In line with the forthcoming 75th Army Anniversary (10 October) a solemn ceremony was held on 7th October 2024 at the Battaramulla War Heroes’ Monument (Ranaviru Smarakaya) to pay tribute to the heroic sacrifices of the nation’s fallen War Heroes.

The Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage RWP RSP ndu, presided over the ceremony as the Chief Guest, lending a significant sense of respect and prominence to the occasion. The event commenced with singing the National Anthem, followed by a two-minute silence observed in honour of the nation’s fallen patriots.

Thereafter, the Chief Guest, accompanied by several Senior Officers and Colonels of all regiments of the Sri Lanka Army  laid floral wreaths and saluted paying a solemn tribute to the fallen War Heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for the sovereignty of the nation.

Former MPs not entitled to police protection

By Rathindra Kuruwita

There are laws and regualations stipulating the level of security to be provided to Presidents, former Presidents, Ministers, and MPs, but in the past they were given more security, Cabinet spokesman, Minister Vijitha Herath has said.

“According to the law, a person is not entitled to police protection after ceasing to be an MP. But previous governments allowed former MPs to retain their security in violation of laws and regulations,” Minister Herath said yesterday.

“In the future, intelligence services will conduct a threat assessment, and special security will be provided only to those facing security threats, Minister Herath said, stressing that elected representatives should be treated equally.

“The Ministry of Defence has also requested VIPs to return the weapons and ammunition issued to them. This does not mean the Ministry will retain these weapons indefinitely; they will be returned after a thorough assessment of threats and proper documentation,” he added .

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Sri Lanka had authorised a Chinese military training vessel to arrive, Cabinet Spokesman, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said yesterday.

Herath said the Chinese vessel was no threat to anyone’s national security and Indian, German and US warships had docked in Sri Lankan ports.

Asked by a journalist whether there would be a change in Sri Lanka’s foreign policy, Herath said that the NPP treated every country equally.

“We will not treat anyone more favourably than others. This is the basis of the non-aligned policy,” he said, noting that they had no problem with any country supporting Sri Lanka in a way that does not harm the country’s national interests.

Herath said that a senior US military official would visit Sri Lanka on Thursday (10) and the US was to present a naval vessel to the Sri Lanka Navy.

“National interest is our priority and based on that we will engage with everyone,” he said.

Herath added that they had prepared a list of relatives, and associates of politicians who had been appointed to various Sri Lankan missions. The list would be published soon, he said.