In one of his first acts as president of Sri Lanka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed accused war criminal Sampath Thuyacontha as the new Secretary of Defence – a military figure who boasted of causing “chaos” during the Mullivaikkal genocide.
Thuyacontha was the Wing Commander of the No 09 squadron, a helicopter gunship squadron that conducted nearly 400 missions during the genocide.
The genocide, which concluded in May 2009, saw tens of thousands of Tamil civilians massacred by the Sri Lankan military who indiscriminately bombed hospitals and government declared ‘No Fire Zones’.
“We caused chaos along their frontline in the Vanni theatre,” boasted Thuyacontha in an interview after the atrocities. He said he had personally been involved in about 60 missions during the final phase of the armed conflict alone.
His squadron fired a total of 19,762 80 mm rockets, Thuyacontha said. In addition, they were armed with 23 mm twin barrel systems 12.7 mm Gatlin guns, 30 mm cannons, and bombs weight up to 250 kg.
Two pairs of Mi-24s helicopters alone “could have caused massive devastation,” he said.
In particular, Thuyacontha spoke of his role in the Battle of Puthukkudiyiruppu in April 2009.
"We flew many sorties day and night targeting the enemy," he admitted. "It was like 31st night – full of fireworks."
After the genocide, like many other military figures, he was sent abroad as a diplomat – reportedly as part of a tactic to shield senior military officials from war crimes prosecutions. Thuyacontha was appointed the Sri Lankan defense attaché appointed to Pakistan.
He takes over the post as Secretary of Defence from another accused war criminal Kamal Gunaratne.
