Midweek Review

Post-Aragalaya look at security and related developments

Published

2 years ago

2024/10/23

Commander of US Pacific Fleet Admiral Steve Koehler meeting President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat, October 10 (pic courtesy PMD)

Colonel Nalin Herath

Referring to Israel’s war on Gaza, Defence Ministry Spokesman Colonel Nalin Herath speculated about further escalation though he refrained from commenting on the Jewish State’s relentless attacks in Lebanon and Iranian missile barrages directed at Israel. The Middle East is on the brink of a regional conflict, Herath declared, in an interview with Supreme TV. Since the interview, the war has taken a new turn with Israeli attacks on Lebanon-based UN peacekeepers causing injuries to personnel, including two Sri Lankan military personnel serving there and the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a chance encounter between Israeli troops and Hamas. Like LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sinwar, the alleged mastermind of the large-scale Oct. 07 Hamas invasion of southern Israel, the first such invasion of the Jewish territory since the first Arab-Israel war in 1948. Those who compared Sri Lanka’s war against the LTTE and the ongoing war should be able to differentiate the conflicts.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The urgent need for a comprehensive examination of daunting political-economic-security-social challenges cannot be overestimated. Bankrupt Sri Lanka is at a crossroads as the Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) seeks to consolidate its position with a convincing victory at the parliamentary election scheduled to be conducted in three weeks. Although its triumph is apparently a foregone conclusion, the Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna (JVP)-led JJB, however, faces formidable domestic and external challenges.

With the former main Opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the former ruling party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP, as well as the UNP-backed New Democratic Front (NDF) in disarray, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s JJB enjoys a clear advantage in such a scenario.

Regardless of putting up a brave patriotic face, the new party, Sarvajana Balaya does not appear to stand a chance at its first parliamentary election. Going by past experience, the local voters usually go with the trend set by the presidential election. To make matters worse, the opposition is badly split among the SJB, NDF and the SLPP. The SLPP that secured 145 seats, including 17 National List slots at the last parliamentary election, in August 2020, can be reduced to just one NL seat at the forthcoming election. The decision on the part of the Rajapaksas to field generally unproven Namal Rajapaksa on the SLPP NL meant that they realized the grave danger of the party being wiped out. Therefore, the Sarvajana Balaya may find the current ground situation intimidating, though several former SLPP parliamentarians, who have always watched over the country’s national interests, back entrepreneur Dilith Jayaweera’s outfit. However, since the presidential election, Sarvajana Balaya has lost Wimal Weerawansa and Gevindu Cumaratunga.

Defence Ministry spokesman and Director General of the Institute of National Security Studies (INSS) Colonel Nalin Herath recently discussed post-Aragalaya security challenges at different levels, taking into consideration both traditional and non-traditional threats.

During the discussion with Mariella Vandort on ‘Spotlight’ on Supreme TV, the Armoured Corps officer covered related issues, such as ex-military men joining the Russian and Ukrainian militaries, foreign relations where he underscored the need for, what he called, a middle-path, and Sri Lanka’s triumph over separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in May 2009 ,against grave doubts expressed by so-called experts.

At the onset, Colonel Herath explained how developments largely depends on sustainable security in an ever-changing globalized world and the responsibility on the part of political and military leaderships to protect the public. Emphasizing the need to neutralize and address both traditional and non-traditional threats, Colonel Herath made reference to the eradication of terrorism.

However, the interviewer failed to take up the origins of separatist terrorism in the ’80s and New Delhi’s role in the terror project that resulted in the formation of half a dozen terrorist groups.

Except the LTTE, the other groups joined the political mainstream during the late Ranasinghe Premadasa’s presidency (1990-1993). Against the backdrop of Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a member of the once-proscribed JVP becoming the President last month, the discussion should have covered the two southern insurgencies in 1971 and 1987-1990. Unfortunately, quite a significant development in our history didn’t receive the required attention. May be it was too dicey a topic to tackle under the current circumstances, especially for a serving military officer. In fact, the emergence of the JJB in mid-2019, a few months before the Presidential Election that was won by wartime Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, could have been examined, leaving out the JVP’s horrid past.

The Sri Lanka Army can quite rightly be proud of its record-defeating two insurgencies and winning a conventional war that the Western powers asserted was impossible. Of course, the Navy and Air Force, as well as police, including its Special Task Force, made an immense contribution, and the annihilation of the enemy (LTTE) couldn’t have been achieved if not for President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s steadfast leadership.

Unforgettable situation report

During the course of the interview, Colonel Herath disclosed that he had been with the 68.1 Brigade assigned to the 53 Division deployed at Vellamullivaikkal, on the Vanni east front, where the combined forces brought the war to a successful end. A smiling MoD spokesman recalled how he signed the situation report that dealt with the death of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran at 9.32 am on May 19, 2009.

Troops recovered Prabhakaran’s body that morning, the day after the conclusion of the Vanni offensive. Colonel Herath said the vast majority appreciated the successful war effort, though others quite conveniently forgot the sacrifices made by the military.

