Sri Lankan opposition parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa warned that “national security” was at risk in Sri Lanka and rallied against the dismantling of High Security Zones (HSZ) in the island’s North-East.
Colombo Gazette reports the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP as saying urgent action was needed to prevent the island being divided and stated the government was releasing land in the North-East due to international pressure.
He went on to warn of attempts to dismantle HSZs, highlighting the Palali HSZ as an example.
His remarks come as opposition politicians, including the former foreign minister, warned that the government was facing threats to “national security”.
However Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe told the Sri Lankan parliament earlier this week that military camps in the North-East of the island have not been withdrawn, and reassured them that the military would remain.
See our earlier posts:
Former Sri Lankan FM slams government for ‘inability to manage Western powers’ (25 Jun 2015)
‘National security’ not under threat reiterates defence minister (25 Jun 2015)
‘Military camps in North-East have not been withdrawn’ confirms Sri Lankan PM (24 Jun 2015)
UNP capable of ‘stopping terrorists’ declares minister (22 Jun 2015)
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