Sri Lanka known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean with a very long refined cultural background, consisting of mainly Buddhists had tainted its image during the past number of years due to the rapidly increasing crime rate recorded in the country.
Different types of isolated crimes had been happening in the country from time immemorial owing to the numerous reasons such as anger, hatred, animosity, sexual abuses, cast creed and communal and ethnic differences, thefts, robberies and property and land disputes and myriad of similar issues.
The law enforcement authorities of the day had taken measures to combat these crimes although there were accusations from some aggrieved parties that the justice and fair play were not meted out fairly and squarely.
Introduction of the open economy
After the introduction of the open economic policy and the free market system in 1978, there was an influx of a myriad of things imported into the country.
It is stated that some unscrupulous businessmen had started importing narcotic drugs in very small quantities along with different varieties of medicinal drugs. Gradually it became a very lucrative business and no proper monitoring was carried out by the relevant authorities.
Narcotic drugs, money spinning international business is second only to the arms and ammunition trade in the world according to international surveys. Sri Lanka has become a transit point for this illegal drug trade as it is lying in the middle of the East-West drug trafficking route of the smugglers.
It is learnt that there are drug kingpins in the country mostly in the underworld who facilitate the import and transshipment to other destinations while keeping a substantial quantity for the domestic consumption which they distribute island-wide through their domestic network of dealers.
With the introduction of the open economic policy the country experienced a vast change in the entire social fabric and the new generation was fully exposed to the world trends and eventually the spiritual values, social obligations, conventional practices gradually deteriorated not only in urban areas but also in distant remote areas too. Some social analysts and critics point out that the social media, especially the internet has directly impacted the current situation in the country.
It has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that the recent rapid spate of crimes such as killings, abductions, robberies, sexual abuses and various other nefarious activities take place due to the use of narcotic drugs by these culprits who are available for them with their ring leaders who are involved in the drug trade.
Almost every day we witness the gruesome crimes committed by culprits and almost 90 percent of these criminals are drug addicts or who are directly involved in the drug trade with their overseas counterparts. Some of them lead very luxurious lives with the enormous amount of wealth accumulated through this business which drive the future generation of the country to disaster with fatal and terminal illness and finally snuff out their lives at the prime of their youth.
Irreparable damage
The use of narcotic drugs by school children is supposed to be the biggest misfortune and the irreparable damage caused to the future generation of Sri Lanka.
Some time back the Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister Dr. Wijedasa Rajapakshe had said that over 500,000 youth are addicted to various narcotics. It is a huge number according to our youth population in the country.
Dr. Rajapaksha also clearly said that among them are senior and even secondary level students both male and female in leading schools in Colombo and in the outstations.
It is very surprising to note that most of these children are from affluent families and some of their parents are professionals and academics who hold high positions in the Government or the private sector.
This bad habit was initially introduced by unscrupulous traders disguised as sweet sellers roaming around schools and innocent children have become the victims.
Later on investigations had revealed that not only the roaming peddlers and shops around the schools but even in the school canteens run by third parties were involved in this business duping the innocent children. However most of the parents are unaware of bad habits of their offspring and children have become drug addicts. When the some school authorities get to know that some of their students use drugs they don’t disclose it to the relevant authorities as it reflects bad on the reputation of the school.
The authorities should focus their attention on rehabilitation of the drug addicts especially the young students rather than imprisoning them to be mixed up with all types of criminals. The rehabilitation process should be properly executed under the supervision of the professional counselors to save the valuable young lives of this ignorant and misguided youth.
There are a few rehabilitation centres in the island but according to the number of arrests, the addicts sent for rehabilitation are very low which means most of them are either warned and released or imprisoned.
Given the number of students who are addicted to drugs, the Government will have to take urgent and immediate steps to halt the dissemination of it in order to save our future generation from this catastrophe.
Deterrent punishments should be meted out on persons that sell drugs to students no sooner they are found guilty. The efforts taken by the Minister of Education and the Dangerous Drug s Control Board along with the Police are really appreciable but it is doubtful whether these efforts along would be adequate to combat the prevailing situation as the innocent children are lured by drug barons through various tricks. There is a bigger responsibility that lies with the parents and other stakeholders in this regard.
Youngster gatherings
It is very unfortunate to see that a large number if youngsters who are gainfully employed and some who are involved in artistic activities and some others who hail from affluent families with a fairly good education also have become drug addicts. They organise beach shows, operas and different types of entertainment with the participation of both male and female mainly through social media (Facebook).
Investigations had revealed that these functions go past midnight and both men and women consume different types of drugs such as heroin, cocaine, Ice and cannabis. In addition to the gradual deterioration of their health in the long run, they are involved in different types of nefarious activities such as sexual abuse, fisticuffs that leads to serious violence and unfortunate road accidents while driving.
Law enforcement authorities should apprehend these organised groups and mete out deterrent punishments to mitigate these activities.
In this backdrop Minister of Law and order Tiran Alles has boldly embarked on a commendable program themed “Yukthiya Operation” to eradicate the drug menace from the country with the blessings of all right-thinking people of the country. H e has already taken a number of sophisticated measures to arrest this alarming situation and issued clear guidelines to relevant authorities.
It is also admirable to see the Acting Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon soon after assuming duties pledged to the country that his priority of the service would be to completely eradicate the drug mafia in the country.
The Yukthiya Operation introduced by the Minister Alles and carried out by the Police with the support of other relevant authorities have already achieved a lot amidst objections by a number of parties who had vested interests with drug kingpins in the country.
It is very encouraging to see that some religious dignitaries of all faiths and some civil society activists praise this endeavour while a few people of the legal fraternity who were immensely benefited by these drug dealers and a few bankrupt political figures cast aspersions citing unfounded allegations.
Firm commitment
Minister Tiran Alles said very clearly on a number of occasions at media briefings that he is determined and fully committed to continue the Yukthiya Operation unhindered although there are reservations from some interested parties domestically and even internationally.
Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon is also equally committed for this cause and confident that Police will take all possible steps to cure this cancer by mid this year.
Drastic measures vital
Some countries impose the capital punishment on drug abusers. If the law enforcement authorities are seriously interested in wiping out the drug menace in Sri Lanka, after the Yukthiya operation is over we also should introduce and implement the severest punishments on drug dealers, peddlers, users, promoters and even the facilitators in order to avoid a resurgence.
