ON THE eve of opening of the Victory Monument at Puthukkudiyiruppu on Wednesday (9) and official inauguration of the new Security Forces Headquarters, Mullaittivu (SFHQ-MLT) the previous morning, Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army met a cross section of the General Officers Commanding and senior representative officers at Puthukkudiyiruppu, and made a point to clarify a string of allegations that had been leveled by the retired Chief of Defence Staff, General Sarath Fonseka.
At the outset, Lieutenant General Jayasuriya scoffed at General Fonseka’s vituperative remarks on his alleged ‘holding formation’ appointment at Wanni Security Forces Headquarters as Commander and Lieutenant General Jayasuriya’s ‘ineligibility’ to become the Commander of the Army.
“As all of you know very well we have only the three Security Forces Headquarters in Jaffna, the East and Wanni as formations in the Wanni Humanitarian Operations placed under command to me. In this context, I do not understand as to how it suddenly became a ‘holding formation,” probably reasons best known only to him.’ Really it was after I took over command of SF Wanni that General Fonseka placed formations under my command.
Likewise, the former Army Commander’s allegation on change of guard at Army Headquarters upon my take-over as new Commander. ‘It has been the tradition to change the guards at AHQ upon a new appointment but I still did not change the whole guard at AHQ except my personal guards, following my assumption of office. Only after a period of four months I changed the whole AHQ guard with members of my own Regiment which is the general practice. Transfer of officers was done as per requirements of the organization and past posting orders, if reviewed, closely, stand witness to this tradition whenever a new command took over,’ the Commander pointed out.
Refuting former Army Commander’s allegation on deterioration of Army standards, Lt Gen Jayasuriya asserted that during the times of the war, the entire nation rallied around the Army and HE the President himself and government authorities appealed the youth to join the Army en masse. “The War is now over and no such urgent requirement, as in the past prevails now. Routine enlistment continues and there is a ‘go slow’ and we want to maintain the numbers. Recruitment is moderate and no concentrated effort has been made in that sphere. It is my duty to clarify these points to you enabling you to strike a balance in the light of various media reports’ the Commander added.
Referring to another allegation of the former CDS on withdrawal of his security guards and vehicles, Lt. Gen. Jayasuriya blamed some of the media for manipulated reports, distorting true facts. “The former CDS requested one officer and twenty Commandos, three officers and fifty soldiers from Sinha Regiment, five Women’s Corps soldiers and ten drivers. I accordingly instructed all PSOs to release what the CDS wanted but found later that he had been retaining a fleet of 73 vehicles with him. We had to send the Military Police. He subsequently released some of them but he has not yet released the rest. My main concern is that we should not tarnish the image of the Army. We, as officers should always be loyal to the organization and the uniform we wear and not to individuals. I am sure by now you may have heard about welfare measures the Army is taking since the war ended. Transition from war to peace is the most difficult thing. We, in the past six months are undergoing this phase. In peacetime also we have a task to perform as regards to development programmes of the government. As we have done, we have to help the government in resettlement, rehabilitation and other development work as the government relies on military leadership for such tasks. I am happy to note that your efficient and effective work in all these areas. I request you to continue those commitments in keeping with the government’s vision and other welfare measures. I have now allowed the officers to use their initiatives and express their views on matters of concern. As a result, I receive requests for more and more interviews and Redress of Grievances (ROGs) . You are the future of the Army and have liberty to use your own initiatives. We all should therefore work as one family and work for a common cause. Similarly, the officers will receive more and more training opportunities in the future, though such chances were not available in the past due to war,” the commander concluded.
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