Defence Ministry denies Army deserter’s claims

“WHERE IS PRAGEETH?”

Defence Ministry denies Army deserter’s claims

[ Sunday, 02 December 2012, 02:35.18 PM GMT +05:30 ]

The Defence Ministry yesterday lashed out at claims made by an Army deserter to a Canadian media that he was instructed to plant explosives at the residence of a prominent Tamil politician.

According to the Ministry, the officer identified as Captain Ravindra Priyashantha Watudura Bandanage, 38, had reportedly deserted after flying to Toronto in October 2009 to take part in a Wushu tournament. According to the Canada based National Post, he had told Canadian immigration officials that he was aware of torture and other crimes carried out by government forces against Tamils. He had also reportedly alleged that he was ordered by a colonel to place explosives in the home of former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, M.K. Sivajilingam. The Defence Ministry in a statement claimed that Capt. Bandanage was “a man of dubious repute and questionable integrity towards his motherland,” and added that he was “one of the many characters in the tragedy that the LTTE rump is playing to the international audience”. The Ministry also revealed that the said officer was not deployed in operational areas during the final stages of the war and had primarily served in and around Colombo where he had been assigned for administrative duties.