Por-LTTE Tamil Terrorists Rajitha’s remarks cause deep concern in the Army
It’s the week when Sri Lanka marks the ninth year of the military defeat of LTTE Tamil terrorists.
The so called Yahapalana Government, committed to a stepped-up one sided reconciliation programme, stopped the armed forces parade celebration of the victory day over the Tamil terrorists while pro-LTTE Tamil groups are allowed to mark so called remembrance day in North. The yahapalana Government did not want to follow suit with a national event first marked by the former government lead BY Rajapaksa.
If that is understandable though not acceptable over a national event where the security forces, the nation’s sentinel, gained a historic victory, there was something bizarre. Official government spokesperson and Health Minister, infamous and notorious and one time prosecuted corruption Rajitha Senaratne, known for his gaffes, told this week’s post-Cabinet news briefing that troops had not used heavy weapons and that was the reason why a lot of them (soldiers) died.
Little wonder, top officers in the Sri Lanka Army are asking their genial Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake to raise issue over the matter with government higher ups. Trained for many years to become a formidable force, they point out, that the prerogative of using which weapon is entirely theirs. They point out that the indiscriminate use of heavy weapons would have led to heavy civilian casualties and enormous collateral damage. This is not to say heavy weapons, like artillery, were not used after enemy targets were identified.
“This is not like asking a person to open his mouth so a bad tooth can be pulled out. We were dealing with civilian lives and had to be very cautious. Despite this we are now facing allegations,” a high ranking Army official said. Such remarks, he added, not only affected the morale of troops but were also a reflection of “how much our efforts have been appreciated.”
One would have accepted those in the ‘Joint Opposition,’ whose leaders were in power during the military defeat of the Tiger guerrillas, to raise issue. However, it fell on the shoulders of only its Kandy District MP Dilum Amunugama.
He told a news conference that in the light of pro-LTTE Senaratne’s remarks, the Military Spokesperson should not participate in future news briefings. The fact that the military is a disciplined service and the spokesperson is only following orders from his Commander was lost on Amunugama.
Widespread condemnation and protest demonstration are raising Island wide against the corrupted and rough Senarathna who was presumed to be responsible for operating underworld gangs called PRAA, Green Tigers, Black Cats during the insurgencies in 1988 and 1989 in Sri Lanka from which over 60,000 Sinhala Buddhists youth were murdered.
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