Civil Society calls for Gota’s explanation on transfer of CID Director

by Zacki Jabbar -November 24, 2019, 7:29 am

Several civil society groups, the Center for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) and the UNP are up in arms over Thursday’s transfer of Director CID, SSP Shani Abeysekera as Personal Assistant to the lle.

The CMEV said yesterday that the relegation of a highly regarded police officer to that of Personal Assistant was a demotion and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who came to power promising to maintain law and order owed an explanation.

Abeysekera at the time of his transfer was  investigating many high profile  criminal cases, including against the current rulers.

The UNP said that Gotabaya who pledged  "change", had a duty  to tell the  people why SSP Abeysekera who performed his duties impartially, was moved out of the Criminal Investigations Department.

A spokesperson for the party said that the Ranil Wickremesinghe Government which established the Independent National Police  Commission (NPC) expected the Gotabaya Government to ensure that the rule of law prevailed, but one of its first acts was to get  Acting IGP Chandana Wickremeratne  to ask  the NPC to transfer  SSP Abeysekera.

"Is this the change that 6.9 million people voted forn" he queried.

Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday appealed to Gotabaya not to reverse the democratic reforms his (Wickremesinghe Government) had introduced, including the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which established the NPC and other independent bodies such as the Public and Judicial Service Commissions.