Mithreepala Refused to Provide Army Protection to MR
Patriotic people urged to unite against govt. as talks on MR’s security fail
(Courtesy of The Island)
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Ven. Bengamuwe Nalaka and National Freedom Front MP Jayantha Samaraweera yesterday warned of dire consequences unless patriotic forces compelled the ruling UNP-SLFP coalition to reverse its agenda meant to appease Western powers and the government of India.
They urged members of all political parties represented in parliament as well as the masses to be vigilant of the Yahapalana leadership’s strategy. Ven Nalaka thera and MP Samaraweera declared that they represented the interests of all those who recognized the heavy sacrifices made by the armed forces during the war.
The army alone lost nearly 24,000 officers and men during the conflict. Of them nearly 6,000 died during the final eelam war IV (Aug 2006-May 2009).
Addressing the media at Sammbuddaloka viharaya on Lotus Road, Ven. Nalaka thera alleged that a group of officers and men of the country’s premier intelligence service, the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) had been in remand custody on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations pertaining to the disappearance of media personality Prageeth Ekneligoda on the eve of January 26, 2010 presidential polls. Of the nine personnel, one was recently given bail by the Homagama Magistrate.
The monk alleged that some police officers and the Attorney General’s Department had facilitated the government project meant to humiliate those who had served the country at the risk of their lives. The monk alleged that a particular police officer who had been spearheading the investigation into Ekneligoda’s disappearance recently received a special promotion to the rank of SP. The monk accused the government of giving special favoured treatment to selected officers to do its dirty work.
An irate Ven Nalaka thera said that contrary to government propaganda, the G7 (US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan) had invited President Maithripala Sirisena for its recently concluded summit in Japan because he toed the Western line. On the other hand, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had earned the wrath of Western powers and India for not dancing to their tune.
Ven. Nalaka thera said that those who couldn’t bear the eradication of the LTTE were working overtime to bring in a Constitution at the expense of the unitary character of the country. The thera declared that what the separatist LTTE couldn’t achieve through its conventional military power was now being offered on a platter. Members of the Joint Opposition as well as those representing other political parties should oppose the move.
A country re-united at a tremendous cost in terms of men and material couldn’t be divided again on ethnic lines, Ven Nalaka thera said, warning that political turmoil caused by separatist project was inimical to all communities. “We are not talking only on behalf of Sinhalese,” the monk declared.
Ven. Nalaka thera bitterly complained about President Maithripala Sirisena refusal to allow his predecessor to retain elite army commando bodyguards. The monk said that the threat faced by former President Rajapaksa couldn’t be compared with challenges experienced by others. Whatever his critics might say, the former President ensured political leadership to sustain the war effort in spite of heavy Western and Indian pressure.
The monk revealed that a special discussion held with President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday had failed to convince the President to ensure army protection to his predecessor. Ven. Nalaka thera had been in the delegation involved in talks with the President. The President had emphasized that he couldn’t take a unilateral decision regarding the former President’s security and the National Security Council was needed to be consulted. The President had further argued that the army weren’t involved in providing security to political leaders in any part of the world, hence the decision to follow the international standards, the monk said.
MP Samaraweera alleged that the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government had allowed the UN a free hand in Sri Lanka. Referring to a recent visit undertaken by two UN representatives, the MP claimed that they had been given free access to security forces bases and police stations both in former operational areas as well as south. No other country would have given such access to the international community, the MP said.
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