Courtesy : Midweek Mirror

If you were stopped at a checkpoint and were asked at gunpoint to strip in public, would you do it? Last week, a woman from Kurunegala, walking down Muttiah Road, Colombo 2, was asked to do exactly that.

The woman was being followed by an officer of the Ministerial Security Division and was asked for her national identity card, which she failed to produce. With the recent bomb explosion in Borella still on their minds, she was taken on suspicion that she may be a suicide bomber. 

Upto last Monday, she was still detained. The police yesterday said that she was being held until her proper identity was established because under emergency, a suspect can be held for seven days.

Women's groups yesterday strongly condemned the way the security personnel handled the case.

In a letter to the President, the Sri Lanka Women's NGO Forum and its 25 constituent organizations called on the President to take steps to establish guidelines for security checks.

"We are aware that armed forces personnel and the police are at increased risk during search operations. However, our concern is that it not only constitutes sexual harassment, which is a crime in this country, but that it also sets a dangerous precedent for invasive and offensive security procedures at check points," they said.

ASP Cyril Fernando, Colombo Central, however, said that there was a woman police constable present. "There was a WPC there and she asked her to go behind a parked van and take her shalwar top off to check if she had a suicide kit on," he said.

According to a senior army officer, every check point should have a woman security officer. Except asking for ID cards and checking bags, male officers cannot body check women. If they suspect a woman to be a suicide bomber, they should clear the area (the people around) and inform the relevant sections like the Bomb Squad.

Desmond Fernando, former president, International Bar Association, says that the suspect can now file a fundamental rights case. "Since the incident is something to do with the dignity of the woman, she can file a fundamental right case against those who stripped her," he said.

Women's groups protested yesterday stating that this incident indicates that it "violates human rights and dignity of people who are citizens of this country regardless of their ethnic identity". They further said that the government had set up an "Anti Harassment Committee" to avoid such incidents, and that it is in this light that "such an incident is regretted".

But Jagath Jagodaarachchi, Chief Inspector of the Slave Island Police, claimed that she was not 'striped' and that a female air force officer was present at the time she was asked to raise her top. He also denied that this was done in public. However, onlookers in the area say otherwise. The investigation is now over and she was to be released yesterday, according to Mr. Jagodaarachchi.

The incident raises a few questions. Women activists are worried that this could lead to other security personnel to misuse their power and a repeat incident could occur.

On the other hand, security personnel say that in a country that has to deal with human bombs, one cannot be careless.

What it boils down to is that those manning the checkpoint that day were not trained to handle the situation.

Army officials say that suicide bombers can one strap their kits on in such a way that they can detonate themselves even if they are ordered to put their hands up in the air.

In this case, asking her to remove her clothes wouldn't have been such a smart move even if she was a suicide cadre.

How does one handle a suicide bomber? There seems to be no clear answer. What the incident indicates is that all manning checkpoints should be given guidelines and trained in handling such situations.

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