A powerful Sri Lankan minister encouraged a special team of motorcycle riding police to use their firearms without ‘thinking twice’ and assured that the government will have their back.
“At any emergency, if you need to use the weapon in your hand, use it for the right thing. We will stand up for you,” said Public Security Minister Tiran Alles speaking to 100 rapid deployment police personnel newly trained by the Special Task Force (STF) at its camp in Katukurunda.
“When doing such a thing, I repeat, no need to think twice. It is not a sin to exterminate from this country; those who destroy this country, those who bring drugs to this country, people who sell drugs and individuals connected to the underworld who commit murders.”
The armed motorcyclists are to be deployed in the Western and Southern Provinces in the highly controversial ‘Yukthiya’ drug response operations slammed for rights violations by local and international rights watchdogs including the UN Human Rights Office.
Pledging to train more riders teams ‘if this is not enough’ Minister Alles reminded the police that he had already awarded a pay rise as well as other benefits, and urged committing themselves to ‘reach the target’.
The UN had called upon the government immediately suspend the ‘Yukthiya’ operation, which adopts a heavy security-driven approach to Sri Lanka’s drugs problem, instead of public health policies grounded in human rights.
“During and after these operations, people are reported to have been subjected to a number of violations, including unauthorised searches, arbitrary arrests and detention, ill-treatment, torture, and strip searches in public. Lawyers acting for those detained have alleged that they have faced intimidation from police officers,” said the United National Human Rights Office (OHCHR) in January.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk had urged the Government of Sri Lanka to review its ongoing “Yukthiya” operation, and to implement human rights based approaches.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has provided technical assistance to Sri Lanka since 2020. Training police officials on promoting access to justice and fundamental rights has been one of their activities in the country.
