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The Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights has set up a 24-hour rapid response system to deal with desparate requests for information/clarification from family members of persons who have been taken into police custody, are thought to have been taken into custody by other government authorities or are thought to have been abducted, the Ministry said in a media release yesterday.
The release said:
Persons seeking information as to the arrest and detention of any relative may call telephone numbers 011 2676513 or 060 2119246. Bilingual operators will be able to take calls in Sinhala, Tamil and English languages.
Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe on Monday met with senior government officials from the Attorney-General's Department, the Police, the Armed Services, the Human Rights Commission, and the Disaster Management Centre and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights to discuss modalities for this facility which will be operational from Wednesday, 7 May 2008. The objective of creating this 24-hour/7-day (24x7) hot-line is to enable members of the public to obtain confirmation that a person is or is not in official custody. The operators can also direct callers to access law-enforcement authorities in order to initiate/cause investigations into alleged disappearances or cases of abduction.
The ADA hot-line will be operational for a period of eight months - May to December 2008. At the end of this period the necessity for continuing with this initiative will be re-assessed on the basis of need.
The Ministry has received information that, in the context of ongoing security operations aimed at Preventing and investigating acts of terrorism, people have been taken into police custody for questioning and further investigation as to their bona fides. Other persons have been allegedly abducted for collateral purposes such as the demanding of ransom for their release. Family members of the suspects/abductees are anxious to confirm the whereabouts, safety and health of their relatives.
The Ministry has taken this step to ensure that laws on arrest and detention are fully implemented - particularly where Emergency Regulations are invoked - especially the implementation of the Presidential Direction on Arrest and Detention. The proposed hot-line would be housed in the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) which functions under the purview of the Ministry. Located in Colombo, the hot-line would be accessible to people throughout the country. The day-to-day administration of the project will be managed by the DMC, however, policy guidance and information control will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights. The Ministry will establish modalities with law enforcement authorities on how the police will deal with inquiries from the DMC."
