COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, who is also in charge of the island nation’s police, slammed the United Nations Human Rights Commission and its local arm for criticizing the government’s anti-drug campaign which has nabbed around 39,000 so far.
Sri Lanka has recognized the drug menace as one of the key threats and Alles has backed drastic measures in a police-led operation titled ‘Yukthiya’ (justice) to nab the drug dealers and addicts across the country.
Since the operation was launched in mid-December, the police have arrested nearly 39,000 people, mostly dealing in drugs including heroin, cannabis, synthetic drugs, and cocaine, police data show.
The UN Human Rights Commission last week said it was “very concerned that authorities in Sri Lanka” were “adopting a heavily security-based response to the country’s drugs problem, instead of public health policies grounded in human rights”.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has urged the Sri Lankan government to review the ongoing ‘Yukthiya’ operation and to implement human rights-based approaches, notably the right to health, in addressing the issues of illicit drugs in society.
Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in a statement said people were reported to have been subjected to a number of violations during and after these operations, including unauthorized searches, arbitrary arrests and detention, ill-treatment, torture, and strip searches in public.
Throssell also said lawyers acting for those detained have alleged that they have faced intimidation from police officers.
However, Minister Alles said most of the content in the statement by the UN was generalized.
Alles told the Foreign Correspondents’ Association (FCA) forum on Thursday (18) that the Human Rights Commission in Sri Lanka and the UN Human Rights Commission, go by what is conveyed by those who write to them. Deeming it ‘unfortunate’ he said if either Commission highlight three to four incidents and asks the authorities to inquire he would accept, but questioned on what basis they make statements.
The operation has led to around 4.8 billion Sri Lankan rupee worth of drugs and assets worth of 725 million rupees, including assets and properties under the Money Laundering Act, being seized by the police.
According to the police data, of the 39,000 arrested, 1,703 have been detained with detention orders, while nearly 2,000 people have been sent to rehabilitation and others have been released on bail.
Alles said he had asked the local UN Resident Representative this week to speak to the Human Rights Commission and ask them on what basis they issued their statement.
“I don’t want these kinds of statements. Tell them to come up with facts and figures,” he said and went on to claim that he would not stop the operation and that the UN Human Rights Commission could continue to issue statements.
“We will go ahead, and we will do it the same way because we know that we are doing something good for the children of this country, for the women of this country,” he said, stating that the general public was wholeheartedly with them in the operation. “If we are doing anything wrong on the ground, people are not going to support this,” he pointed out.
The UN in its statement said a heavy-handed law enforcement approach is not the solution for drug use which has become “a serious challenge to society”.
It said the abuse of drugs and the factors that lead to it are first and foremost public health and social issues.
“People suspected of selling or trafficking drugs are entitled to humane treatment, with full respect for due process and transparent, fair trials,” Throssell said.
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