News

Special Task Force commemorates fallen heroes today

Published

6 years ago

2020/09/1

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Sri Lanka paid a very heavy price to bring the war to a successful conclusion, in May 2009. The armed forces, the police and its elite paramilitary unit, the Special Task Force (STF), restored peace, through arms, after protracted negotiations failed to produce the desired results. Bringing the war to a successful end had been costly, in terms of men and material. The STF lost 464 officers and men, while 774 others suffered injuries, and some even disabled for life.

As the STF celebrates its 36th anniversary, today (Sept 1), over a decade after the end of the conflict, it would be pertinent to examine how families, of those who made the supreme sacrifice, cope up with the loss of their loved ones on the battlefield. Do they feel their loss was in vain? How do they view the much-touted post-war national reconciliation process, over the past few years? Do the families of those who laid down their lives, as well as the wounded, receive the respect, love and appreciation they really deserve?

The well-being of those who bear arms for the State should be the responsibility of the government of the day, regardless of its agenda. The responsibility of guaranteeing safety and security of bereaved families, too, lies with the government. A country should be eternally grateful for those who gave up their today for our tomorrow. In Sri Lanka’s case, volunteering for military life is exceptional as the government did not resort to compulsory military service, in spite of over three decades of conflict, which was more a war of attrition, fought by the enemy, using terror as its vanguard against the state, as well as civilians. Even at the height of the war, Sri Lanka never seriously considered compulsory military service, though tangible measures were taken to enhance the fighting capabilities of the armed forces.

The police were subjected to unprecedented change with the formation of the STF, during President JR Jayewardene’s tenure. The establishment of the STF was Sri Lanka’s initial response to the growing threat, posed by separatist terrorists, at a time the focus of enemy operation was the Jaffna peninsula. Both the military and the police struggled to suppress foreign-backed terrorism. For want of a cohesive strategy, Sri Lanka suffered badly, with the military and the police being largely restricted to their heavily fortified bases, in the peninsula, and the Vanni. The ground situation, in the Eastern Theater of operations, was relatively under control. The deployment of the STF, in the Jaffna peninsula, in 1984, should be examined against the backdrop of the deepening security crisis, in the Jaffna peninsula.

The STF experienced its first major loss, on Sept 1, 1984, at Tikkam, Valvettiturai, the then hotbed of terrorism. Four personnel perished in a single blast. Soon after the blast, Police Headquarters re-deployed the STF, in the East, where the unit played a significant role in the period leading to the Indo-Lanka accord forced on us, in late July, 1987. Between August 1987 and early 1990, the STF played a key role in counter-insurgency operations against the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). The elite group resumed its classic role, in June 1990, in the wake of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) resuming hostilities, following a 14-month ceasefire with the government.

The STF, initially trained by former members of the British elite Special Air Services, received its expertise, in various fields, from experts from several countries, including Israel. The STF earned the respect of even its enemies, as well as foreign partners, for fighting skills and expertise displayed under extremely tough conditions.

The STF earned a name for itself by providing security to those politicians high on the ‘hit lists.’ Though not successful always, (on some occasions not due to their fault), the STF always was in high demand for personal protection duties. Presidents received STF security, in addition to visiting foreign dignitaries.

Families of those who had been killed in action, wounded or survived terrorism in the North (1984-2009), as well as South (1987-1990), should be genuinely proud because their sacrifices saved the country from ruination.

With the conclusion of the conflict, in May 2009, the then government re-assigned the STF for countrywide duties, on a much wider scale, in support of law enforcement efforts. Regardless of its overall success, during the conflict, it would be the responsibility of all serving officers and men to maintain proud traditions. With over 8,000 officers, and men, deployed at nearly 70 bases, countrywide, the elite unit remains committed to meet any eventuality.

Let those who had sacrificed their lives, the wounded and the serving officers, and men, and their families, be part of a proud community of the nation’s defenders. Let the families of those courageous officers, and men, of the armed forces, the STF, included, bask in the glory of Sri Lanka’s triumph over terrorism. Let us strive hard to achieve real peace, now that the war has been brought to an end by men of arms.

All News Advertisement

News

Lanka enters new phase of prosecutions as hurdles clear

Published

1 hour ago

2026/10/4

Thilina Walpola

MONETABRIEF –The prosecution of high-profile individuals from the former Rajapaksa administrations is set to escalate this month with the clearing of legal hurdles and administrative bottlenecks, according to officials involved in the process.

Former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s attempt to secure an order preventing his arrest in connection with the Easter Sunday massacre was turned down by the Court of Appeal on Thursday.

An overseas travel ban has been in operation against Rajapaksa since June, but the Criminal Investigations Department made no move to question him. He instead filed a writ application seeking an order preventing his possible arrest.

