Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has said that the Government will not demobilize the Army or reduce military presence in the Northern Province under any circumstances.
Responding to Western calls for a smaller army in the wake of the LTTE’s battlefield defeat, the Defence Secretary said that the Government will not reduce the military in the North to appease Western powers threatening to haul Sri Lanka up before an international war crimes tribunal over accountability issues, Mr. Rajapaksa said that the peacetime deployment of the Army as well as the acquisition of armaments too, was the prerogative of the government.
The armed forces had been deployed in support of the post-war recovery projects and people of all communities benefited from their expertise. The Defence Secretary noted that the Government would not do anything to jeopardize security.
Commenting on US concerns over intimidating military presence in the Northern Province, he pointed out that the US was concerned only about its security as well as its closest allies. The Defence Secretary said that the US was fully aware of sharp reduction of Jaffna military presence since the conclusion of the conflict, though it acted as if Sri Lanka was retaining wartime strength in the Northern Province. The Defence Secretary said that the US maintained substantial forces outside US territory to ensure safety and security of its citizens as well as those of its closest allies. He queried as to why the US could not realize that Sri Lanka’s deployment was nothing but to ensure that the LTTE wouldn’t make an attempt to reorganize again.
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