Responding to another query, the armoured corps officer recalled two incidents in the Vanni theatre where he survived death. Both incidents had been in the ’90s, one in Kilinochchi and the other at Oddusuddan off Nedunkerni, when the LTTE fired at the SLA escorting then de facto Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte.

Incidentally, the writer had been among a group of journalists on their way to cover Minister Ratwatte’s visit to Oddusudan when the LTTE fired mortars. The buffel armoured personnel carrier carrying us ended up in a paddy field in the chaos and for about 30 minutes we were stuck there.

Although a conventional military threat appears to be unlikely, the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage underscores the responsibility on the part of the government to remain alert. Although Vandort made reference to Easter Sunday attacks as in emergency situations such as floods and Covid-19, yet the only post-war incident that grabbed international attention was not discussed. Nearly 50 foreigners perished in coordinated attacks on churches and five-star hotels that exposed the severe shortcomings in the political and military leaderships.

In the context of traditional and non-traditional threats, how do we categorize the unprecedented Easter Sunday bombings or Aragalaya (March –July 2022) that forced the democratically elected President out of Office. That removal, for whatever the reasons which contributed to public anger, cannot justify unconstitutional removal, while the armed forces and police just looked on. Perhaps the Defence Ministry-funded think tank INSS should thoroughly examine Aragalaya with a fine tooth comb. Their findings can be at least shared among the military top brass, State Intelligence Service (SIS), Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) and the IGP. The writer, however, understands the dilemma the armed forces are in as the JVP/JJB had been one of the parties directly involved in Aragalaya and, in fact, the only party accused of trying to take control of Parliament by physically storming it, using young activists. The JVP/JJB never denied that accusation. In fact, that accusation or declaration cannot be denied as senior party men were on record urging the people to overrun Parliament.

The SLA had no option but to use brute force to neutralize the serious threat to Parliament in July 2022, days before Gotabaya Rajapaksa gave up office.

Now, the JJB is on the verge of a historic parliamentary election victory. Veteran politician Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, who had been the Speaker at the time of the Aragalaya, confirmed an external hand in the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is in the National List of the NDF. Abeywardena is fifth on that list, headed by former Premier and leader of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) Dinesh Gunawardena. Although Abeywardena conveniently refrained from disclosing the name of the external party involved, the then lawmakers Wimal Weewawansa and retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera, as well as award-winning writer Sena Thoradeniya, alleged a clear US role in Aragalaya. On behalf of the US, its Ambassador here Julie Chung denied the accusation. However, the whole world knows that former Secretary of State John Kerry crowed publicly about how Washington spent millions of dollars for a regime change operation here in 2015 that ousted Mahinda Rajapaksa, along with similar covert acts to topple governments in several other countries.

No less a person than former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, as well as his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa, too, alleged external interference. The incumbent government owed the public an explanation regarding the status of the investigations into the massive destruction caused by Aragalaya.

Those contesting on the NDF ticket backed Ranil Wickremesinghe at the recently concluded Presidential Election. It was the third defeat Wickremesinghe suffered at a presidential election, the first at the hands of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in 1999, followed by 2005. Mahinda Rajapaksa won the 2005 contest by less than 200,000 votes due to the LTTE and TNA (Tamil National Alliance) ordering the northern voters to boycott that election.

Impact of economic crisis on armed forces

Colonel Herath also discussed the requirement to maintain the military strength even during the economic crises and why sufficient investment of public funds is essential. The Colonel didn’t mince his words when he emphasized such investments shouldn’t be considered a waste of money, under any circumstances. Let us hope the executive and the legislature, in unison, accept the need for a robust military. Colonel Herath stressed the need to enhance fighting capability. Over 15 years after the conclusion of the war, and the retirement of thousands of fighting men, the military must take every possible measure to retain their fighting capability.

Colonel Herath placed the current strength of the SLA at 150,000 down from 205,000 at the time of Sri Lanka’s triumph over terrorism. Perhaps, the new government should explain whether it intends to carry out the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government decision to reduce the SLA strength to 100,000 by 2030.

Amidst the continuing economic difficulties that made expected investments on armed forces impossible, foreign powers have stepped in. The recent visit undertaken by Adm. Steve Koehler, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, to Colombo, and the transfer of Beechcraft King Air 360ER aircraft underscored the US commitment to strengthening partnerships in the Indo-Pacific and advancing, what the superpower called, a shared vision for peace and stability by upholding the rules based international order.

The US and its allies, including India, have invested in the Sri Lankan armed forces. The China Bay-based No 03 Maritime Squadron consists of dedicated US and Indian maritime surveillance aircraft. The squadron is expected to take delivery of an ex-Australian Air Force Beech 350 King Air patrol aircraft before the end of this month. The US and its allies seem to be inclined to go ahead with their overall strategy vis a vis Sri Lanka, adopted during Wickremesinghe’s presidency. The US decision to go ahead with the handing over of the fourth US Coastguard Cutter to Sri Lanka, gratis, in the coming year, further emphasized their strategy. All that we can say to the new government is beware of Greeks bearing gifts.

