Hill country youths denied permanency in Police Force

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 December 2003, 01:34 GMT]
More than 350 Hill-country youths of Indian origin continue to serve in the temporary Reserve Police even after 14 years of service whereas Sinhala youths who joined the Reserve Force during the same period have been made permanent, Uthayan, a popular Tamil Jaffna daily reported.

Hill country youths were recruited to Police Force in 1989 following demands that all Police Stations in the hill-country should employ officers proficient in Tamil language.

300 Police constables, 15 Sub-Inspectors of Police and 35 Inspectors of Police were recruited and were trained in Police Training Facilities in Kundasale, Asgiriya and Hatton.

The paper reports that Sinhala Sub-Inspectors were chosen over Tamil Inspectors in appointments as Inspectors in charge of Police stations.

The Tamil Reserve officers have registered a complaint with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) regarding the matter of permanent appointments for them.

They have added in their complaint that promotion prospects, additional allowances and pension allocations suffer due to the temporary nature of their jobs.