News

Ex-STF chief makes U-turn

Published

5 years ago

2020/10/8

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Former Commandant of the STF, Senior DIG (Retd.) M.R. Latheef earlier told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) investigating the Easter Sunday attacks that he heard about the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) and its leader Zahran Hashim only after the Easter Sunday attacks, but yesterday he admitted he had been aware of Zahran and the NTJ even before the attacks.

Earlier a Commissioner asked the witness if STF’s Kattankudy office had not bee aware of NTJ and Zahran before the Easter Sunday attacks.

SDIG Latheef said the STF intelligence agents were not geared to uncover intelligence information on national security. They had been established to work on intelligence provided by other agencies and how best to use such intelligence.

Chairman of the PCoI then asked the witness if STF intelligence officers had never reported on Zahran and the NTJ. Latheef said no intelligence information had been provided by STF agents.

Commissioners directed Latheef’s attention to a report sent by the STF intelligence officers to the Commanding Officer of the Kalawanchikudi STF camp on 24 March, 2018. This report referred to Zahran and the NTJ and Latheef acknowledged that the report referred to NTJ and Zahran.

Latheef was also shown STF intelligence reports and he admitted that those reports too had referred to Zahran and his activities.

“Did the Secretary of the Commission ask you to submit documents on the religious extremism that were available at STF?” Chairman of the Commission asked the witness.

“I was instructed,” SDIG Latheef said.

Commissioners: “Why didn’t you include STF reports on Zahran and the NTJ in the documents you submitted to the Commission?”

SDIG Latheef: “I don’t know if the documents you have were received by the STF headquarters. Can you please request a report on this from the STF headquarters? These three reports were sent to STF regional camps. It should be checked whether they were referred to the headquarters and it should be ascertained whether any officer at the headquarters had inquired into it.”

The Commissioners also questioned the witness on the transfer of five intelligence officers attached to the STF camp at Arugambay and Kalawanchikudi between February 2017 and October 2018. Latheef said he had to look at the relevant documents before answering the question.

The Commissioners then asked Latheef if his earlier statement to the PCoI, i.e. that he had never known about Zahran before 4 April, 2019, was true, Latheef said that he had been aware of NTJ through certain electronic and print media reports before the Easter Sunday bombing.

He had also been made aware of Zahran during discussions held at the Police headquarters and during discussions with other senior police officers, he said.

The Commission then questioned him whether it could have been possible for him to take action on Zahran using the report of the SIS, warning of a possible terror attack.

Latheef said he had taken steps. “For example, I beefed up security at the Indian High Commission as the information indicated that it could be a target of attackers.”

Considering SDIG Latheef’s evidence before the Commission, yesterday, the Commission observed that it was appropriate to give him the opportunity to appear before the Commission with the assistance of an Attorney-at-Law under Section 16 of the Commission Act and adjourned the hearing until 10 October.

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News

Cabinet approves construction of new 300 bed Base Hospital in Deniyaya

Published

8 hours ago

2026/02/18

Priyan

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution forwarded by the Minister of Health and Mass Media to relocate the Deniyaya Base Hospital after constructing a new hospital with a capacity of 300 beds at an estimated cost of Rupees 6,000 million.

The Southern Provincial Department of Health has acquired a plot of land in Handford estate which is approximately 03 kilometres away from the town for this purpose.

News

Cabinet nod to legally empower methodology for implementing the ‘Praja Shakthi’ poverty alleviation national movement

Published

8 hours ago

2026/02/18

Priyan

The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the resolution furnished by the Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment to instruct the Legal Draftsman to draft a bill to legally empower the implementation of ‘Praja Shakthi’ (Strength of the Community) poverty alleviation national movement

News

NPP not under Indian pressure to hold PC polls – JVP

Published

8 hours ago

2026/02/18

Sahan Weerasooriya

Tilvin Silva

…preliminary work started on new Constitution

JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva yesterday (17) maintained that the NPP government was not under Indian pressure to hold the long delayed Provincial Council elections.

The top JVP official said so appearing on Sirasa Pathikada, anchored by Asoka Dias. Tilvin Silva said that neither the devolution nor terrorism issues had been discussed during his meeting with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Deputy National Security Advisor Pavan Kapoor, in New Delhi. This was Tilvin Silva’s first visit to India.

Declaring that politics hadn’t been on the agenda, the JVPer said that the Indian focus was entirely on economic development and technology.

The JVP General Secretary visited India under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations’ (ICCR) Distinguished Visitors Programme from 5-12 February 2026. General Secretary Silva was accompanied by Kitnan Selvaraj, MP, Ilankumaran Karunanathan, MP, JVP Central Committee Member Janaka Adhikari, JVP’s Media Unit Head Hemathilaka Gamage and Member of JVP’s International Relations Department Kalpana Madhubhashini. The delegation visited New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Thiruvananthapuram.

Responding to another query, Tilvin Silva said that Dr. S. Jaishankar had reiterated that India would always remain a true and trusted partner for Sri Lanka, in accordance with its ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ and Vision ‘MAHASAGAR.’

Referring to the second JVP insurrection in the late 1980s, the JVPer claimed that they had not been against India but responded to the actions of the then Indian government.

Sri Lanka enacted the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in the wake of the Indo-Lanka peace accord of July 1987 to pave the way for Provincial Councils.

Tilvin Silva said that since they came to power, Indo-Sri Lanka relations had changed. “India has realised we could work together,” he said.

The JVP official said that preliminary work was underway, regarding the formulation of a new Constitution. The abolition of executive presidency and creation of an Office of President sans executive powers, too, would be addressed, he said, adding that the strengthening of the legislature was the other issue at hand.

Pointing out that the NPP had 2/3 majority in Parliament and could introduce a new Constitution on their own, Tilvin Silva said that they intended to obtain views of all and study the past processes in a bid to secure consensus. The JVP, as the party that campaigned against the introduction of executive presidency, way back in 1978, would lead the current effort to do away with the existing Constitution, he said.

Tilvin promised that they would implement what was in their manifesto.

The interviewer also raised the issue of abolishing the pensions for ex-Presidents. Tilvin Silva said that the Supreme Court, too, had approved the move to abolish pensions to ex-MPs. Therefore there was no issue with that, however, the ex-Presidents pensions couldn’t be done away with as they were made through the Constitution. That would be addressed when the government introduced a new Constitution in consultation with other stakeholders.

By Shamindra Ferdinando