… ex-spy chief cited to prove futility of political partnerships

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Chief Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena’s testimony before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing the Easter Sunday carnage had shown why the President and the Prime Minister should not be elected from two different parties, SLPP Chairman, Prof. G.L. Peiris, told The Island.

 Prof. Peiris, who heads the SLPP National List said that former spy chief Jayawardena hadn’t shied away from pointing out how a dispute between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had placed the SIS in an extremely difficult situation at the onset of yahapalana administration in January 2015.

 The former External Affairs Minister was commenting on Jayawardena’s testimony on Monday (27).

Jayawardena, who had been in the staff of Director General, Intelligence the late Cyril Herath succeeded Senior DIG C.N. Wakista.

 Jayawardena, faulted for failure to thwart the Easter Sunday carnage by a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) in Oct 2019 explained to PCoI how his outfit struggled to cope with UNP-SLFP coalition in the run-up to a spate of near simultaneous suicide bombings.

Prof. Peiris said that the breakaway UNP faction, the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) readiness to serve a government under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa should be examined against the backdrop of Jayawardena’s assertion.

 Having repeatedly warned of a dictatorship in case Gotabaya Rajapaksa won 2019 presidential election, its leader Sajith Premadasa on several occasions declared his readiness to serve as the Premier under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prof. Peiris said.

 The UNP couldn’t work with Maithripala Sirisena, in spite of him being installed in the Office of the President by the UNP. A devastating political crisis destabilised the much touted yahapalana administration within weeks after 2015 presidential poll. It would be silly even to think about President Gotabaya Rajapaksa having to invite the SJB leader to form the next government, Prof. Peiris said, warning the UNP and SJB to expect debilitating defeat at the Aug 5 presidential poll.

 Responding to another query, Prof. Peiris emphasized that whatever the political complications caused by what he called a disastrous arrangement at that time, the then SIS Chief couldn’t justify their failure to thwart the murderous Thowheed Jamaat project. There was no doubt the political leadership failed, the former minister said, adding that those who allowed the terror project to go ahead by negligence couldn’t solely blame it on the President-Premier battle.

 Describing the beleaguered ex-spy chief as a yahapalana insider, Prof. Peiris alleged that those who had served the previous government sought to side step the key issue.

 The issue at hand is why law enforcement authorities refrained from taking tangible measures in spite of having actionable intelligence from a friendly country, Prof. Peiris said.

 At the time Thowheed Jamaat struck Commander-in-Chief President Sirisena, in addition to defence he also held the law and order portfolio.

 Prof. Peiris said that political rifts couldn’t be allowed to jeopardize national security. Former SIS head’s testimony coupled with that of former presidential secretary P.B. Abeykoon’s exposure showed how the previous administration handled post-war national security, Prof. Peiris said.

 Terrorists could have achieved their objectives without much difficulty due to ‘security services’ playing politics, he said.

 Nilantha Jayawardena received appointment as SIS Chief in March 2015. At that time he was called by the then IGP N.K. Illankagoon to take over SIS, he was in charge of the Kankesanthurai Division in the Jaffna peninsula.

 Prof. Peiris said that the disastrous handling of security/intelligence apparatus leading to the Easter Sunday carnage exposed those who were at the helm of defence apparatus.

 Jayawardena received promotion to the rank of Senior DIG with effect from Feb 28, 2019, with the approval of the National Police Commission (NPC).

 In the wake of the 2019 presidential election, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for the first time in our history brought the SIS under a military officer. One-time Director of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) Brigadier Suresh Sallay was named new SIS Chief. Subsequently, he was promoted to the rank of Major General

 President Rajapaksa also named retired Maj. Gen. Jagath Alwis as the Chief of National Intelligence (CNI) in place of retired DIG Sisira Mendis.

 Intelligence veteran Maj. Gen. Kapila Hendavitharana served the CNI at the time of the 2015 government change. On the UNP’s request, President Sirisena appointed retired DIG Sisira Mendis as the CNI and Mendis was replaced soon after the Easter attacks.

 Maj. Gen. Hendavitharana told The Island that national intelligence services should present the correct ‘intelligence picture’ to relevant political and military authorities. The assertion that political crisis caused difficulties to the SIS in sharing available information with government partners could not be acceptable. Hendavitharana played a crucial role in the overall intelligence effort against the LTTE during the war before being named the first CNI.

 Hendavitharana said that the country paid a very heavy price for not taking threats posed by extremists/terrorists seriously.

 Nearly 275 persons perished in multiple blasts, over 400 suffered injuries.