Defence Secretary, Major General (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne, today warned that the LTTE ideology was still alive.
The Defence Secretary, during his maiden visit to the new Army Headquarters at Sri Jayewardenepura yesterday, called on the Army to shoulder the responsibility of national security and ensure the safety of the entire nation.
In his address to a gathering of Senior Officers after his courtesy call on the Commander of the Army at his office, the visiting Secretary Defence remarked that the military service, being the most noble profession in the world, needs to be looked at always with pride and honour.
“Now that with the regime change, our prioritized attention is on national security and HE the President, myself and the Commander of the Army would not let down the national security concerns of the public. You can now be assured of it. This is the magnificent organization, for which the entire country is indebted, and you, being stakeholders in that proud organization have a bigger role to play to take the country forward. To match with professional standards we need to live with pride as a proud soldier. You have a well-respected Commander who would seriously address your issues when it comes to business. As military men we have to live up to the standards,” the Defence Secretary said.
The Defence Secretary said that while the country has been freed from terrorism the LTTE ideology continues to remain.
“In the recent past, there were political hunts behind War Heroes and it was sad to see how some of our great guys were put behind bars for no fault of theirs,” he added.
He also said that the April 21 attacks was due to nothing but sheer negligence and ignorance of responsible persons at the highest level.
“This had been carried out by a handful of misguided followers of the great religion of Islam. Islam, being a religion with great virtues has never advocated murder of innocent civilians. It never tells followers to kill people like dogs. More than 500 injured personnel, including children are still under treatment and we as defenders of the nation should not allow any repetition of such violence,” the Secretary Defence stressed.
Courtesy: Colombo Gazette
