Police Spokesperson SP Prishantha Jayakody has told the local media today (25) that contrary to certain media reports, the registration programme is being carried out not only in Wellawatte but also in Kirulapona and Kotahena at the moment.
He said the registrations were a normal, regular occurrence and that it would be carried out in all parts of the country.
Meanwhile, Democratic People's Front (DPF) Leader Mano Ganeshan has accused the police of carrying out these registrations as an act of discrimination against Tamils. When the media had contacted the police two weeks ago when this process started, the police denied any knowledge of the registrations, Ganeshan said.
According to the breakdown of events prepared by Ganeshan, on July 8 at around noon, police in the Wellawatte area had made announcements through PA systems fitted on three wheelers, calling for Tamils in the area to register themselves. This occurred in areas including Rudra Mawatha, Veluwanarama Flats area, Hamden Lane, Peterson Lane and W.A. Silva Mawatha.
Later on, during the weekend, police and the army had visited Tamil residents in the Wasala and Mayfield roads in the Kotahena area and in the following week, police and army personnel had visited Tamil-owned business premises in the 2nd and 3rd Cross Streets in Pettah, Ganeshan alleged.
The registrations, which were initially executed during the war under Section 23 of the Emergency Regulations Act, were relaxed with many of the other emergency regulations recently.
However, the police have said that the registrations are being carried out under the Police Ordinance.
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