AG orders formation of vigilante groups in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 February 2007, 01:33 GMT]
The Attorney General (AG) of Sri Lanka issued a special order to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to take steps to facilitate formation of vigilante groups in the villages of Jaffna Peninsula to include civil leaders as a mechanism to prevent robberies, abductions and killings taking place in nights during the curfew hours. The Special order was issued due to highlight the urgency to the local Police which has been unresponsive to AG's earlier call on the same matter, legal sources said.

The AG had already instructed the Jaffna Commanding Officer and the Government Agent (GA) to take necessary actions to form the village level vigilante groups.

The AG had also stressed that the vigilante groups should be allowed to function independently, and that the Police and other armed forces should provide full cooperation to the groups.

Although, the GA had requested the Superintendent of Police (SP) to conduct elections in Jaffna and Nallur Divisional Secretariat divisions to select members for vigilante groups, the SP showed little committment in carrying out GA's request.

The AG ordered the IGP to work closely with local authorities to ensure that the vigilante group evolves to be an entity with capacity to curb threats of harassment and abductions of the local residents.