Colonel Herath explained the measures taken by the previous government to address the contentious issue of Sri Lankans on the Russia-Ukraine front. According to him, there had been 470 to 500 officers and men involved on both sides and substantial progress was made during discussions in Moscow and with the Russian Embassy in Colombo. It would be pertinent to mention that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is actually a war between the Russian Federation and the West in Ukraine.

Russian Ambassador to Colombo Levan Dzhagaryan, during a recent conversation with this writer, stressed how the combined West utilized the Ukrainian conflict/territory to achieve their objective of bringing NATO to Russia’s border if not for the counter measures now being implemented by Moscow.

Unfortunately, India, the beneficiary in the Ukraine-Russia war as a result of a massive increase in cheap crude oil purchases since 2022, is trapped in the US strategy.

India’s decision not to sign a Joint Letter supporting the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in the wake of the recent declaration by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel designating the Head of the premier world body as “persona non grata”, underscored New Delhi’s dilemma. Among others who refrained from backing Chilean coordinated efforts were the US along with its close allies the UK, Japan and South Korea, considered by some to be its lap dogs.

There is no other way to explain India backing Ukrainian and Israeli war efforts as discussed by the international media. But, the US, British and Australian reactions to the continuing diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of Sikh activist and naturalized Canadian citizen Hardee Singh Nijjar in British Columbia last year is a grim reminder of Western double standards.

Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau’s Oct. 15 declaration on the conduct of India and its representatives based in Canada underscored Ottawa’s stand that it wouldn’t under any circumstances accept the Modi government’s actions. The Canadian declaration that Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma had a hand in the Nijjar affair caused irreparable damage to Canada –India relations.

Perhaps Canada, having alleged Sri Lanka committed genocide during war against Tamil separatism, should inquire how many ex-Sri Lankan terrorists received Canadian citizenship. Similarly, many wanted for terrorism in India are Canadian passport holders now.

Post-Aragalaya development

The moving of the Court of Appeal against the Defence Ministry decision to collect weapons issued for personal protection under license to selected persons is an eye-opener. The petition underscores the failure on the part of the then government and the security establishment to provide security during Aragalaya when law and order simply disintegrated.

Close on the heels of Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s victory at the Sept. 21 Presidential Election, the Defence Ministry ordered those having licensed weapons and ammunition to hand them over to the Commercial Explosive Firearms and Ammunition Procurement Unit (CEFAP) at Sri Lanka Navy camp, in Welisara, before Nov. 07, this year.

The Defence Ministry declared that this order did not apply for weapons used for the protection of property/crop and sports activities.

H.D. Navinthaka de Silva, CEO of Avenra Hotel Group, in his petition, argued that the Defence Ministry decision posed a significant risk to his safety.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, the Director of the State Intelligence Service, and the Acting Inspector General of Police have been named as respondents in the case. Filed through Attorney-at-Law Sanath Wijayawardena, the petition claimed that Navinthaka de Silva obtained licensed firearms from the Ministry of Defence around 2012 or 2013 due to serious personal threats.

The petitioner emphasized that his businesses, including hotels, suffered considerable damages during recent political unrest, compounding his security concerns.

Declaring that his plea for reconsidering the Defence Ministry decision pertaining to him, petitioner has requested the Court of Appeal to issue a writ order invalidating the Defence Ministry’s order. The petitioner also sought an interim injunction be issued suspending the implementation of the directive until a final decision is reached after the hearing of his case.

Grandeeza, one of the hotels owned by the Avenra Hotel Group situated at Katunayake, on the main Colombo-Negombo road, and just 15 minutes walking distance from the Katunayake airbase, was set on fire and looted in broad daylight. The same fate befell two other hotels owned by them in the Negombo division. The destruction caused by Aragalaya had never been properly established and none of those responsible was brought before a court of law though some progress was made in respect of MP Atukorale’s killing in May 2022.

The operation carried out by Aragalaya was so meticulously planned that perhaps they would have gone ahead with countrywide attacks even if Temple Trees didn’t make the foolish decision to unleash SLPP goons on the Galle Face protesters. As that was used as the pretext to launch violence against the then SLPP government politicians and their friends and relatives with meticulous intelligence from the evening of May 09, 2022, leaving properties looted and torched across the country.

The Avenra CEO’s petition reminds the government of its fundamental responsibility to take all possible measures to protect citizens.

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Midweek Review

Unexpected focus on ‘pieces of tin’ worn by military men

Published

1 day ago

2026/07/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Maj. Lalith Jayasinghe with Kaushalya on his wedding day. Jayasinghe, receipient of Sri Lanka's highest military honour, has been credited with unprecedented raids behind the enemy lines. He died in late November, 2008, in the Vanni east.

