Some politicians still propagating separatism despite defeat of LTTE- Maj. Gen. Kamal Gunaratne
Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (retd) Kamal Gunaratne says the challenge of defeating separatist ideology remains as some Tamil politicians are attempting to propagate it, though the military defeated LTTE terrorism 10 years agao.
Gunaratne said aspirations of the majority of the Tamil people were different from the ideology of those politicians. “Ordinary Tamil people who suffered under LTTE terrorism do not want a separate state but some Tamil politicians are campaigning for it,” Gunaratne said when he met visiting Zambian Army Chief Lt. Gen. W.M. Sikazwe at the Ministry, yesterday (25).
Maj. Gen. Gunaratne spoke of the lasting relationship between the two nations, dating back to the heyday of the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) and the existing Sri Lanka – Zambia military relations.
“The Zambian military would benefit from its Sri Lankan counterpart’s innovative warfare tactics,” the visiting Army Chief said.
In response, the Secretary of Defence informed Lt. Gen. Sikazwe said that Sri Lanka was ready to share with the Zambian Special Forces Sri Lankan Special Forces’ expertise on ‘Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) ’and the specialized module on ‘Survival, Escape, Evasion and Combat Tracking’.
At present, six Officer Cadets and one officer in the rank of Major from the Zambian Army are undergoing training at Sri Lankan military institutions including the Kotelawala Defence University.
Maj.Gen. Gunaratne said the ministry would comply if the Zambian Army required a team of Sri Lankan military instructors to conduct sessions at their staff colleges.
Lt. Gen. Sikazwe is on a five-day visit to the country since 21 February with a Zambian Army delegation, which includes Brigadier General Simusandu, Defence Attaché High Commission of Zambia, New Delhi, India, Brigadier General G Ng’andwe, Director General Training, Colonel Leonard Peter Daka, Deputy Director General Policy Doctrine and Strategy, Colonel Jethrow Chipili,
Director Zambia Defence University, Colonel T. Banda, Chief Instructor Staff College, Lieutenant Colonel M. Shapwaya, Commandant Special Forces School and Captain M. Mulenga, Aide-de-Camp.
137 Viewers
