Are there MPs with weapons training?

Security threats to politicians, as to any other individual, might emanate from various backdrops, including personal dealings with others

Media reports indicate that while several members of Parliament have received pistols for their protection, another twenty MPs have requested firearms to ensure their personal security. 
However, Ilankai Thamil ArsuKatchi (ITAK) Parliamentarian Sivagnanam Sritharan has questioned the rationale behind people’s representatives requesting weapons instead of an adequate security detail to ensure his or her security. He has stated that demanding weapons is a serious matter and  argues that for an MP to use firearms, he must have proper training.  
Meanwhile, during a meeting on last Friday (October 31) chaired by Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) has stated that Police security provision was not an unbidden entitlement for MPs and local authority officeholders. He  explained that the process for assigning security personnel to public representatives follows a strict, stipulated protocol driven by intelligence assessments.
One can argue that every politician has a life threat as he competes with other politicians for power; especially during elections, their rivalry turns into hate and enmity which could carry death threats. Yet, it would be difficult or impossible for a politician to save his life in such  circumstances without training in weapons handling, as Sritharan correctly points out. 
Another serious matter that has to be reckoned with in this regard is the misappropriation of weapons in the past by politicians,  after receiving them from the state legally. In August 2023, the then State Minister of Defence Premitha BandaraTennakoon revealed in Parliament that nearly 700 firearms issued to 154 politicians between 1980 and 1990 had not been returned. These included 9mm pistols, revolvers, and 12-bore shotguns. 
Many of the politicians to whom these weapons were issued are now deceased, but the weapons remain unaccounted for, says  Tennakoon. He also stated that former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who was provided with a total number of 104 12-bore shotguns when she was with the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party (SLMP) from 1980 to 1990 has yet to return those weapons. General Anuruddha Ratwatte during his tenure as Deputy Minister of Defence under the Kumaratunga Presidency once said over 1500 illegal firearms were in circulation in the country. 
Security in most cases is a prestige issue for the politicians rather than a mechanism for deterrence of threats. They like to travel in a motorcade with vehicles carrying security personnel leading and guarding the rear. The National People’s Power (NPP) government has brought this mania to an end. However, it must be taken seriously into account that politics in Sri Lanka is a dangerous game. Now that the government has provoked the underworld with its augmented campaign against drugs and crimes, the ruling party politicians, especially the leaders, might carry a threat with them. 
Security threats to politicians, as to any other individual, might emanate from various backdrops, including personal dealings with others. The controversial monk, Ven. Galagodaaththe GnanasaraThera is also said to have requested a security detail, claiming that his life has been threatened by the extremist Islamists. The state would not be able to provide security for all so threatened, but it has a duty and responsibility to look into every claim that appears credible. Also, once someone is elected by the people as their representative in Parliament, a provincial council or a local council, despite his past track record, the state is particularly responsible for his/her security. 
The issue with regard to the politicians’ security has cropped up at this juncture following the murder of Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Lasantha Wickramasekara on October 22 at his office. Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala argues that the incident was the result of an underworld gang rivalry, which is not denied yet by his party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). Meanwhile, the Cabinet Spokesman and Mass Media Minister Nalinda Jayatissa has questioned as to why  Opposition politicians are alarmed when  underworld gangs kill each other’s members.However, this is not politics, rather a sensitive issue. It must be looked into with reasons and not with rhetoric.

‘Your Thought’ is a space, a right of the readers to support or contradict and discuss the issues highlighted in the editorial and other articles in the editorial and op-ed pages. Designed as the reader’s editorial; our readers can send in their writings, with a word count not exceeding 200, to ‘Your Thought’, Daily Mirror Political Features Desk, No 8, Hunupitiya Cross Road, Colombo 2 or email to [email protected]