The arrest of the Jaffna mayor in the middle of the night created an atmosphere of outrage in parliament, with Tamil MPs vehemently condemning it as “nothing but fascism.”
Mayor Vishwalingam Maniwannan was released on bail by the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court after being questioned by the Police Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) for several hours on charges of reorganizing the LTTE.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA)’s Sivagnanam Sridharan and Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam (TNPF) protested in Parliament today (Friday) urging the Speaker to intervene immediately to secure his freedom.
“This is fascism. You are militarizing the country on the one hand and generating racism on the other. At the same time you are now avoiding other ideologies. This is nothing but fascism. You must stop this, ”Ponnambalam told parliament.
Vishwalingam Manivannan and Jaffna Municipal Council member Vardharaja Parthipan were summoned to the Jaffna Police on Thursday at 8 pm to investigate a complaint lodged by the Jaffna Municipal Commissioner.
The trial dragged on until the next day, Friday (April 9), at 2 p.m. The mayor was then taken to the TID office in Vavuniya by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID).
He is accused of “employing a five-member municipal civil surveillance team in uniform similar to that worn by members of the LTTE police division.”
According to the Mayor, the role of the team was to maintain the city of Jaffna and regulate traffic.
However, Police Media Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said, “Manivannan had employed five persons in LTTE police uniforms for the duties of the Municipal Council. Investigations are being carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act. ”
The DIG did not elaborate on what those “similarities” were.
The staff of several local government bodies, including the Colombo Municipal Council, can be seen wearing the same uniform as the controversial ones.
“Mr. Maniwannan did what the Colombo Municipal Council did,” said Tamil Makkal Local Kuttani (TMTK) leader CV Wigneswaran.
“We are told that the uniform given to the employees of the Jaffna Municipal Council is similar to the uniform used by the LTTE police force. But in reality, similar uniforms have been given to similar employees of the Colombo Municipal Council. ”
The Jaffna Police and the Terrorism Investigation Division have launched a special investigation on the instructions of Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara and statements have been recorded from the Jaffna Municipal Commissioner and several other officials of the Municipal Council regarding the incident.
The Mayor of Jaffna gave these appointments on a temporary basis.
At a press conference before his arrest, the mayor said that it was the duty of the Jaffna Municipal Police to monitor garbage disposal, collection of fines and violation of corona virus regulations.
Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam told parliament that the government was out of control.
“The government’s attempt to portray him as trying to rehabilitate the police force, one of the LTTE’s factions, is absurd. Various divisions have been created under the Municipal Councils in various parts of the country, including Colombo. For issuing parking tickets separately .. etc .; Different things happen. It is absurd to accuse a person who used a light blue and dark blue uniform for such section officers in the Jaffna Municipal Council of going to rehabilitate the LTTE. ”
TNA MP Sivagnanam Sridharan demanded in parliament that the mayor be released immediately.
“The uniform of the Jaffna Municipal Monitoring Team is similar to that of the Colombo Municipal Council. The idea of creating such a team was to maintain a clean city. But to portray such an act as a precedent for a horrific terrorist act is a dangerous precedent. ”
The United National Party has also condemned the arrest of the Jaffna mayor. The party said in a statement on Friday evening that the ministry should investigate any alleged misconduct by an elected official before taking any police action.
The UNP has also called for clear evidence that the uniforms worn by council employees employed to monitor the cleanliness of the city council look similar to those worn by the LTTE.
In its statement, the UNP focused on the uniforms worn by parking assistants in the Colombo Municipal Council and asked what they would do if they looked similar to those worn by LTTE members.
According to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the devolution of police powers has been given to the elected Provincial Councils, but the Colombo Central Administration has not delegated those powers anywhere. Apart from Parliament, elected bodies in Sri Lanka have very limited powers.