Peace-keeping work – UN seeks more Lankan policemen

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

Seventy-four Sri Lankan policemen are serving in overseas peace-keeping work, a program initiated by the United Nations during the past 18 years. Seven hundred and seventy four Police officers have already served in peace-keeping work overseas Police Media Spokesman Ajith Rohana told the Sunday Observer.

He said the deployment of Sri Lankan police officers for Peace-keeping duties in the United Nations had continued during the past 18 years. The first police contingent left for Mozambique in Africa in 1994 and thereafter successive contingents left for Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone, for peace-keeping work. Police contingents have been sent for peace-keeping work in East Timore, Haiti, Liberia, and southern Sudan during the past eight years.

The spokesman said although allegations of sexual misconduct had been levelled against policemen from other countries not a single complaint had been made against Sri Lankan policemen serving the United Nations peace-keeping work overseas during the past 18 years. “None of our officers has been sent back to Sri Lanka on such complaints and the United Nations have called for more Sri Lankan policemen to be sent for overseas assignments”, he said.