Mass registration drive today

By Dharisha Bastians, Rathindra Kuruwita and Stanley Samarasinghe
The mass registration drive aimed at registering people who have lived less than five years in the Western Province is to take place today (Sunday), amidst claims and counter claims about the controversial registration which has been termed, ‘census of Tamils living in the capital.’

Unregistered citizens who have been resident in Colombo for less than five years have been requested to arrive at Police stations and stipulated registration centres in schools and other public buildings between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. today.

Police officers made loudspeaker announcements in several areas requesting citizens to arrive at Police stations along with relevant documentation, despite guidelines issued by the Supreme Court and the Inspector General of Police as late as Friday, assuring that people do not need to go to Police stations to register. Police officials traversed the areas in Colombo on three-wheelers, and asked the people to come to the nearest Police station or specific centres including Kotahena Sinhala Kanishta Vidyalaya, Kotahena Central College and Lumbini College to hand over their registration forms.

However, SSP Ranjith Gunesekera told The Nation that people were in fact required to come to Police stations to register, adding that the IGP’s instructions were altered recently with the agreement of the Attorney General’s Department.

In fact, despite the IGP’s circular, Police officers from several Police stations in Colombo on Friday night reportedly called several leading Tamil newspaper offices, including Veerakesari and Sudar Oli, and asked that it be reported that despite the IGP’s circular, people would be required to arrive at Police Stations on Sunday.

“The initial release was made and in it there is no need to summon the householder or his family members, servants or guests to the Police station to hand over the registration form. But it was changed later,” he said. However, the Police Spokesman said he could not remember when it was changed or which official from the AG’s Department that authorised that change. “I can’t remember the date, and I can’t remember who participated from the AG’s Department,” he added.

Ceylon Workers’ Congress Deputy Leader R. Yogarajan said that his party was advising the public to heed the IGP’s order, and refrain from going to Police stations to register today. He added that their fundamental rights case regarding the mass arrests of Tamil citizens was to be taken up in Supreme Court again tomorrow, and added that the CWC would be filing a motion regarding the Police action on Saturday.

Meanwhile, spokesman for the Western Peoples’ Front, Provincial Councillor Prabha Ganesan said that they were aware that the Police have asked the people of Dehiwala, Wellawatte, Kirullapone, Kotahena and other areas to come to Police stations and various other centres today, and this was a violation of the Supreme Court order and the circular issued by the IGP.
“We will go to each Police station tomorrow with the people, and protest this illegal activity,” Ganesan added.

With regard to the registration of Tamil citizens in Colombo, the Supreme Court issued guidelines as to how the census was to be taken and ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to draft a circular based upon the recommendations of the court. On Friday night, the IGP issued this circular and a press release was also drafted by the IGP’s office, based on the instructions stipulated in the circular, as to how the registration process was to take place. The circular states that Tamil people living in the capital do not need to go to Police stations to register and also stipulates that only the registration form is required and not Grama Sevaka certificates or photographs.
IGP Jayantha Wickramaratne was not available for comment.

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