Govt. urged to stop persecuting military to appease West

December 30, 2015, 9:42 am 

Kalutara District UPFA MP Jayantha Samaraweera (NFF) yesterday warned the government of dire consequences unless it immediately stopped persecuting military officers on trumped-up charges.

Samaraweera was addressing the media at the Kottawa junction in the wake of a group of monks performing Satyakriya to pressure the government to release five military officers and men arrested in connection with their alleged involvement in the disappearance of media personality Prageeth Ekneligoda on the eve of 2010 presidential polls.

The MP also referred to Sergeant Major Sunil Ratnayake, who had been sentenced to death recently for being responsible for the massacre of eight Tamil civilians at Mirusuvil, Jaffna on Dec 19, 2000.

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government had jeopardised national security by acting against the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), the MP claimed. The government had conveniently forgotten the sacrifices made by security forces, particularly Intelligence Services during the conflict, Samaraweera alleged.

The NFF spokesman said the government was bending backwards to appease Western powers, pro-LTTE Diaspora organisations as well as those who still promoted separatist sentiments. According to him, the new administration had targeted selected officers and men in accordance with a commitment given last September at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which was a Western cat’s paw.

The former JVPer warned that people would launch street protests unless the government reversed its despicable strategy (SF)