Kamal Gunaratne, an accused war criminal and Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary stated that new ‘vigilant committees’ are to be formed in schools as a step to fight Sri Lanka’s drug menace.
Earlier this year a Presidential Task Force (PTF) was set-up allowing Sri Lankan officials increased authority to undertake the alleged threat of drugs without little scrutiny.
The announcement of the vigilant committees was made during a conference between the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) and the Defence Ministry.
The NCPA exposed that 47,177 child abuse complaints were sent to the NCPA between 2015 and 2019, as well as around 550,000 calls through their hotline.
During the announcement, Gunaratne proclaimed "It is no secret now that the law enforcement officials, who were responsible for eradicating drug menace were unfortunately involved in earning quick money by getting involved in massive drug rackets’’. He also added that a number of Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) officials were detained regarding this issue.
The US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report in June this year reserved Sri Lanka on its second level watch list after receiving “isolated reports of officials allegedly complicit in trafficking and reports of inadequate investigations”.
Allegedly, the defense ministry is to use police enforcement to create a ‘child friendly and protective environment’.
The announcement comes after Kamal Gunaratne vowed to eradicate the drug menace ‘by going after corrupt officials and supporting victims of drug addiction’ and the establishment of a new rehabilitation centre at the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB)in Nittambuwa, a few weeks ago.