President of the Court of Appeal Rohantha Abeysuriya noted that the court would not interfere with the investigative process. Any attempt by the court would amount to an obstruction of the investigation.

In an unrelated case, the same court rejected an application by opposition legislator Dilith Jayaweera seeking the quashing of a contempt charge filed against him by the Fort magistrate. The charges against Jayaweera and a few other opposition politicians are expected to be taken up in the coming week.

Jayaweera and other opposition politicians — Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila, Sugeeshwara Bandara, and Asanka Navaratne

— were hauled up over their remarks relating to the arrest of Suresh Sallay, the former head of the State Intelligence Service.

SLPP academic Mahinda Pathirana is also charged over his public comments about Sallay’s arrest in February under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son, legislator Namal Rajapaksa, is already in remand custody following his arrest in connection with three cases of bribery and money laundering relating to the 2013 Airbus deal and the Krrish property development in Colombo.

Although Namal has been granted bail in the Airbus money laundering charge, he is in custody until October 13 over the bribery charge relating to the same Airbus transaction. His arrest is under a provision of the Anti-Corruption Act that does not allow a magistrate to grant bail unless under exceptional circumstances.

Meanwhile, his mother Shiranthi Rajapaksa, who had been asked to report to the Financial Crimes Investigations Division on September 24, was a no-show and was yet to return from Singapore.

She had travelled overseas on September 16, and a family spokesman said she was handed the FCID summons at the departure lounge of Bandaranaike International Airport just before she boarded a flight to Singapore.

At the time, the family spokesman said she was due to return in three days.

“We will see greater momentum in the legacy cases in the coming weeks,” an official involved in the prosecutions said.

“We have cleared the legal hurdles to press ahead with more arrests,” he said.

“We are working on a few administrative issues which will be resolved very soon.”

The controversial prosecution of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe is dragging on without him being formally indicted since his arrest in August last year. The Fort magistrate has listed the case again for November 11, when the Attorney-General is expected to report on his decision regarding action against Wickremesinghe.

News

Police warn: Court evaders face property seizure

Published

1 hour ago

2026/10/4

Thilina Walpola

Police have reminded the public that courts have the power to take legal action against individuals who evade arrest or remain in hiding after warrants have been issued against them.

Police said that under Section 60 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act No. 15 of 1979, a court could issue a written proclamation requiring a person evading arrest under a warrant to appear at a specified place and time.

The proclamation must allow the person at least 30 days to appear before court, Police said.

If the person fails to appear even after the proclamation has been issued, the court may take further action under Section 61 of the Act.

This includes issuing an order for the attachment of the movable or immovable property belonging to the person concerned.Police issued the reminder highlighting the legal measures available against persons who deliberately evade arrest and remain in hiding after warrants have been issued.

News

Nearly 20 Iranian tankers stranded off Lanka amid US sanctions

Published

1 hour ago

2026/10/4

Thilina Walpola

Around 20 Iranian oil tankers are reportedly stranded about 15 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s southwestern coast, with several vessels facing shortages of food, fuel and fresh water amid tightening US sanctions and maritime restrictions, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to the report published on Thursday (1), US officials have in recent weeks urged Sri Lanka to prevent local vessels from supplying essential provisions to the tankers and their crews.

The report, citing Sri Lankan Government documents and companies involved in supplying the vessels, said the US had raised concerns over assistance being provided to the sanctioned tankers.

The situation follows the United States’ decision to reimpose a maritime blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in July, which has reportedly left dozens of Iranian and Iran-linked tankers involved in transporting sanctioned oil to China stranded near Asian countries, including Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

Most of the vessels are reportedly empty tankers that had previously transported Iranian crude to Asia, often through ship-to-ship transfers, before preparing to return to Iran for additional cargo.

The WSJ reported that the US Embassy had warned Sri Lanka in August that it was monitoring 19 Iranian tankers off the country’s western coast and had raised the possibility of secondary sanctions against companies providing services to sanctioned vessels.

Sri Lankan authorities have maintained that the vessels are located outside the country’s 12-nautical-mile territorial waters and that the Government is not providing them with logistical assistance.

Meanwhile, shipping companies told the WSJ that obtaining approval to supply essential items, including food, drinking water and fuel, as well as repair services, to the Iranian vessels had become increasingly difficult.

Separately, Reuters reported in late August that 27 sanctioned Iran-linked tankers were waiting off Sri Lanka without cargo.

The Trump administration has also imposed additional sanctions on Iran and warned countries and companies trading with Tehran of potential consequences, as Washington seeks to pressure Iran to make concessions amid the ongoing conflict.

Similar concentrations of Iranian-linked tankers have been reported off Malaysia, where waters have historically been used for ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian crude destined mainly for China.