militarisation

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed (Rtd.) Maj.Gen. Sumedha Perera as Co-Chairman of the Task Force for Poverty Eradication and Livelihood Development. (Rtd.) Maj.Gen.Perera will administer functions related to the Agriculture sector. Major General was one of the pioneers of the Air Mobile Brigade of the Sri Lanka Army during the high intensive battles fought against […]

Image courtesy of Amnesty International. On March 26, 2020, President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa granted a presidential pardon and released convicted death row prisoner and mass murderer, former Army Staff Sergeant R. M. Sunil Rathnayake. While the country is on lockdown due to COVID-19, the President has seized this opportunity to deal a lethal blow to the […]

” With parliament dissolved and elections postponed, it is necessary to ensure that the handling of the coronavirus epidemic is not compounded by other crises. In general there is a need to follow the provisions of the constitution as it is adherence to the law is what gives stability to societies. This is also the […]

In a letter to the Lieutenant-General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army and Chairman of the ‘National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak’ (NOCPCO),  secretary to president P.B. Jayasundara has requested that “Export-oriented manufacturing enterprises be advised that the operation of their enterprises shall be carried out subject o […]

Image: Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva (c)Ishara S. Kodikara/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today appointed Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva to spearhead the National Operation Center for Prevention of COVID- 19 outbreak. Militarisation of civilian affairs has been on the increase under Gotabaya presidency. Fight against coronavirus outbreak is has provided an […]

Literally, this picture is worth more than a thousand words. It shows former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda and current Defense Secretary General Kamal Gunarathne having a friendly chat during the Ananda Nalanda big match last weekend. Wasantha Karannagoda is a suspect of the well-known case of abducting and killing 11 youth by the Sri Lankan […]

Cardholders to get discounts in shopping and other services including health, education etc. The Defence Ministry has decided to issue ‘Virusara Privilege Cards’ (VPCs) to over 200,000 security forces personnel, including families of fallen war heroes and disabled soldiers to provide them discounts from public and private sector institutions. Over 44,500 cards have already been […]

Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne has said that the Government had integrated military and civil capabilities through ‘Integrated Contingency Planning’ to enable the military to work alongside with civilian first-responders to mitigate the impact of disaster situations, worker strikes and civil unrests and take the lead if necessary. “Defence Ministry is capable of […]

Under the government programme for placement of 100,000 unemployed graduates and diploma holders, the interviewing process is underway at Divisional Secretariats by senior government officials with the participation of military officers on the interview board. This raised concerns among those who came for the interview at a DS office in the North this week. It […]

The Defence Ministry has established a Task Force (TF) to monitor the progress to speed up the on-going investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) into last year’s Easter Sunday serial terrorist attacks in the country, which had claimed more than 250 lives, reports defence.lk. The six-member TF, which includes top officials from various intelligence […]

Image: Major General (Retd) Prasad Samarasinghe served as the Army Spokesman and the Director Media of the Sri Lanka Army. Major General (Retd) Prasad Samarasinghe Appointed Chief Manager Of Lotus Tower Colombo Sri Lanka Government has appointed two more Retired Major Generals to rin civilian institutions. Retired Major General Prasad Samarasinghe has been appointed the […]

Sri Lanka government is going to deploy a police officer for each school in the guise of a drug prevention program. This program will  be launched to eradicate the drug menace from school children, stated the Ministry of Education, Ada Derana reports. Under the program, interested parents or past pupils of each school will be […]

“Let me bow before you my country, where It is ordained that none will walk the streets with his head held high.” Faiz (Let me bow before you) On the 72nd anniversary of Sri Lanka’s independence, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa conferred the rank of major general on 17 brigadiers. The list included Deshapriya Gunawardane, the commanding officer […]

Image: Major General G.V. Ravipriya (army.lk photo) A Cabinet paper has been submitted to facilitate the appointment of retired Major General G.V. Ravipriya as the Commissioner General of Prisons, reports Sri Lanka Mirror. Major General G.V. Ravipriya was an officer of the Artillery Regiment and assumed office as the Commander Security Force – Kilinochchi on […]

Since his election on 16 November 2019, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, have initiated fundamental changes to policies on ethnic relations, the legacy of a 26-year civil war, and the rule of law. Mahinda had previously served as Sri Lanka’s president and Gotabaya as defence minister during the […]

Major General (Retd.) Nanda Mallawarachchi has been appointed as the Director-General of the Department of Multi-Purpose Development Task Force, effective 8 January. The aim of this programme is to provide State sector permanent employment to most suitable candidates, who are unskilled individuals without any formal education or of the lower level of education, after giving […]

