Police officers called in sick during transport strike

"It is not in the public interest to submit any information on your query"

Police are refusing to confirm or deny information that a large number of officers called in sick on the first day of the bus strike.

Sources close to police said a large number of officers - there could be as many as 100 - had called in sick on the first days of the strike.

The rather anomalous collective sickness spell, suggests, among other possibilities, some sort of uneasiness with facing the strikers.

However, the police would not be drawn into commenting or even confirming the information, saying simply, in a curt reply to this newspaper's questions: "We feel that it is not in the public interest, or that it is of any news value, to submit any information on your query."

The Home Affairs Ministry, which is responsible for the police, was equally sensitive when asked to confirm the story.

The ministry's spokesman said: "A police officer is not a robot and can fall ill just like any other human being. In that case, police officers have the right to report in sick just like other workers."

On this basis, he continued, the ministry does not feel the need to go into the matter of daily administration of the police force.

"What matters is that during the public transport strike, the (force) handled the situation brilliantly, ensured law and order were maintained throughout, and speedily brought to justice those who acted illegally."

A number of drivers who committed acts of violence during the strike were arrested and charged. A few of them have already been sentenced, but law enforcement personnel were clearly struggling with the nationwide mayhem in the first few days of the week starting - particularly between July 14 and 16 - when several incidents were reported.

Towards the end of the four-day strike, however, police managed to block strikers in specific areas and had the situation largely under control.