Mahinda breathes fire in Parliament

Former President and Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa

Former President and Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday broke his silence in Parliament, to accuse the new Government led by the UNP of jeopardising national security and creating a climate for the resurgence of the LTTE.

Speaking in Parliament for the first time since his election as an MP in the 17 August general election during the Committee Stage debate on the Defence Ministry, MP Rajapaksa said that the Government was risking national security to carry out personal vendettas.

The former Head of State admitted that his Government had released 12,000 LTTE cadres. “But we continued to detain those who were a threat to the country. Some had court cases. We have no personal scores to settle with them. Nor were we going to give into the requests of extremist political parties,” Rajapaksa said, taking a swipe at the Tamil National Alliance which has been agitating for the release of Prevention of Terrorism Act detainees held without trial or charges.

Former President also said that some who allege about wrongdoings during his regime remained silent then. “Some of them were even ministers in my Cabinet,” he added.

 “Now the military which gave us this peace is detained under Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and questioned. Today from one side the terrorists are released and from the other side the military personnel get arrested. If an inquiry is necessary, use other laws including military law. We need to protect their dignity. Don’t jeopardise national security to take revenge from me,” the MP from Kurunegala charged.

Expressing his willingness to speak after the President Maithripala Sirisena addressing the Parliament, MP Rajapaksa said: “I am happy to have had the opportunity to listen to President in the Parliament, especially for revealing the true facts about defeating terrorism.”

Rajapaksa said that national security was the first priority of any government. “I tried to do that to best of my ability and defeated the most dangerous terrorist organisation in the world,” he proclaimed.

In a clear reference to the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances which concluded a visit to the island recently, MP Rajapaksa said “foreign agents” were now given opportunities to enter military camps.

The Working Group concluded its visit to Sri Lanka with the announcement that it had found evidence of a secret detention camp inside the Trincomalee Naval Dockyard. Former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda later admitted that LTTE prisoners had been held at the facility, but refuted allegations that detainees had been tortured inside the hitherto-unheard-of detention centre. The new Government earlier this year denied the existence of secret detention centres in the island.

MP Rajapaksa also drew the Government’s attention what he called recent “celebrations” in the north to commemorate the LTTE.

Continuing to ply an ultra-nationalist line, Rajapaksa questioned what had been behind the suicide the Jaffna student, who killed himself to protest against the continued detention of Tamil prisoners under PTA.

“His death lead to many other activities. Western countries are now instructing the country to remove the military from the north. We don’t endorse foreign military officers coming here,” the former President charged.

He said the Government was seeking to amend the law to “apprehend war heroes on human right violations” and to retire them. “The UK has agreed to provide GBP 6 million for restructuring our military. But if you want to revise, why not save those monies spent on wreaths and parties? Don’t take money from abroad. Don’t retire those who fought against the LTTE,” he added.