Much ado about MR’s security
While government and UPFA MPs argue of numbers, the
former president refuses to attend public events unless security is
enhanced:
by Uditha Kumarasinghe
There is a dispute over the security entitlement of former president
Mahinda Rajapaksa, now a frontline member of the Opposition.
The issue of security of the former Head of State, also a war-winning
President, was raised in Parliament by UPFA parliamentarian, Dinesh
Gunawardene recently. The MP who campaigned for Rajapaksa in the run up
to the presidential elections this year, highlighted in the House, the
security risks faced by his former leader. Gunawardene said that the
security detail of former president Rajapaksa has been curtailed, a
claim the government has refuted.
Leader of the House and Higher Education and Highways Minister
Lakshman Kiriella on Thursday told Parliament that the allegations of
the former president not being given adequate security were false.
“The government has provided all the security necessary for the
former president,” Kiriella said. However, he refused to disclose the
strength of the security personnel deployed as it may endanger
Rajapaksa’s security.
Gunawardene argued that the government should not politicise the
issue of security for a former Head of State, insisting that Rajapaksa
deserved ‘top priority status’ in security. Kiriella maintained that the
security of the former President was extremely important to the
government.
Speaking to the Sunday Observer, Minister Kiriella reiterated that
the government has not decided to curtail the security of former
president Rajapaksa and that there was no reason to do so. “In fact, we
want to protect the former president more than the Opposition.
If there is any lapse in his security, the government will be blamed
for it. We are really interested in keeping him safe without
experiencing any security threat. Security is determined based on
security assessments on VIPs carried out by the defence authorities and
is not done according to whims and fancies of people,” Kiriella said.
As for MP Gunawardene, Minister Kiriella said that the ‘issue of
reduced security for the former president’ was reported in a particular
newspaper and insisted that he (Gunawardene) should raise the matter
with the relevant publication. “It is absurd to quote a news item in a
newspaper and question the government based on it,” he said.
Security concern
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Lakshman
Kiriella |
Dinesh
Gunawardene |
MP Gunawardene raised this matter while participating in the
Committee Stage debate of the Appropriation Bill 2016 under the
expenditure heads of the Ministry of Women’s and Children’s Affairs on
December 7, referring to a newspaper report that claimed the security
provided to the former president had been pruned down, following a
Cabinet decision. The MP told the House that Finance Minister Ravi
Karunanayake has told a newspaper that the former president had been
provided with a 500 –member security contingent, whereas the security
personnel actually assigned stood at 80, a woefully inadequate for a VIP
who continues to run high risks.
Minister Kiriella said, following instructions from Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe, the government has provided the requisite security
personnel to the former president.
“We have responded to this question several times in Parliament.
Actually, there is no issue regarding the security of the former
president as claimed by MP Gunawardene.”
Kiriella also denied certain media reports that the Finance Minister
submitted a report to the Cabinet on the security arrangements of the
former president. “We only had a discussion on the security needs of the
former president but no final decision was reached during the
discussion. We have to reassess his security needs and based on an
actual need assessment, security personnel will be deployed in the
future. But this does not mean his security is already slashed,” he
said.
Careful consideration
The Leader of the House said that the government has “given careful
consideration to the former president’s security needs” but refused to
share details for “purposes of security.”
“Raising the issue of security of former president Rajapaksa in this
manner shows the recklessness of MP Gunawardene. He publicly seeks to
discuss a confidential matter. If he is genuinely concerned about the
security of the former President, he should have personally taken up
this issue with the government and pursued it to the very end.
Disclosing the number of security personnel assigned to the former
President and claiming that his security has been reduced endangers
former president Rajapaksa’s security. It makes him vulnerable or
perhaps that was the motive behind this strident claim,” he said,
adding; “it’s a cheap tactic and a sinister way to get some public
attention.”
Speaking to the Sunday Observer, MP Gunawardena said the issue was
raised in a responsible English weekly. The news report alleged that
that former president Rajapaksa’s 500 security personnel were viewed as
excessive and a decision has been reached to significantly reduce
numbers.
Kiriella said that the former president did not have 500 security
personnel deployed and had the service of only 82 security personnel and
20 administrative officials.
“So it is an inaccuracy. We are of the view that, besides the
incumbent president and the prime minister, the former President should
enjoy the highest security contingent. Everyone knows that he remains a
prime security target and needs to be protected. He was not only the
President of Sri Lanka but also defeated terrorism. There is no place
for adhoc decision-making now. It is our duty to ensure the former
president’s security and the government will not shirk its duty,”
Kiriella said.
In this backdrop, former president Rajapaksa had gone on record
having told a Sinhala daily that he intends restricting his
participation in public events due to inadequate security. He has also
claimed that he has a contingent of 89 security personnel and when some
of them go on leave, there is no substitution and the existing numbers
are insufficient. |