THERE IS DANGER YET– GOTABAYA
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that the possible the reemergence of the LTTE was one of the biggest dangers faced by the country in the post conflict period and that the military had identified the threat. He said steps had been taken to strengthen Sri Lanka’s intelligence services and establish camps in strategic locations.
“LTTE front organisations can encourage and facilitate EX-LTTE cadres and those who had evaded the armed forces during the war and pave way for the reemergence of the LTTE.
Those who did not surrender to the forces are probably following the ideology of the LTTE. Even among the 11,000 who were rehabilitated there must be a few who have not turned a new leaf,” he said.
“We cannot forget everything just because we defeated them militarily. The threat is still there. There are lots of enemies in the international front taking active steps to derail the path the government is taking to achieve economic development,” he said, speaking at a lecture on the topic: ‘Future Challenges of National Security in Sri Lanka’ organised by the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute and ANCL.
“That is why we still maintain a strong military and a considerable portion of the budget is set aside for the armed forces. Only two and a half years have elapsed since we defeated the LTTE,” he said.
He charged that certain groups, with ulterior motives, charge that the country is heading towards militarisation. At present the day to day law and order is maintained by the police. “The establishment of camp anywhere in Sri Lanka is a decision and concern of the country as it is a sovereign state,” he noted. “Currently the front organisations of the LTTE and their supporters are taking the internal problems of Sri Lanka to international fora,” he said.
The defence secretary also noted that the country would have to consider its geopolitical position due to its strategic location.
“Organisations such as the Global Tamil Forum and British Tamil Forum pressure the international community and western governments to put more pressure on Sri Lanka. They want the international community to look negatively at Sri Lanka; and that is how the pressure is put on us,” he said.
The defence secretary charged that these LTTE front organisations were closely associated with the international media and that was how they spread the message just as they did by airing the video footages through Channel-4. These organisations also run schools by the name of Thamil Cholai which gives education to about 15,000 students, he said.