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The Sri Lanka Police welcomes its first
ever batch of Tamil stream police recruits
Secretariat for Coordinating
the Peace Process (SCOPP)
29th February 2008
Saturday February 16th saw a historic moment in the 141 year old history
of the Sri Lanka police with the passing out parade of 175 new police
constables trained at the Kallady Police Training College in Batticaloa.
The 125 young men and 50 young women who proudly marched into the parade
grounds, escorted by the ceremonial band of the Kalutara Police Training
College, comprised the very first intake of recruits to the Kallady
Training College, the first police training school established in the
Eastern Province. This batch of recruits were Tamil Sri Lankans from
Batticaloa and Ampara Districts, the first recruits taken specifically
from these areas and trained in the Tamil medium.
It has been a matter of regret in recent years that the Sri Lankan
security forces have not been clearly multi-ethnic in composition. Though
applications have always been called from all citizens of the country,
for various reasons, including diffidence caused by previous language
policies, very few Tamils have joined in the recent past. More recently,
there have been fears amongst Tamils, given the terrorist approach that
Tamils serving in security forces were specifically to be targets of
attack, being denigrated as traitors. Tamil officers serving in the
Department were threatened by the LTTE to force them to leave the service,
and renewed attempts by the Government to recruit Tamil officers to
the service did not have desired results. It seemed likely then that
Sri Lanka's proud record of a multi-ethnic police force, with two recent
Inspectors General of Police being Tamil, would not easily be maintained.
The government however is committed to such a record, and in the short
term it is certainly essential to have Tamil officers serving in Police
Stations in North and East as per the ratio of the population in the
respective areas. Another important aspect is to give an opportunity
to Tamil youth in these areas to serve their own communities, which
will more easily allow the force to show the required concern and commitment.
Since there was a dearth of Tamil officers, to fill this vacuum the
Inspector General of Police was instructed by H.E. the President to
implement a special project to recruit Tamil officers to serve in the
North and East. Mr Victor Perera, Inspector General of Police, discussed
the issue with Secretary Defence, Col Gotabaya Rajapaksha and Chairman/National
Police Commission, Mr Neville Piyadigama and received necessary instructions
to proceed. A special team consisting of Mr S K Shanker, DIG/Traffic
Admin & Road Safety, Mr K P P Pathirana, DIG/Recruitment, Mr Arsaratnam/SSP
and Mr S Selvarajah/SP was appointed by I.G. Police to visit Batticaloa
and Ampara and speak to youths and senior students in schools to encourage
them to join.
There was an overwhelming response to the recruitment drive and about
1200 applications were received. Initially only a small number had been
accepted, since because of the conflict many of these young men and
women had suffered numerous disadvantages which had an adverse impact
on their education, so that successful training presented a great challenge.
However the successful applicants had clearly shown a high level of
intelligence and potential. The usual educational standards as well
as age restrictions were varied in a progressive and modern approach,
to enable these recruits to enter the college and complete a four month
intensive training which would enable them to return to their communities
and serve them with intergrity and professionalism. The proposal submitted
by the I.G. Police to facilitate the programme was duly approved by
the National Police Commission so that implementation could commence
expeditiously.
The requirement of establishing a separate Police College in the Batticaloa
area was fulfilled by conversion of a few buildings at Kalladi, earlier
used by security forces, to a training facility, through the special
efforts of the Police Logistics Range headed by Mr D M M J Paranathala,
DIG/Logistics. Mr Mahinda Balasuriya as Senior DIG in charge of the
North and East coordinated the entire project on behalf of I.G. Police.
Training of these new recruits commenced on 08.10.2007 at Kallady Training
Centre and the trainees were provided four months of training which
included community policing aspects and language training. The intake
of Tamil youths into the service, to transform them into sensitive and
skilled Police officers for work in their respective areas, will immensely
help the full implementation of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution
which the Government has decided on. The next intake of 250 men and
women will take place shortly and a similar programme would also shortly
target the Estate Sector area in the middle of the country too.
These new training policies are in keeping with the commitment of the
Government to fully implement the official languages policy, and develop
confidence in all citizens that they are full stakeholders in government
institutions. They will provide the backbone of the reawakening that
the government brings to the East now, and which it is hoped will soon
be extended to the North. All the recruits received copies of the Evidence
Ordinance, the Penal Code, Code of Criminal proceedings and other such
relevant legislation in the Tamil language.
After the rigorous training, as in all our services, the new recruits
had their moment of pomp and ceremony, according to service traditions
in a beautiful setting in the Province. The Chief Guest on this occasion
was Senior DIG North and East Region and the Commandant of the Special
Task Force Mahinda Balasooriya. He was escorted by the Directors of
the new Kallady Training College and the senior Training establishment
in the country, the Kalutara Training Colleges. Senior DIG Balasooriya
took the salute of the new police personnel as they marched past to
the sounds of the police band, with the Sri Lanka and Police flags flying
proudly overhead, while the families of the new recruits who had come
in great numbers looked on from their special enclosure. All announcements
and speeches were transmitted in both Tamil and Sinhala throughout the
ceremony.
In his speech Snr DIG Balasooriya noted that this great day in the
lives of the new constables and their families was also a historic occasion
for the country. He welcomed the participation of the Batticloa District
Court judge and representatives from the Attorney General's department
and the Peace Secretariat at the ceremony. He told the young police
personnel, "By joining the Police you have promised to serve your
people, your communities and your country. I welcome you into the Police
as our brothers and sisters." He concluded by saying that "Now
you are part of us, so please join hands with us and serve your people
who are our people. I thank your parents and families for supporting
you in this endeavour and ask them to be assured that their loved ones
are in good hands."
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