The General Secretary of Sri Lanka’s Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) rejected calls to remove the Sri Lankan military from the Tamil North-East, in response to a request made to leading members of the Buddhist clergy by Northern Province Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran.
“I don’t fathom on account of which grounds the Chief Minister has made such a formidable statement which might even affect the security of the country,” said parliamentarian Udaya Gammanpila.
"Therefore, we as PHU are opposed to remove defence personnel from the North and request the government to take prompt steps to prevent from removing military personnel from the North," he added.
He went on to state that though 8 years had passed since the end of the island’s armed conflict, it was still “too early and risky” to remove the military from the North-East, according to the Daily Mirror.
Mr Gammanpila also commented on former Sri Lankan army commander Sarath Fonseka’s statement that he was willing to testify against a former colleague accused of war crimes, calling for Mr Fonseka to be fired from his ministerial post.
“We have a reasonable suspicion that the President and the Prime Minister are deliberately neglecting to come out with any remarks on the statements made by Sarath Fonseka,” said Mr Gammanpila.
“We urge the President to interfere into this case and take instant actions to arrest and sack him from his ministerial portfolio as soon as possible.”
