Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary, and alleged war criminal, Kamal Gunaratne vowed that the government would not allow for religious extremism or terrorism and was fully committed to ensuring national security.
The statement came during a speech at the 30th anniversary of the Battle of Kokavil, fought on 27 June – 11 July 1990. During this battle, the LTTE carried out a successful 14-day siege on a Sri Lankan military camp at Kokavil, which enabled the Tigers to destroy the government’s relay station and tower. During this siege over 60 government soldiers were killed, including Capt. Saliya Aladeniya. The camp was eventually retaken by the government in October 2008, during the Battle of Kilinochchi.
During his speech, Gunaratne applauded Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and claimed that his government ensure security against all threats including natural disasters and the ‘drug mafia’, so that Sri Lankans can ‘live in a fear-free country’.
This statement follows the widely panned creation of a Presidential Task Force designated for the establishment of a “disciplined, virtuous, and lawful society”. The task force has been described as a threat to the “rule of law” because of its broad and vaguely defined mandates to stamp out the “anti-social activities” and the “drug menace”. The task force has also been criticised as it appears it will be superseding already establish public agencies which raise concerns over accountability. Public officials who refuse to comply with orders from the task force may be threatened to be reported to the office of Sri Lanka’s President.
The Defence Secretary further called for the creation of ‘war literature’.
“War literature has to be done after proper research including successes and setbacks by the military. They need to be written for future generation to know about the heroic acts done by our brave soldiers to save the country,” Gunaratne claimed.
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