absorbed into the Police department and entitle them for other benefits. It is essential to disregard all deviations if we are to continue the benefits obtained, having defeated Prabaharan,” said MP Premadasa.

Dr. Harsha de Silva, UNP MP, pointed out several serious violations and unfair situations that have taken place in his electorate. “Since 1415 and 1565 you would have heard about the Kotte Kingdom. On 6 February 1985, using a special gazette, late Minister K.W. Devanayagam announced Kotte as the capital of Sri Lanka.

“But by 1982, the Parliament was here followed by ministries and hospitals. Now we see jogging tracks, parks, and clearing of water ways. We like it but rights of Kotte residents are neglected. The UDA and Ministry of Defence suppress people. The Metro Colombo Project was brought in with the World Bank, utilising a loan exceeding US$ 200 million.

“It includes Beddagana and Kotte Rampart Park. I have a Google map that shows the resettlement plan for the people for those who will lose houses. But there are squatters. How can you resettle them? In Beddagana North, 16 houses were demolished by the UDA under military presence. Rajagiriya Walaw Watta is another place.

“Navala Kolambage Mawatha has some houses with histories exceeding 50 years. These houses will also get demolished and the compensation is limited to Rs. 75,000. Can you build a house with this amount of money? Even to build a single roomed small house as per the quotations obtained from the Government authorities, you will have to have at least Rs. 600,000,” he said.