Sri Lanka’s president said that his government “would not in any way weaken” the armed forces and boasted of international support for the military, at a ceremony on Monday.

According to Sri Lanka’s official army website, the “President Maithripala Sirisena in his address to the occasion re-iterated that his government would not in any way weaken the forces, nor would it cut down their privileges or other benefits currently available to them”.

“He also told the gathering that as alleged by some quarters his government has not allowed any member of the armed forces to get demoralized or be humiliated,” the website continued.

The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence website quoted Mr Sirisena as saying soldiers had “sacrificed their lives, limbs and families to protect the race, sovereignty, territorial integrity and freedom of the country” and that “each drop of blood fallen from the war heroes were devoted towards the future and strength of the country in defeating ruthless terrorists”.

Mr Sirisena also spoke of how his government was able to secure foreign training for the armed forces, alongside “assistance, donations and support for the Sri Lankan military forces”.

The president’s remarks at the ceremony, which marked the second phase of privilege cards for Sri Lankan soldiers, came as an advanced version of the High Commissioner for Human Right’s oral update stressed the need to subject Sri Lanka's armed forces to a vetting process before they participated calling for "stringent screening procedures, at both national and international level, for all personnel Sri Lanka needs to deploy."