Second Lieutenant S.U. Aladeniya, the first recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, died fighting the LTTE in the second week of July, 1990. The young commanding officer of the isolated Kokavil Army detachment refused an opportunity to leave his wounded colleagues. Instead, he chose to set an extraordinary example. The fate of the Kokavil detachment, as well as the unprecedented military debacle that forced the Army to vacate the Kandy–Jaffna A9 road, north of Vavuniya, in 1990, happened due to the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s folly. Premadasa trusted the LTTE to such an extent, he ordered several hundred police officers, in the East, to surrender to appease the LTTE. The rest is history.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris recently questioned in court as to why retired Air Force officer Shantha Jayathilake appeared in court wearing armed forces medals.

The highly decorated war hero Flight Lieutenant Jayathilake represented himself under Section 260 of the Criminal Procedure Code in the trial of Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay, the alleged mastermind of the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage.

During his submission, Dileepa Pieris looked at the medals worn by the retired officer and said: “He comes wearing pieces of tin.”

When Jayathilake objected to the ASG’s remark, Magistrate Pasan Amarasena warned the ex-officer not to interrupt proceedings. Then Peiris said that he couldn’t see Jayathilake’s medals properly. Jayathilake is the recipient of Weewa Wickrema Vibhushanaya (WWV), the second highest gallantry medal awarded to Sri Lankan military. The PWV is the highest gallantry decoration that can be received by a living military man. Jayathilake who joined the Air Force in 1989 at the height of the JVP-led insurgency, retired in 1999, and was also the recipient of the Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP).

Senior President’s Counsel Maithree Gunaratne, who represented Sallay in court, said: “The problem is not with your eyes, but with the red-tinted glasses you are wearing. You wore blue-tinted glasses for a while, and now you wear red-tinted glasses, so the gallantry medals, earned with blood, sweat, and tears for the country, look like pieces of tin to you”

Gunaratne requested that Pieris’s comments on the ex-officer be formally recorded in court records. This happened in the Fort Magistrate’s court on 2 July, 2026. The court proceedings caused controversy with various interested parties expressing differing views on Jayathilake wearing medals to a courtroom.

Some found fault with him for wearing medals while others strongly backed him. The issue at hand received social media attention. Obviously some sought political advantage at the expense of the government and the Attorney General’s Department. Others lambasted the former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Chief Sallay (2029-2024) for causing unnecessary developments. However, the gallantry medals worn by military, both officers and men, cannot be ridiculed by anyone, regardless of his/her position in the society. Gallantry medals remind the country of immense and untold sacrifices made by the military, during the war, and any attempt to dilute them should be strongly opposed.

Those who silently backed or publicly take action against war-winning Army Chief General (retd.) Sarath Fonseka, in 2010, after his defeat at the 2010 January presidential election, shouldn’t see the incident at the Fort Magistrate court as an opportunity.

Although Sri Lanka has been deeply divided over investigations into the conduct of armed forces during the war and after, no issue caused controversy like the arrest of Sallay, a post-war head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) over the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage. Sallay served as the Director of State Intelligence Service (SIS) from 2019 to 2024 before President Anura Kumara Dissanayake replaced him. Perhaps President Gotabaya Rajapaksa shouldn’t have brought Sallay as Director, SIS, contrary to the practice of SIS always being headed by a senior police officer or he was quite right in bringing in a serving military officer with a proven intelligence track record, knowing the shameful behaviour of responsible top police officers in the run up to the Easter Sunday suicide attacks, despite there having been adequate advance intelligence warnings to prevent them.

The intervention made by the retired Air Force officer triggered an unexpected reaction from the Attorney General’s top representative and the subsequent continuing controversy influenced The Island to discuss the awarding of gallantry medals, namely Parama Weera Vibhushanaya (PWV), the highest, followed by Weera Wickrema Vibhushanaya (WWV), Rana Wickrema Padakkama (RWP) and Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP). The fourth medal, Weeradhara Vibhushanaya, is awarded for bravery, regardless of the risks to one’s own life, but for voluntary interventions outside the battlefield.

Bravery of an exceptional kind

During the war, Sri Lanka awarded 32 PVWs posthumously. The Army, Navy and Air Force shared 29, 2 and 1, respectively. The PVW is awarded to all ranks of armed forces, both regular and volunteer, for individual acts of bravery in the face of enemy, disregarding the risks to one’s own life. Of the 32 recipients of the PVW, the extraordinary case of Maj. J.A.L. Jayasinghe (Lalith Jayasinghe), posthumously promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, captured unprecedented public attention.

On many occasions, PWVs were awarded posthumously for sacrifices made in defensive action, while the armed forces were responding to enemy action. However, Lalith had initiated action deep within the enemy-held territory and his efforts reflected the overall military strategy.

