By Norman Palihawadane

Police have removed a memorial statue of former LTTE member Rasaiah Parthipan, alias Thileepan, from the Thileepan Memorial Square in Nallur, Jaffna, following the conclusion of commemorative events, marking the 39th anniversary of his death.

The statue was removed in the early hours of yesterday (27), a day after the final day of the commemoration was held at the site.

CCTV footage from the memorial reportedly shows police officers removing the statue and taking it away in a vehicle.

Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) Secretary and MP Selvarasa Gajendran alleged that more than 15 police officers arrived at the site, without prior notice, entered the premises wearing footwear, and forcibly removed the statue.

The reason for the removal and the legal basis for the police action had not been officially announced as of yesterday.

Thileepan, a former political wing leader of the LTTE, died in September 1987, after undertaking a hunger strike in Nallur, while making several demands of the Indian Government.

The memorial events, marking the 39th anniversary of his death, were held at the site on Saturday (26). A statue had been erected at the location in connection with the commemoration.

 By Shamindra Ferdinand

NPP Executive Committee member Lal Wijenayake said that he would continue with the ruling party though he disagreed with the 22nd Amendment, sans a referendum. That position wouldn’t be changed, lawyer Wijenayake said, adding that he would continue to support whatever action taken by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) to highlight the damaging consequences of the new amendment.

Wijenayake said so in response to The Island query whether he could continue with the NPP after having opposed the 22nd Amendment. When pressed for clarification, Wijenayake revealed that he received an opportunity to discuss the issue at hand with NPP and JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Declaring that he couldn’t reveal what transpired in his meeting with President Dissanayake, Wijenayake said the status quo would remain.

“They wouldn’t seek my removal from the party,” he said, adding he would remain in the Executive Committee, regardless of his unchanged position on the 22nd Amendment. Wijenayake ruled out the possibility of him joining joint Opposition protests against the government.

NPP General Secretary Dr. Nihal Abeyseinghe told The Island that those who urged the ruling party to allow its members to vote, according to their conscience, should know the entire government parliamentary group accepted the need for the 22nd Amendment. Yes, they voted according to their conscience, the Kalutara District lawmaker said, underscoring that regardless of the split in the NPP over the 22nd Amendment, the vote proved otherwise.

Of the 159-member NPP group, 158 voted for the controversial amendment where three Opposition MPs skipped the vote. Ravi Karunanayake and Faizer Musthapha of the New Democratic Front (NDF), led by Ranil Wickremesinghe, were among them. The other absentee Nayana Wasalathilake represents the SJB.

The NDF, which contested under the ‘Gas Cylinder’ symbol secured, five seats at the last parliamentary polls. The remaining three members, Anuradha Jayaratne, Rohitha Abeygunawardena and Chamara Sampath Dassanayake, voted against the 22nd Amendment.

People’s Struggle Movement activist Wasantha Mudalige yesterday alleged that there were serious irregularities in the tender process initiated to purchase 500 body cameras for police officers and called for the procurement process to be cancelled and restarted.

Addressing a press conference at the Frontline Socialist Party headquarters in Nugegoda, Mudalige said the decision to equip police officers with body cameras was necessary, but questioned the manner in which the procurement process was being conducted.

He said body cameras should not be limited to police officers performing duties outside police stations, pointing out that security cameras were also needed inside police stations, amid continuing reports of alleged torture and deaths following assaults in police custody.

Mudalige claimed that the tender document contained several technical shortcomings and alleged that parts of its Terms of Reference (TOR) appeared to have been generated using artificial intelligence.

He questioned why such content had not been reviewed and corrected before the document was issued, saying technical specifications should have been carefully prepared, based on the requirements of the Sri Lanka Police and international standards.

He also cited what he described as a significant disparity in the prices quoted by bidders, ranging from around Rs. 50 million to Rs. 360 million for the 500 cameras.

While a state-owned telecommunications company had reportedly submitted a bid of around Rs. 170 million, Mudalige said a subsidiary of the same entity had submitted a bid of approximately Rs. 60 million.

He argued that the wide variation in bids raised questions about whether the technical specifications and required standards had been adequately defined.

Mudalige also questioned why only 500 cameras were being procured and whether the project was intended as a pilot scheme before a larger procurement.

He further raised concerns about the proposed provision of internet facilities for the cameras and questioned the involvement of a company, he alleged, was linked to a government digitalisation adviser.

Mudalige said this could raise a potential conflict-of-interest issue and questioned whether the procurement was connected to the government’s wider digitalisation programme.He called for the tender to be cancelled and a fresh procurement process initiated following a thorough review and consultation with technical experts.