Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Brigadier that threatened Tamils no longer Sri Lanka’s Defence Attaché  confirms UK minister

The Sri Lankan government formally ended the posting of its former Defence Attaché  Brigadier Priyanka Fernando  last month, confirmed a British minister, after he was caught on video threatening Tamil protestors in London .

Mark Field, the current British Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific confirmed that “the former Defence Attaché's posting to London was formally ended by the Government of Sri Lanka on 15 April”.

“No successor has yet been appointed,” he added.

Mr Field said he had also raised the issue of Brigadier Fernando with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister when they met in London last month. Brigadier Fernando was filmed motioning a death threat to Tamil protestors in London last month, running his finger across his neck. Weeks later he returned to Sri Lanka, where the military confirmed he would face no disciplinary action.

Earlier this year the Sri Lankan military announced that Brigadier Fernando would be attending a five-month course in China to “better his professional prospects”.

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.