Tamil National Alliance MP M.A Sumanthiran called on authorities to transfer the Anuradhapura Prison inmates to the Jaffna Prison for them to testify into the recent prison incident. He said there should be an environment in which the inmates can testify freely without being subjected to any pressure or influence at an independent inquiry.
He added that the inmates are currently in mental distress, and they must be transferred to the Jaffna Prison as requested.“The Prevention of Terrorism Act should be repealed, and the government has promised the European Union that it will be repealed. But the European Union (EU) has decided to withdraw the GSP Plus concession as it had not yet taken place. Therefore, the abolition of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the investigation into the LTTE suspects should be replaced by an international inquiry instead of a one-sided independent inquiry,”Sumanthiran said.He was speaking to the media after meeting the LTTE suspects at the Anuradhapura Prison on Saturday. “We met the inmates in the Anuradhapura Prison who are sentenced under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. We inquired about the incident where the State Minister visited the prison, took several inmates to one place, and threatened them. We have learned that two inquiries are being held in this regard. The inquiries are conducted by the Human Rights Commission and the Commissioner-General of Prisons. The inmates are distressed, and it is reasonable”, he added.
He said that the government should take responsibility for the incident when a State Minister carries a pistol to the prison premises. “Even Prison officials are checked before they enter the prison premises. The Justice Minister expressed his regret to Parliament in this regard and apologized to the prisoners and their families. Therefore it is clear that such an incident had taken place,” Sumanthiran stressed.
He also added that in order to conduct an independent inquiry, they should be transferred to the Jaffna prison instead of the Vavuniya prison.
Sumanthiran also said that the parliamentary seat of the relevant State Minister must also be removed. Above all, the MP must be arrested, and his pistol must be taken into custody, he said.Three police complaints have been lodged into the matter, he added. He said that a delegation from the European Union is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka. Accordingly, a discussion will be held on Thursday.
“The President said that he is ready to negotiate with the Tamil Diaspora. We appreciate his move, but he must also discuss it with us because we are the elected representatives. This time the protests against the President and the Prime Minister were carried out not only by the Tamil Diaspora but also by the Sinhalese. Even the Sinhalese have felt that there is no freedom of expression in the country now,”he added.
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