Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary, and accused war criminal, Kamal Gunaratne, has refuted the claim that Sri Lanka’s military will be used to suppress peaceful demonstrations but maintained that they will assist Sri Lankan police in the event of a violent uprising.
In his statement, he lashed out against those with ulterior motives and lavished praise on Sri Lanka’s war crimes accused military, describing it as a “morally upright force”. He further denied rumours that the military would send in intelligence services to dispel peaceful protests.
The Defence Secretary also stressed that action would be taken against those who destroy public or private property under the pretext of peaceful protests.
The statement comes as Sri Lanka continues to grapple with a political and economic crisis following a mass resignation of the cabinet. Sri Lanka is in its worst economic crisis since its independence and citizens across the island have seen widespread shortages in basic goods such as medicines, food and fuel.
Responding to the demonstrations, former war crimes accused Army Commander and member of the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB), Sarath Fonseka wrote a public appeal on Facebook to Gunaratne calling on him to rethink orders to suppress demonstrations.
“You led battalions in the humanitarian mission to defeat terrorism under my orders and directives. Therefore, I expect that you would think over and over on the unlawful orders that are given by the corrupt rulers to suppress the very peaceful civil struggles that have arisen in the country” he stated.
Both Fonseka and Gunaratne stand accused of overseeing a genocide against the Tamil people with an estimated 169,796 people slaughtered during the final phase of the armed conflict. Kamal Gunaratne was commander of the army’s infamous 53 Division during the 2009 massacres, and allegedly oversaw numerous abuses, including sexual violence, summary executions and the disappearance of those who surrendered to the military. Fonseka served as Sri Lanka’s army commander during these final years, from 2005 to 2009, and is accused of overseeing crimes against humanity including shelling no-fire zones and hospitals.
In his Facebook post, Fonseka lavished praise on the military and was astonished that they were being used violently to suppress demonstrations.
‘I never expected war heroes to be disgraced in front of the world’ he stated.
Sri Lanka’s military has a long track record of surveillance, intimidation and harassment against Tamil protesters. Witness testimonies have detailed that Sri Lanka's Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) and the military are responsible for the abductions, detentions, torture and sexual violence on the island. Most witnesses identified the presence of men in army uniforms during their detention.
A 2021 report published by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) detailed the testimonies from 15 Tamils who had been abducted, detained and tortured by Sri Lanka security forces since Gotabaya Rajapaksa took office.
Most of them were forced to kneel while they were interrogated and often only in their underwear, and were subjected to various forms of torture. Victim survivors describe being "kicked with boots, punched, slapped and beaten with heavy pipes and sticks, whipped on their backs with wires, subjected to falaka and burned on their flesh with lit cigarettes."