Commando Colonel removed; new guidelines for military vehicles

Army Commander Chrisanthe de Silva has set a series of new guidelines on the use of vehicles to be followed by those in the ranks of Brigadier and above.

These officers have been debarred from using civilian number plates on their official and escort vehicles. In addition, once they reach their residences, the officers have been told that the vehicles should return to the nearest Army Camp. If such a camp was not closer, he has said, they should be parked at the nearest Police Station.

The new rulings come after three soldiers with a pistol were arrested by the Mirihana Police. It transpired that the soldiers have been travelling in a vehicle that has been seized from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and carried civilian number plates which were not valid. The pistol, it turned out, was the official weapon issued to Major General Prasanna Silva.

The Army Commander has removed Maj. Gen. Silva from his post as the Colonel Commandant of the Commando Regiment. This is after an investigation confirmed that the pistol was an official weapon issued to Maj. Gen. Silva and in terms of the law it could not be carried by any other person.

Investigations are now under way by the Ministry of Defence on the use of vehicles seized from the LTTE. "The procedure," in terms of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, was for the vehicles to be handed over to the Department of Motor Traffic for registration and return.

Another instance that has come to light is how a new Prado SUV used by slain Tiger guerrilla leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was being used by another top officer.