Paying lip service against narcotics - Editorial

The main Opposition United National Party (UNP) seems to have chosen the narcotics issue as its campaign theme for the western and southern provincial council elections. One of the popular statements of the UNP leaders on the election platform has been that it is hard for one to find a packet of milk powder in the market, but it is quite easy to get hold of a packet of heroin from anywhere in the country.

UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe at an election rally last week suggested that UN officials dealing with the narcotics issue should be invited to the country to address this menace.

Interestingly, not a single leader or a member of the ruling coalition has contested the claims about the wide- spread prevalence of narcotics in the country. Some of them not only never contested its prevalence but also talked of a nexus between drugs and political power. The leaders of a constituent party of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) recently referred to a possible link between narcotics and the election campaign of a son of a big wig of the very government they represent.

In Sri Lanka, there have been and there are several famous political figures whose names are dragged rightly or wrongly by the people when the issue of narcotics comes up since the day the word heroin was first heard in Sri Lanka. In spite of these widespread claims, they have constantly had the backing of very powerful people in the country while enjoying a massive support from the people of their areas. At times, these political individuals had even received blessings from religious leaders.
It was during the UNP regime between 1977 and 1994 that this menace was introduced to the country. Ironically, the very party has today taken the cudgel against this menace and the present rulers for letting it happen.



Interestingly, not a single leader or a member of the ruling coalition has contested the claims about the wide-spread prevalence of narcotics in the country




One of the Presidents of the country who represented the UNP was highly rumoured to have had links with a drug barren in Slave Island and he even attended the funeral of that notorious person. With that said, however, the UNP’s current anti- narcotics stance should be commended.

Political backing alone cannot be blamed for the thriving of narcotics- trafficking in the country. The lack of seriousness of the campaigns against narcotics too has immensely contributed to it.

For instance, the hue and cry made by the JHU against the alleged involvement of the Coordinating Secretary of Prime Minister D.M..Jayaratne in an incident where a large haul of heroin was detected by the customs officials recently, seems to have totally died or died down following the issue being turned into a personal clash between the Prime Minister and the leader of that political party which came to an end with the Prime Minister apologising.

The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has to be reminded that it announced a campaign against drugs towards the end of last year and the leaders of the movement threatened to expose the names of big-time narcotics dealers in due course, at the first meeting they held in Kolonnawa, an area famous for narcotics.  One cannot understand why these names have not been revealed up to now if they are aware of them.

The BBS was also going around the country earlier claiming that there were eleven big-time narcotics traffickers details of whom would be exposed. But they never did it. Hence, the lack of consistency and seriousness in the anti-narcotics campaigns seem to be the main culprit of this menace.