The 29 recipients consisted of 27 Army: Second Lieutenant S.U Aladeniya, Lance Corporal (LC) Y.G.G. Kularatne (Hasalaka Gamini), Second Lt. K.W.T. Nishshanka, Staff Sgt. H.P.B. Gunasekera, LC W.I.M. Seneviratne, Lt. Col. A.F Lafir, Capt. G.S. Jayanath, Maj. J.A.L. Jayasinghe, Maj. K.A. Gamage, Capt. U.G.A.S. Samaranayake, H.G.M.K.I. Megawarna, Sgt H.G.S. Bandara, Corporal P.N. Suranga, Corporal P.M.N. Pushpakumara, Corporal D.N\M.S. Chandrasiri Bandara, LC K. Chandana, Private R.M.D.M. Ratnayake, LC A.M.M.P. Abeysinghe, recruit A.M.B.H.G. Abeyratne Banda, private T.G.R. Dayananda, Lt. P.N. Punsiri, Second Lt W.D. Jayathilake, Sgt. K.G.N.L.R. Perera, Corporal K.P.D.T. Gunasekera, LC H.A. Nilantha Kumara, LC S.V.A.M. Pushpamal. Navy: Lt. J.L.D.S. Wijetunga, Petty Officer K.G. Shantha and Air Force: Squadron Leader T.D.S. Silvapulle.

Although Jayasinghe paid the supreme sacrifice, while serving the Special Forces, he had been a proud member of the Gemunu Watch (GW). GW veteran Maj. Gen. K.B. Egodawele in his Hewayekuge Mathaka Satahan (Memories of a soldier), first launched in 2012, declared that Jayasinghe had been among four GW personnel, namely Captain U.G.A.S. Samaranayake, Captain H.P.M.K. Meghawardena and Corporal D.M.A.M. Pushpakumara to receive the PWV, posthumously.

All of them received the highest gallantry award for actions on the Vanni east region during Eelam War IV (2006 August to 2009 May).

Jayasinghe’s wife Kaushalya accepted the PVW on 19 May, 2012, at the annual Victory Day parade. Maj. Gen. Kamal Gunaratne read the awardee’s official citation. Kaushalya had been five months pregnant at the time Jayasinghe mounted a raid deep inside the LTTE-held territory in the Vanni east region. Gunaratne, the wartime General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the 53 Division declared that Jayasinghe had been in command of an LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol)/Deep Penetration Unit tasked to eliminate LTTE leaders. That unit had moved about 40 kms into the enemy held territory in Oddusuddan and was positioned alongside the Mankulam-Oddusuddan road to kill LTTE leaders, on 26 November, 2008.

Suddenly, Jayasinghe had fallen sick but joined other members of the LLRP to fight the enemy after fierce fighting erupted between the two sides. In spite of having an opportunity to retreat, Jayasinghe, hero of many previous battles, suffered grievous injuries during the battle and succumbed to his injuries.

Jayasinghe had been an extraordinary soldier and was the recipient of the second highest gallantry medal, WWV, on three or four occasions. In one such occasion, Jayasinghe had received two WWVs at one ceremony and recalled retired Maj. Gen. Dhammi Hewage, who received the RSP at the same event. Hewage spoke admirably about what he called high risk and extraordinary LRRP operations undertaken by Jayasinghe over a period of time. Let me give you an opportunity to know more about Hewage whose no holds barred examination of the Army during the war received public attention ( https://island.lk/a-special-forces-officers-narrative/)

Those who risked their lives to earn battlefield recognition played a significant role in transforming the armed forces, particularly the Army. Gallantry medals had been earned by armed forces officers and men in various circumstances but the deadly LRRP strikes, deep within the LTTE held territory, made quite a difference in the overall direction of the war. Those who operated in enemy territory in a way functioned as suicide cadres/units as the probability of them being intercepted by the LTTE was very high. But, regardless of severe risks, they ventured out of government-held areas to infiltrate deep inside enemy held territory to carry out operations. The LRRP team, led by Jayasinghe, is a case in point.

Clandestine operations received public attention in the run-up to the 2001 December parliamentary election when UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe all of a sudden alleged that the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) was planning to assassinate him. Within weeks after the UNP victory at the parliamentary election, the UNP unleashed the police on the DMI. The police raided the DMI safe house at Millennium City, Athurugiriya. In spite of Army Chief, the late Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle, personally assuring the UNP that there was absolutely no basis for such claims, Wickremesinghe was not prepared to change his political strategy. He gave Minister John Amaratunga in charge of police the go ahead for planned action.

The January 2, 2002, raid led to the arrest of Captain Mohamed Nilam, Staff Sgt. P. Ananda Udulagama, Staff Sergeant I. Edirisinghe Jayamanne, Corporal H.M. Nissanka Herath, Lance Corporal H. Mohamed Hilmy and an LTTE operative identified as Niyaz/Subashkaran. Others involved in that particular operation had been living in the East and were called into join operations, depending on the requirement. On the instructions of Lt. Gen. Balagalle, those tasked with carrying out attacks on selected targets received the opportunity to train under Special Forces instructors from Maduru Oya. They underwent training at the Panaluwa Test Firing Range, where firing special weapons was a key element in the training schedule.

In a bid to ensure secrecy, those operatives mostly operated on their own, and had their own arsenal, which included a range of weapons, including claymore mines. In fact, those involved in such operations functioned on a need-to-know basis. Even senior DMI officials, as well as the Army top brass, except a few, hadn’t been aware of what was going on. Even the then powerful Deputy Defence Minister, the late Anuruddha Ratwatte, hadn’t been told of the Millennium City safe-house, though he knew of the ongoing hits behind enemy lines.

