 |
| Jaffna district MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam |
Drug smugglers and peddlers in the Northern province are being protected within the military camps as they hide to evade authorities, Jaffna district Parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam charged today in Parliament.
Taking part in the debate following a motion moved by National Peoples' Power MP representing Jaffna Rajeevan Jeyachandramoorthy on "increasing drug abuses in Jaffna", the party leader of All Ceylon Tamil Congress noted that despite both North and Eastern provinces being highly militarised after the war ended, the drug smuggling and peddling continues to this day.
"There are 16 military bases out of twenty in North and East- in North alone, 14 such bases are setupped. The Navy also seized civilian lands on coastal areas from 1-2 kilometres from the beach and constructed bases. In Mullaithivu, there is one military personnel stationed for every two civilians in the district while in Jaffna, it is 14 civilians per one military personnel. If the government claimed that it has a well-equipped intelligence network in the two provinces, how come this drug peddling and smuggling takes place without any consequences?," asked the Tamil MP.
Recalling that past notorious - unidentified Greece Yakkas went inside military camps when spotted by the public and the fact police handled the so-called Aavaa gang in the recent past, Mr Ponnambalam alleged that those who are engaged in drug smuggling and addicted to drugs hide inside the military camps to avoid legal action.
"The government has to address the root cause- the big elephant in the room- the role of the military in the two provinces before talking about controlling drug abuses in the provinces," the MP stressed. (Northeastern Monitor/ March 5/ 2025)
Post a Comment