Army cannt rest- Defence Secretary [October 22 2011]

 Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said though there is no threat of terrorism in Sri Lanka, the Army had to keep its military surveillance all times.

The Opening the new Security Forces Headquarters Complex at Kilinochchi (SFHQ-KLN) he said: "In addition to those perished, pockets of LTTE terrorists were arrested and some surrendered during the humanitarian operations in these areas. Similarly, some escaped capture in Sri Lanka".

Rajapaksa said that those LTTEers, who escaped, and the Diaspora have teamed up together and are working hard to destabilize the country and resurrect their ruthless organization. " Because of these concerns, Military Intelligence Corps had to be increased to 6 battalions from the original 1-2 battalions. The surveillance therefore has to be sustained at all times,"he said.

Nestled on the banks of the famous Iranamadu reservoir, the new Headquarters premises, boasts a nicely-done ground for physical training, plus a sports complex. The entire construction, including the state of the art modern conference hall cost the Army a total of about Rs 40.6 million.

Kilinochchi, one of the ancient cities in the north remained a vibrant commercial hub until Tiger terrorists encroached on it and set up its de-facto separate utopian state, a few decades ago before they were vanquished in May 2009.