Shortly after the exposure of the DMI operation, Balagalle met Premier Wickremesinghe to explain the secret operations undertaken against the LTTE. The Army chief had been accompanied by officials, including Hendarawithana, while one-time Attorney General Tilak Marapana, National List MP holding the Defence portfolio, and Minister Milinda Moragoda, too, were present.

“Except for Minister Moragoda, the others obviously didn’t realise what we were doing. They acted as if we were conspiring to do away with the political leadership so as to undermine the Norwegian initiative,” a source familiar with the dynamics of the project said. “We quickly realised we were up against a government, which simply wanted to negotiate a deal with the LTTE at any cost. The LTTE and the Norwegians exploited the situation to the hilt.”

Success in the East

Hitting the enemy in the area under its control had been Balagalle’s idea. The DMI hadn’t been successful in its first and the second attempts to take two specific targets. The targeted area had been Batticaloa south and the first and the second operations were mounted on 18 July 2001 and 12 September 2001. But both actions went awry and the targeted men identified as Jim Kelly (commander of Jeyanthan regiment) and Jeevan escaped death.

But, they succeeded on 17 September 2001. Operatives carried out a successful attack on ‘Major’ Mano Master, who was at that time in charge of the communications network in the Ampara-Batticaloa area.

But immediately after the UNP’s victory, the government terminated all such operations. The treacherous government betrayed those who risked their lives for the country. Ex-LTTEers and others who worked for the Army were exposed and the LTTE hunted them down. Scores of men were killed. Some were tortured and killed.

Apart from Mano Master, the secret raids claimed the lives of Batticaloa District Intelligence Head Lt. Col Nizam and Capt. Thevathasan.

Among those killed in the north were LTTE Air Wing Head Col. Shankar (Vaithilingam Sornalingam) and Sea Tiger Deputy Commander Lt. Col Kangai Amaran.

S.P. Thamilselvan, his Deputy Major S. Thangan, Vavuniya Special Commander Col. Jeyam and Deputy Military Chief Col. Balraj were believed to have been targeted in the North but escaped. In the East, among those who escaped targeted killings, were Col. Karuna, Karikalan, Jim Kelly and Intelligence Chief Lt. Col. Ramanan.

In spite of the LTTEers, particularly its leaders on a heightened state of alert, the Army ambushed Karikalan’s vehicle on 18 October, 2001. The destruction of the vehicle fuelled speculation of Karikalan’s demise, with a section of the media reporting him killed in a special operation. Shortly before the attack on Karikalan’s vehicle, the Army intercepted a radio conversation between Karikalan and his wife, a medical doctor by profession, serving in the Northern Province. “She simply begged him to leave Batticaloa and take refuge in the North to avoid the Army’s deep penetration operations,” a source familiar with LRRP operations told the writer many years ago.

The Army struck again on 26 November, 2001. ‘Major’ Swarnaseelan and ‘Captain’ Devadas were eliminated in the Pulipanjikkal area. It was the last operation before the December 5 General Election.

The UNP terminated the operation. But, the Army revived the strategy after the eruption of hostilities in 2005.

It would be pertinent to mention that hit and run attacks, deep within the LTTE held territory, troubled them to such an extent, they took up the issue with Norway. Fearing a relentless campaign, the LTTE got Norway to include LRRP operations in their negotiations, leading to a one-sided Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) signed in February 2002 by the Wickremesinghe regime. That CFA revealed the existence of a secret Army project to target the LTTE in their own area. The CFA called for termination of LRRP operations.

Three PVWs

Lieutenant J.L.D.S. Wijetunga was the first Navy recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya (PWV), Sri Lanka’s highest gallantry award given posthumously. Wijetunga, Commanding Officer of the Israeli built Dvora Fast Attack Craft (FAC), maneuvered his vessel to intercept an explosives-laden Sea Tiger suicide boat approaching a troop transport ship off Point Pedro on 30 March, 1996. Wijetunga, in spite of knowing his action was suicidal, went ahead with the risky maneuver that saved the lives of a large contingent of off duty servicemen on their way to Trincomalee from Kankesanthurai (KKS).

The Navy earned its second PWV on 1 November, 2008, off Point Pedro, during the Eelam war IV. A Petty Officer of elite Special Boat Squadron K.G. Shantha rammed an explosives-laden Sea Tiger suicide craft with his Arrow boat (Z-142 ). Shantha and his three SBS colleagues were blasted to smithereens, though their action saved an Inshore Patrol Craft (IPC) carrying a dozen SBS personnel.

Wing Commander T.D.S. Silvapulle received the nation’s highest gallantry award PWV for attacking Sea Tiger boats firing at Army defences south-east of Elephant Pass on 19 December, 1999. Silvapulle, flying a Mi 24 helicopter gunship in adverse weather conditions, regardless of the threat posed by surface-to-air missiles, engaged the enemy craft. Silvapulle compelled the enemy to flee but was hit during the confrontation. His individual act of gallantry was recognized in 2012, four years after the eradication of the LTTE. The then President Mahinda Rajapaksa conferred the PWV at a ceremony held on 19 May, 2012. Maj. Lalith Jayasinghe received his PWV at the same ceremony.

