Army Commander Senanayake
Prabath Bulathwatte‘s reinstatement as a major was announced on May 11 by Army Chief Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake in an interview with news broadcaster Ada Derana.
In 2017, authorities arrested five military intelligence officers in relation to the 2008 abduction and assault of columnist Keith Noyahr, CPJ reported at the time. Maj. Bulathwatte was among the suspects, according to the Centre for Policy Alternatives,
an independent think tank in the capital, Colombo. During the
investigation, police found evidence linking the men to the 2009 murder
of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, according to news reports.
Ahimsa Wickrematunge, Lasantha’s daughter, filed a civil case in
April in U.S. court against former Sri Lankan Defense Secretary
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, alleging that Rajapaksa operated a clandestine
military intelligence unit known as the “Tripoli Platoon” that was
responsible for her father’s assassination as well was attacks on Noyahr
and Rivira weekly editor Upali Tennakoon.
Bulathwatte was the leader of that platoon, according to news reports citing police investigations. He was released on bail from the Noyahr investigation, according to Colombo-based newspaper Daily FT. No charges against Bulathwatte have been disclosed.
“Promoting to active duty an intelligence officer who has been
implicated in the killing of one journalist and the torture of two
others severely undermines Sri Lanka’s claim that it is fighting
impunity for crimes against journalists,” said CPJ Asia Program
Coordinator Steven Butler in Taipei. “Instead, the move creates new
threats to journalists in Sri Lanka, who are not safe to do their jobs.”
CPJ’s emailed requests for comment to the Sri Lanka army did not receive
a response. CPJ reached out to the army, local civil society groups,
and journalists in Sri Lanka in an attempt to obtain contact information
for Bulathwatte, but was unable to contact him. Rajapaksa did not
respond to a CPJ message in April seeking comment on the U.S. lawsuit.
In his televised interview, Senanayake said that Bulathwatte had been
aware of one of the suspects in last month’s bombings in Sri Lanka,
which killed more than 253 people, and that sidelining the major had
resulted in intelligence setbacks, according to Daily FT. Senanayake said that Bulathwatte had been placed on a special team that functions directly under him, according to the paper.
Emergency regulations remain in place in Sri Lanka after the deadly
Easter bombings. On May 13, Sri Lankan internet providers blocked
Facebook, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, YouTube, and Snapchat for
the third time this month, according to international digital rights
group NetBlocks and news reports. Twitter was blocked on May 13 for the first time, according to NetBlocks.CPJ has reported how these blocks limit journalists’ ability to do their jobs safely and securely.
