Colombo resumes surveillance of Eezham Tamils through ‘registration’ in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 March 2016, 11:11 GMT]
Occupying Colombo's Sinhala police, the intelligence operatives of the SL State and military surveillance officers are conducting fresh ‘registrations’ of people living across the 14 divisions of Batticaloa district, citing section 76 of the SL ‘Police Ordinance’ which states that householders should furnish the officer of police of his or her division with a list of all the inmates in the house and that any change occurring in the households should be reported to the police or legal authorities of the SL State. The surveillance measure is now being systematically implemented in the entire district of Batticaloa. In addition, Sinhala military intelligence officers are visiting selected households every month and some others every third month. Those who have been in Vanni earlier are being harassed with ‘terrorist’ questions, Tamil civil sources in Batticaloa told TamilNet on Friday.

During the times of war, the occupying Sinhala military and police deployed the section 76 of the SL ‘Police Ordinance’ to register the details of Tamil civilians in the households that were in the SL military controlled areas.

New forms are being distributed to the households through the Village Officers (GS).

Before 2007, the people who were living in LTTE administered areas in Poaratheevup-pattu, Vellaa-ve'li, Vavu'na-theevu, Paddip-pazhai, Koa'ralaip-pattu North (Vaakarai) were free from the ‘registration’ threat of the SL military and police. They are now being subjected various forms of surveillance.

In addition to the collective surveillance mechanisms, the SL military is maintaining individual monitoring of selected households across 10 of 14 divisions in the district.

Particularly, 1080 families are subjected to systematic and continuous surveillance by the SL military intelligence in 10 of 14 divisions in Batticaloa district, the Tamil civil sources said.

Regardless of their release after prolonged detention and so-called military rehabilitation, they are being again subjected to questions for their presence in Vanni, whether they had received training from the LTTE, did they participate in combat, where they are employed now and how they receive money.

The visiting military intelligence officers identify themselves as members of ‘State Intelligence Services’ operating under the command of SL President Maithiripala Sirisena.

The latest harassments are not reported in the divisions with Tamil-speaking Muslims in Koa'ra'laip-pattu Center, Koa'ra'laip-pattu West, Ea'raavoor town and in the city of Kaaththaankudi.