The betrayal of the armed forces in October, 2015, at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, by the treacherous Sirisena-Wickremesinghe regime, underscored the mentality of those who wielded political power. The calling of gallantry medals ‘pieces of tin’ reminded the country of the pathetic and disgraceful state of affairs.

Midweek Review

Poor, little upper-middle income country

Published

1 day ago

2026/07/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

“Sri Lanka has been ranked among the least happy countries in the latest World Happiness Report 2026…standing alongside Ethiopia”- The Sunday Island March 2026

Sri Lanka was officially declared an Upper-Middle Income country by the World Bank in July 2026, regaining the classification it had in 2019.

On the 30th of June, the IMF delegation meeting the President at the Presidential Secretariat praised the government: “…IMF praised the government’s economic programme and noted that Sri Lanka has made greater progress than many other countries implementing IMF-supported programmes. The delegation commended the government for maintaining macroeconomic stability despite a series of external shocks and for remaining firmly committed to its reform agenda…” (Presidential Media Division, 30 June 2026)

Meanwhile, a UN-backed World Happiness Report 2026 compiled by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, ranked Sri Lanka 134th out of 147 nations. A daily newspaper which ran the story on the 19th of March 2026, added that the report showed that “Sri Lanka has slipped one place from its 133rd ranking in 2025, now standing alongside Ethiopia. The country also trails behind its South Asian neighbours, with India ranked 116th, Pakistan and Bangladesh positioned significantly higher.”

Good News, Bad News

The Upper-Middle Income classification was declared by the World Bank during the Yahapalana government in July 2019. 6 months later, the Yahapalana government was swept out at elections.

Only 2 years later, in April 2022, the country was declared bankrupt, and by July that year the newly elected President was toppled by a people’s uprising for the first time in the country’s history.

To fill the vacuum, an unlikely combination of an unelected MP from the Opposition who was made President by the Parliament and an unpopular government that had barely survived the uprising, governed the country together. It was massively defeated by the people only 2 years later in 2024, despite ‘stabilising’ the economy.

An Upper-Middle Income status may give the impression of a prosperous people, but prosperous people are not an unhappy people. The World Bank report 2026 (World Bank, Sri Lanka Development Update) notes the anomaly: “the recovery is unfinished and has not translated into widespread improvements in welfare.”

The report adds:

* Real output remains below 2018 levels.

* Although poverty is projected to decline in 2025, it remains double the 2019 levels.

* Vulnerability remains high with an additional 10 percent of the population living just above the poverty line.

* Malnutrition continues to be elevated.

* The labour market recovery is slow with real wages and labor force participation well below 2019 levels.

The World Bank’s Poverty and Equity Brief (October 2025) sheds further light:

* Poverty is projected at 22.3-22.4 percent in 2025 and around 20 percent until 2027 without stronger inclusive growth.

* Real earnings remain below pre-crisis levels.

So, are Top of the Class in the IMF index and almost Bottom of the Class in the Happiness Index related?

As a friend who is a highly-placed economist explained to me, if people are poorer, undernourished, indebted, and insecure after stabilisation, then reserves, inflation, and primary balances alone cannot be relied on to judge the next IMF programme. Sri Lanka needs a national programme whose success metric is household recovery, jobs, nutrition, and productive capacity.

From the praise heaped on the President and this government’s strong leadership by the IMF for their performance thus far, sticking closely to the IMF conditionalities, we can only infer that things for the unhappy citizens will hardly get better as they negotiate the 18th IMF programme.

The AKD administration doesn’t haggle on behalf of the people. They see the rewards of that approach in fiscal consolidation and macroeconomic stability. This however, is not the only kind of stability they have to bear in mind, given recent history.

By the People, But Not for the People?

The new or renewed (from July 2019) ‘Upper-Middle Income’ classification has served to remind people where the government has failed, been weak, as much as where it has been strong and succeeded. The economy in the abstract is better off, but the majority of the people who gave the government a two thirds majority, are much worse off in material reality.

To return to my top economist friend, she explained that Sri Lanka should not reject fiscal discipline, but it must own the design of fiscal adjustment. The country needs a fairer tax mix, better tax administration, public investment discipline, and protection of health, education, nutrition, and climate-resilient infrastructure. Otherwise, fiscal discipline becomes socially brittle and growth-reducing.

The direction she recommended is hardly where the government is heading. The World Bank warns that the on-going reliance on regressive indirect taxes could worsen the poverty outlook, while the primary expenditure ceiling of 13 percent of GDP can constrain public investment and service delivery.

