Sri Lanka's State Minister of Defence, Ruwan Wijewardene on Saturday attempted to distance the government from statements made by the minister and Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka, stating that Mr Fonseka had been expressing his "own personal view.
Mr Fonseka last week said he was prepared to stand as a witness against the former military general Jagath Jayasuriya who had to flee Brazil after human rights organisations filed law suits in Brazil, Peru and Chile over allegations of war crimes.
Mr Wijewardene said "that the bad blood between the two parties had been the reason behind the statement", Ada Derana reported.
He called on the Sri Lankan president to intervene. Mr Sirisena subsequently issued a statement assuring that he 'would not let anyone touch' Mr Jayasuriya.
Since Mr Jayasuriya's hurried departure from Brazil, there has been a war of words between himself and Mr Fonseka, with both men saying the other was primarily responsible for the military effort, and thereby most liable in allegations of war crimes.
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.
