So it was high time that the authorities reintroduced security checkpoints at least in the city of Colombo from late last week to check the menace.
As a result of lax security, not even a handful of those killings have been solved despite many of those victims having in some way assisted the state in fighting the LTTE terror. All law-abiding citizens will whole-heartedly welcome this measure, even though it would entail certain amount of inconvenience to all citizens.
With plenty of hindsight, the top brass of the armed forces and police must this time ensure that plenty of wrongs committed by their men in the past in the guise of fighting crime and terror are either eradicated or minimized to the maximum, for already the public have a very bad impression especially of police. They identify it more as a rogue force than a service to the people. Similarly because of the large number of crimes committed by armed forces deserters and some in uniform, public are really weary of all security personnel in general.
Like those corrupt in the armed forces who have made a one hell of a business out of the war. Many police officers from sometimes, highest levels to the bottom rung virtually mint money by using their uniform and position.
First of all they must be courteous to all irrespective of position or status in life, for that is the only way to win over any member of the public. They must be extra cautious in not hurting the feelings of ordinary Tamils, so it must be an all-round effort in winning hearts and minds of the people. Policemen must be made to shed their false arrogance that they have acquired with donning of the uniform. In pithy Sinhala it is called the acquiring of uniform "Unak" (heat of the uniform). And with this heat they harass people especially at checkpoints and during random searches, especially if they do not show proper deference to the uniform. And some policemen when pulled up for such acts readily tell their superiors that respect was not shown to the uniform.
Early this year a group of policemen in civvies, brimming with this heat or fever terrorized a young man of mixed parentage at a bus stop near Thunmulla Junction in broad daylight watched by many commuters and pedestrians in the vicinity. This young man a fairly recent returnee to Sri Lanka having migrated to Canada with his parents after the infamous July'83 riots was boarding a bus to go home to Kotte, when several men in civvies grabbed him asking for his identity. Though thoroughly shocked he had plucked up enough courage to ask for their identity. Then one of them had flashed a police identity, but before the victim could even get a proper glance he had put it away amidst much abuse. Having treated him like a criminal in front of possibly hundreds of people they had let him go. No wonder people are reluctant to come to police for anything.
Leave aside tribulations of the public at the hands of rogue police personnel, the just retired IGP Indra de Silva, probably had the shock of his life recently when he was stopped by some traffic policemen at Kiribathgoda, in a area where they were not even supposed to be on duty and they wanted to charge him for some trumped up traffic offences not knowing that he was their former big boss. But when they realized their folly they had pleaded with him not to report them. Need we say more? Respect is given where it is due, but not when those in uniform resorts to criminal and crass behaviour. People did and still do respect those in uniform who risk their life and limb for the future of this country, that is why people openly display stickers with sayings like "we support our forces".