A leading financial daily (6 July) reported that at the CA Sri Lanka’s 5th Annual Economic and Tax Symposium, both the Government’s tax policies and the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) “came under sustained criticism from leading private sector tax professionals”. Gajma & Co. Senior Partner N.R. Gajendran argued that “…higher revenues had come largely from imposing a heavier burden on existing taxpayers rather than widening the tax base.”

He said that “When taxes become excessive and unbearable, and it is not coming from the widening of the base, it is coming from the same taxpayer, it erodes expenditure capabilities, it erodes saving capabilities, and it erodes investment capabilities,” warning that “sustained over-taxation ultimately weakens consumption, investment, and long-term economic growth.”

Sri Lanka has already lost a large number of skilled professionals who migrated in droves in the last two years. Factum reports (April 2026) that the annual departures for foreign employment have hovered above the 310,000 mark. This includes Healthcare Professionals (Doctors, nurses), Academics and Researchers (including 80-90% of State University graduates), Technologists and Engineers.

Will the Lawyers be next? The Island editorial of 6 July 2026 strongly supports the stand that the BASL has taken, (endorsed by the Colombo Law Society, Colombo High Court Lawyers Association, LAWASIA and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association) opposing the government’s effort to move a constitutional amendment to extend the retirement age of judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, denouncing political interference in the judiciary and urging the government to avoid a Zimbabwean crisis.

None of this makes for a happy citizen, stability notwithstanding.

By the People, for the Creditors

So, what of all those promises made with such passion to do better than all previous governments since Independence in 1948?

The World Food Programme has this to report:

* Households unable to meet essential food needs increased from 14 percent in 2024 to 20 percent in 2026.

* If price trends continue, another 1.3 million people could be unable to afford essential food needs, including nearly 300,000 urban poor.

* Child nutrition remains worrying: stunting 10.1 percent, wasting 8.6 percent, and underweight 16.1 percent. (WFP, Food Security Under Pressure)

Economists warn that a programme that ‘stabilises’ the economy while households sell assets, cut food, reduce education and health spending, and slide into coping strategies, i.e., de-stabilises the household economy and lives, will not be socially, politically or developmentally sustainable.

Those who care for the people recommend that Sri Lanka’s own programme must place adaptive social protection, nutrition, and livelihoods at the very centre.

The promised re-negotiation of the 17th IMF package to make the necessary economic recovery less taxing (pun intended) for the people, less painful, and more sustainable overall, never happened. The government acted as if it was elected by the People for the Creditors.

We have been warned that Sri Lanka’s shift toward commercial borrowing and ISBs changed the debt-risk profile, with ISBs carrying high interest rates and short maturities. The government’s promised negotiations didn’t resemble anything like what was expected by the people, and went the way of the ISB holders who celebrated the victory in Canary Wharf toasting our President in absentia.

IMF Country Report No 26/111 indicates that even after restructuring, debt sustainability risks remain high. Public debt is projected at around 100.1 percent of GDP in 2026, with central government gross financing needs at 19.8 percent of GDP.

Economists remind us that Sri Lanka’s recent graduation to the Upper Middle-Income classification means that we will have to pay more in debt repayments as per the macro-linked bond of the debt restructuring settlement with the creditors.

IMF 18, going on 19?

Who’d have thought it? In the last 77 years, the most pro-people, pro-poor administration has certainly not been the AKD government. There were much better ones, even during the 30 year war, when policies were more enlightened and served the people; were undertaken with confidence and determination, and some still continue to provide the foreign exchange to pay for subsequent errors of judgment. And with the courage of their convictions and confidence in their capacity to deliver, those leaders didn’t feel the need to postpone any elections.

Stabilisation was an immediate necessity. But my economist friend spoke for us all when she told me “Sri Lanka cannot stabilise its way to prosperity. It should not risk turning emergency discipline into a permanent development model”.

With the current state of play, is that what we are looking at? There is little evidence that this administration has the capacity to design an independent programme, not subject to the whims and fancies of IFIs, but as my friend put it, “our own programme: fiscally responsible, socially protective, production-oriented, climate-resilient, and politically owned. The IMF can support that programme, but it cannot be the programme.”

An unhappy people is surely as much of an indicator of the real health of the economy, as the Gross National Income per capita calculated in US dollars by the World Bank. A Sunday newspaper quoted a young economist, Rehana Thowfeek, co-founder/director at Arutha Research, who says: “There is no point in celebrating becoming an upper-middle-income country while 1 in 4 of our people is in poverty, two out of every 5 Sri Lankans cannot afford a healthy diet and 1 out of 3 of our children under 5 years is malnourished.”

This is not a situation that should be allowed to prevail by an allegedly pro-people government, or indeed any government that has been granted the privilege to govern, through the people’s vote. The planning, the policy choices are all in the hands of the government. Will they choose a better path?

People are not unhappy because they are too mean to acknowledge what a wonderful job this government is doing, and give praise to this administration like the IMF at the Presidential Secretariat. It is because they are in pain, they are suffering, they are hungry, they cannot pay the bills, and they are looking at a future where none of these things are going away, but is set to get much worse, as the government slouches towards its next IMF programme and the next debt repayment.