GOVT ORDERS FULL INVESTIGATION INTO ATTEMPTED ARREST OF CDS MAHINDA SAMARASINGHE

The government would before long expose if there was anyone behind the attempt to arrest Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne as President Maithripala Sirisena was disturbed on the covert move, Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said yesterday.

He said the alleged attempt to arrest the CDS after recording a statement at the CID was peculiar and suspicious because the CID had failed to inform President Sirisena in advance on the high profile arrest while ignoring that the President was not only the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces but the Minister of Defense, as well as the Head of State.

Addressing the weekly SLFP news briefing at the party office, Minister Samarasinghe said the CID had overridden the tradition and violated the protocol by keeping not only President

There will be no arrests of soldiers or policemen without a prima facie case against them

Sirisena but Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in the dark on the sensitive issue.

“President Sirisena has no opposition at all for taking legal action against the armed forces personnel or police, if any of the armed forces personnel has committed an offence. But it is wrong if they are arrested, kept in remand custody and finally released after several months for lack of evidence and there is no case against them. Therefore, there will be no arrests of soldiers or policemen without a prima facie case against them. The arresting of armed forces personnel in an arbitrary manner would affect the morale of war heroes,” Minister Samarasinghe said.

He said a thorough investigation has been ordered by the government and the person, if any who gave orders to arrest the CDS, would be exposed and punished.

Responding to a journalist on alleged war crime charges against Sri Lankan soldiers, Minister Samarasinghe said US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May have ruled out action against any member of their respective armies either by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on violations of the International Human Rights Law and therefore no country could raise the issue of probing alleged war crime charges against Sri Lanka.