Over 1,200 held for questioning in Colombo

By V. S. Sambandan

COLOMBO, JAN. 7. In cordon and search operations across Colombo and its suburbs, the Sri Lankan security forces today detained over 1,200 persons, including 200 women, for questioning.

The exercise, which according to police, was carried out to identify the LTTE members, comes after a woman suicide bomber exploded herself in front of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) killing 12 others and the gunning down of a Tamil political leader, Kumar Ponnambalam, by unidentified gunman on December 5. Those taken in for questioning included Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims, but most were from the minority Tamil community. Those detained were photographed, videographed and in some cases paraded before masked informers.

The search operation was carried out after curfew was clamped in the city and two suburbs, Dehiwela and Mount Lavinia from midnight to 12.30 p.m. The curfew was initially upto 2.00 p.m. but was lifted earlier to enable Muslims attend Friday prayers, police sources said.

Those detained for questioning were brought initially to the respective police stations and then sent to three police stations which were designated as operations centres for Colombo North, Central and South.

On arrival at the operation centres, the detainees were lined up, videographed and questioned by Intelligence officials who recorded their statements.

A Ceylon Workers Congress MP, Mr. R. Yogarajan, who visited various police stations where the detainees were held said in some instances hooded men were used as spotters. Pointing out that the Government had made all the arrangements for the police, no thought was given to the plight of those detained. ``They had gone without food since they were taken in,'' he said, adding the island's Inspector General of Police made the necessary arrangements following his request.

The plight of those who had arrived in Colombo barely hours before curfew was clamped was especially pronounced. A woman from Trincomalee, who requested anonymity, said she was detained when she came to the city to see off her brother, who was to leave for Canada. ``Not only me, but my brother too has been detained,'' she said.

A 16-year old boy from Nuwara Eliya, had a different tale to narrate. He was picked up during the search operation and had to wait with the women and children to be questioned. ``I told them my name, age and that I had come to Colombo two months ago. They have told me that I can leave,'' he said.

While in most detention centres, people were kept in the open ground, in one police station, the conditions where the men were lodged was particularly harsh. Locked up in a cell, which was filled with the stench of urine, they awaited their turn to receive food packets, which they had to eat in the same place.

``We are doing our best to finish the questioning as soon as possible,'' said a sleuth, adding that he had questioned over a 100 persons and had found one LTTE cadre.

Meanwhile, two persons have died as a result of the clashes between Tamil prisoners and prison guards at the Kalutara Prison, south of Colombo.

Mr. R. Sampanthan, Secretary General, and Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, Parliamentary Leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front, have called for the intervention of the President to restore normality in the prison and an inquiry to improve prison administration.

PTI reports:

In a vital breakthrough in the probe into Wednesday's attack on the PMO, police have arrested the woman suicide bomber's parents in Eastern Batticaloa district, media reports said today.

Special police units on Thursday arrested Antony Thilakaratne and Arasoli Appusamy from their house at Kolavil, near Akkaraipattu, the reports said.

During initial questioning, the parents said they have not seen their daughter Thilakaratne Yasoda (22) since the LTTE took her away in July 1998.

Last week, police arrested the parents of another woman suicide bomber, Leela Lakshmi, who blew herself up at an election meeting on December 18 injuring Ms. Kumaratunga and killing several others.

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