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved drafting of a new Bill titled ‘National Intelligence Act’ to regulate and empower all intelligence services, says the Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Dr.Bandula Gunawardene.This was announced during the media briefing held today (15) at the Government Information Department Auditoprium to announce Cabinet decisions. National intelligence services of the country make […]

“If we lift the hideous rags of History, we find this: hierarchy versus equality and order versus liberty.” – Éric Vuillard (The Order Of The Day) The indications are clear, as are the implications. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, elected on a Sinhala-Buddhist supremacist platform intends to rule as a Sinhala-Buddhist supremacist president. For the first time in […]

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has issued a Gazette Extraordinary calling upon the armed forces to maintain public order across the country with effect from today (22). The President issued the gazette notification yesterday (21) by virtue of the powers vested in him by Section 12 of the Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40). Accordingly, the Army, Navy […]

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed International Relations expert Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage to the post of Additional Secretary to the President for Foreign Relations. Admiral Colombage served the Sri Lanka Navy for a period of 36 years and retired as the Commander of the Navy on 1 July 2014. Admiral Colombage is the 18th Commander […]

Image: Sri Lanka’s recently elected president Gotabaya Rajapaksa (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) Newly-elected Sri Lankan president, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, has made several significant appointments of former military officers since the November 16 poll to bolster his already extensive powers and give greater control to the armed forces. One of the most important was his selection of retired […]

A Sri Lankan brigadier who motioned death threats to Tamil protestors in London last year has been found guilty by a British court of violating the Public Order Act, after a protracted legal battle. Westminster Magistrate’s Court upheld a previous ruling that Sri Lanka’s Brigadier Priyanka Fernando “is  not  protected  by  diplomatic  immunity”, despite pleas […]

5th November, 2019. Statement Condemning Threats, Harassment and Reprisals against Human Rights Lawyer and Jaffna University Senior Lecturer, Kumaravadivel Guruparanly. We, the undersigned individuals strong condemn the recent threats, harassment and unfair treatment against human rights defender, Kumaravadivel Guruparan, by the Sri Lankan military and University Authorities. Guruparan, is a prominent human rights lawyer and […]

Image: The Sword of Damocles. With the presidential election campaign now well underway, it appears that the contest is between the two main candidates, Sajith Premadasa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa. In the absence of scientific polling in Sri Lanka, no credible voter sentiment analysis is available. Therefore we are all compelled to rely on speculation. Outside the […]

Professor Chandragupta Thenuwara who was among two petitioners who challenged Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s citizenship status is facing numerous threats By Arjuna Ranawana. Gotabaya Rajapaksa walks out of the Special High Court in Hulftsdorp surrounded by bodyguards/RepublicNext Professor Chandragupta Thenuwara is facing death threats from various persons backing the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Presidential Candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa, […]

Image: The illegal cremation of a Buddhinst monk, despite a court order not to cremate him on the temple land. In a hard hitting letter to president Sirisena, TNA leader R. Sampanthan  says that “failure to independently investigate what happened at Neeraviady Pillayar Temple in Chemmalai, Mullaitivu will only confirm and further encourage this growing trend of […]

The state-run Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) was brought under the purview of the Ministry of Defence yesterday evening (9). A gazette notification signed by President Maithripala Sirisena, who also holds the Defence portfolio, was issued a short while ago announcing the takeover. Veteran media personality Kalum Palitha Maheeratne was appointed SLRC Chairman on 6 […]

Introduction On the late evening of 20 February 2009, two diminutive aircrafts swiftly approached Sri Lanka’s capital with the intention of launching an attack against the military’s defense base in Colombo. The Zlin Z-143 airplanes were flown by ferocious Air Tigers; the air-wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), fueled with determination to […]

Image: General Shavendra Silva is seen at the Ampara Air Force camp in eastern Sri Lanka August 24, 2009.  © 2009 Reuters/Stringer/Files. Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia Director, HRW. Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed a general whose forces have been credibly accused of war crimes as the commander of the national army. The move would seem to confirm the […]

Image: Sri Lankan chief editor of the privately-owned Rivira weekly Upali Tennakoon (L) is rushed to the Colombo national hospital after he was attacked in 2009 (AFP Photo/Ishara S. KODIKARA) (AFP) Sri Lanka on Wednesday charged two army spies for a decade-old serious assault of a newspaper editor in the wake of the shock assassination of […]