Defence Secretary dismisses allegations against Head of SIS

By Ifham Nizam

Justice would be done for those who had lost their lives, those who had suffered injuries due to the Easter Sunday attacks, Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne, said yesterday dismissing allegations that Zahran Hashim had been paid by the state intelligence an Major General Suresh Sallay, the Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) had links to the perpetrators of the carnage.

Addressing the WebEx, organised by the President’s Media Centre (PMC), the Defence Secretary stressed that Sallay had served under him and the latter did not know Arabic and was married to a Buddhist and had two sons following that faith.

Gunaratne also said that he had had lengthy discussions with all Islamic religious groups including the scholarly group, the All Ceylon Jammiyathul Ulama (ACJU), and he would look into the concerns raised by Samagi Jana Balavegaya parliamentarian Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka in Parliament recently over the factual errors in the 6th volume of Mahawansa.

The Defence Secretary said that Fonseka had been his senior and Army Chief during the war, and therefore he had a lot of regard Fonseka despite differences of opinion.

He assured that they would discuss with the President and take steps rectify errors pointed out by the Field Marshal.

Responding to a question, he said he would speak to Field Marshal Fonseka and obtain the document he tabled in Parliament pertaining to the errors in the 6th volume of Mahawansa.

“He tabled a document comprising some 70 pages. I will speak to him and get it down. I will take action to rectify the errors, if any.”

Fonseka told Parliament recently that the government should take action to rectify factual errors in the 6th volume of Mahawansa with regard to the war against the LTTE. He claimed that there were more than 70 factual errors in the 6th Volume.

Capt. Indika de Silva, Media Director, Naval Headquarters, said that the Sri Lanka Navy also had a played a major role in protecting the sovereignty of the country, especially when it came to guarding and patrolling its seas.

He said the Sri Lanka Navy had seized more than Rs. 35 billion worth of narcotics during the past two years alone, making it a great service to the country and the future of the youth as the guardians of the nation’s first ring of defence.

The Civil Engineering Division of the Sri Lanka Navy had been making huge contributions to the construction sector. It was also committed to the welfare of the people and had implemented several projects to provide clean drinking water to the people, he said.

Capt. De Silva said that the Sri Lanka Navy was working hard to ensure the security of the Coastal Ecological Zone and protecting the mangroves through replanting programmes.

He said the Navy was also actively involved in pandemic control and the national vaccination drive.

Media Director, Sri Lanka Air Force Headquarters Group Captain Dushan Wijesinghe also spoke.

He said that with the outbreak of Covid-19, the SLAF was committed to disinfection. In addition it was mitigating urban traffic congestion as well as contributing to environmental conservation projects including aerial seeding in protected areas.