Conspiracies hatched in the West

A full-scale investigation is now under way to ascertain the sinister elements who were behind the recent unfortunate incidents in Aluthgama, Beruwala and other parts of the country. Initial investigations had revealed that these incidents were not isolated communal clashes but organised crime by those with vested interests.

Several power-hungry politicians and NGO agents who thrive on foreign funding have time and again turned traitors. Even at the 2010 Presidential election, certain international conspirators used these traitors to sully the Government's image and conduct vicious campaigns against the country.

These invertebrate politicians and NGO agents would resort to anything to achieve their hidden agendas. They would descend to any level to earn filthy lucre and seek short cuts to capture power at any cost.

Having failed in their attempts to fan the flames of communal discord to create mayhem in the country by exploiting the recent incidents in Aluthgama and Beruwala, a disgruntled politician who is unable to come to terms with the efficiency of the state and military intelligence is determined to discredit the Security Forces.

Army spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya has said that the controversial politician who has been rejected by the masses, was projecting a gloomy picture about several key figures in the Sri Lanka Army intelligence in another 'Millennium City-style' betrayal.

The defence authorities had received intelligence reports on such attempts. The intelligence operatives played a significant role in preserving the peaceful coexistence and averted violence from spreading. Various attempts by others to incite similar incidents of violence in other parts of the country were also thwarted.

The Opposition parliamentarian, notorious for the Millennium City betrayal is now trying to stage another drama, thereby putting the lives of the military heroes at stake. Why is this MP trying to expose these highly capable intelligence officers who contributed in no small measure to check violence escalating and stopped it from blowing into inter-communal violence is anybody's guess?

Exposing military intelligence officers at a time the country is facing unwarranted international pressure, is extremely dangerous and would not only jeopardise the country's hard-earned peace but also impede the unprecedented development that the country is experiencing with the dawn of peace.

It is an open secret that several anti-Sri Lankan elements in the West are conspiring against the country and exerting undue pressure in the guise of protecting human rights. International conspiracies are craftily hatched against Sri Lanka.

This threat is not confined to the country alone. There is a hidden hand and extraneous involvement is clear in incidents of this nature the country had witnessed recently. People should be always on their guard.

Identifying national intelligence figures, irrespective of whether one is using his or her parliamentary privileges puts the lives of the officers concerned at grave risk. The infamous Millennium City betrayal in 2002 is still fresh in our minds.

Coincidentally, it was the same Opposition MP this time too. He had been critical of the Millennium City operations and betrayed the military intelligence units. He switched allegiance and is now following the same path again.

Intelligence operatives established links with religious leaders and prominent citizens of all communities and created a conduit to promote a peaceful dialogue among all communities. This helped prevent exploitation of communal differences to trigger communal riots after the Beruwala and Aluthgama incidents.

Meanwhile, the police have launched an investigation on the statement by UNP's Matara District parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera to see if he had divulged information relating to official secrets.

Soon after the stunning disclosure by Brigadier Wanigasooriya, Samaraweera let the cat out of the bag with a sweeping statement, that the Government was responsible for the communal clashes.

Police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana said that an investigation would be carried out against Samaraweera for divulging official secrets. According to the Official Secrets Act -1955/32, divulging information regarding national security and information about security forces is an offence. The police said that they have sufficient information to conduct an investigation against Samaraweera and would seek the Attorney General's advice regarding further action against Samaraweera following an initial

investigation.

Parliamentary privileges generally apply to MPs' speeches during parliamentary sessions. There are several parliamentary privileges too, apart from those relating to speeches in the House.

However, if somebody commits an offence under the Official Secrets Act, Parliamentary Privileges would not exonerate such parliamentarians. Legal action could be taken against anybody who violates this Act.

Hence, the Government must hold an immediate investigation to find out the true nature of Samaraweera's high-handed act as the police had not found any connection whatsoever, of those accused by the MP, to the incidents in Aluthgama and Beruwela.

Be it Samaraweera or any other citizen for that matter, everybody is enjoying the peaceful atmosphere now prevailing due to the immense sacrifices by the true sons of our soil. There was a time when barely anybody even in their wildest dreams felt that Sri Lanka could get rid of the scourge of LTTE terrorism.

Members of Parliament should not abuse their parliamentary privileges and make sweeping statements that are detrimental to national security and pose a direct threat to the lives of the Security Forces.

Those who abuse parliamentary privileges and endanger national security should be dealt with severely. The masses had not voted them to Parliament to indulge in such shameful acts.

Thanks to the supreme sacrifices of the true sons of our soil and President Mahinda Rajapaksa's unmatched political sagacity, Sri Lanka eradicated terrorism. Hence, all Sri Lankans have a bounden duty to not only safeguard the hard-earned peace but also protect those brave sons in the Security Forces. All of us salute them with profound gratitude.

Anybody who attempts to discredit the heroes in the Security Forces is a traitor to his motherland and should be given the maximum punishment. Sri Lankans should protect the valiant Security Forces, irrespective of race or religious affiliations.

The masses still recall how these traitors disclosed the names of military intelligence officers in the infamous Millennium City scandal, thereby exposing them to LTTE terrorist threats. Many of those officers had to pay the supreme sacrifice with their lives for the sake of bankrupt Opposition politicians as Tiger terrorists eliminated these brave intelligence officers in next to no time.

When there were intelligence reports of a similar betrayal by the same politician, it was exposed by the Army spokesman. If the culprit had no such plan or involvement, he shouldn't have jumped the gun by pointing an accusing finger at the Government.

The politician in question has no takers and wouldn't mind being arrested so that he could woo international sympathy. One could just imagine how much money would have flown from the West to Opposition politicians and NGOs in a desperate bid for a regime change.

The masses would no doubt beat all conspiracies hatched in the West and relegate such traitors to the political dustbin.