(MENAFN- Colombo Gazette)
President Maithripala Sirisena today asserted that Army soldiers will not be taken before war tribunals.
The President gave the assurance when he addressed a gathering of more than 350 Commanding Officers (COs), Adjutants and Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSMs) of the Army this evening at the Colombo Army Hospital auditorium.
Kapila Waidyaratne, Secretary Defence and Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army extended a warm welcome to the President on his arrival at the premises and ushered him to the main auditorium.
In his address to those three digit number attendees, the President thanked the Secretary of Defence and the Commander of the Army for arranging the meeting and called upon each soldier to continue with their dedicated roles for the sake of the country.
'You all have dedicatedly come forward to safeguard the country and also in times of national disasters all the time at the risk of your own lives, for which we are indebted to you. In the most recent past, you all stood by the nation and took the lead when national disasters, epidemics, landslides, etc struck us and I need your continued support for development of our country as we march forward as a peaceful society, rich with co-existence, reconciliation, harmony and understanding.'
He emphasized that no Human Rights organization in the world be allowed to pressurize the Sri Lanka Army on whatever grounds and the UN has been informed of Sri Lanka's capacity to find solutions to its own problems without any interference as a sovereign State.
'As long as I remain the head of the country, I assure you that none of you would be allowed to testify before any war tribunals. Instead, such errant Army personnel, if any, can be produced before Courts and tried according to the existing law of the country. Disgruntled politicians and some retired Army personnel allege saying that War Heroes would be tried and punished, but I, as the President of this country would not allow anyone to be subjected to interrogation by foreign judges as such. Therefore you should not be misled by those baseless allegations and misleading statements.'
'I also appeal all of you to believe in me and not to be misled by statements, rumours and our detractors. I commend all of you for the excellent services you rendered during the times of natural disasters and request you to extend your best cooperation for sustenance of reconciliation and peace in the country as a nation. I also wish to insist that unlike in the past, no War Hero's overseas visa would be denied in future and will ensure their overseas visits are facilitated without any hindrance.'
He also underlined the need for everyone to maintain the hard-earned peace for the country's prosperity and assured that the Government would do everything possible to sustain the status-quo and make the Sri Lankan Army one of the best in the world in future.
An Army live telecast of the President's speech was transmitted to all Security Force Headquarters, Divisions and other formations simultaneously covering more than 30,000 members of the Army across the country. (Colombo Gazette)
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