The Hindu : Front Page : Changes in Sri Lanka armed forces brass, Fonseka chief of defence staff

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Monday, Jul 13, 2009
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Front Page

Changes in Sri Lanka armed forces brass, Fonseka chief of defence staff

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Clear message that institutions and individuals have to function within the Constitution

Sarath Fonseka

COLOMBO: In a significant re-shuffle of the brass of the defence establishment in the post-Prabakaran era, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday designated the serving Army Chief, Sarath Fonseka as the new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and named the Commander Security Forces Headquarters (Wanni) as his successor.

Further, Mr. Rajapaksa appointed Navy Admiral Vasantha Karannagoda to the new post of National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President and named the present Chief of Navy Staff Thisara Samarasinghe as his successor.

The appointment of Lt. Gen. Fonseka is effective from July 15 and is made in accordance with the powers vested in the President by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Act No. 35 of 2009.

A statement by the Presidential Secretariat said here that the current Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and Competent Authority for the Internally Displaced Persons in the North, G.A. Chandrasiri was sworn in as the new Governor for the Northern Province and Dixon Dela, the current Governor of the Northern Province appointed the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in the Maldives with immediate effect.

Political and diplomatic observers here view the changes as a clear message from Mr. Rajapaksa that institutions have to function within the provisions of the Constitution and individuals, irrespective of their contribution in the military decimation of the LTTE leading to the death of its chief Velupillai Prabakaran, are subservient to the Constitution.

Barring the successor to Lt. Gen. Fonseka and swearing in of Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri as Governor of Northern Province, all other changes were anticipated. Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri was appointed as Competent Authority for the war displaced on April 24.

On June 26, the Sri Lankan Parliament passed with amendments the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bill presented by Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka to legitimise the post of CDS and create an effective coordination between the CDS and the three wings of the armed forces.

Presenting the Bill, Mr. Wickramanayaka had said though the post of CDS existed, it was functioning without any legal powers. The bill, which became an Act after the Presidential assent, envisions CDS to be responsible for coordination between the armed forces and the Defence Ministry.

A committee, including the heads of the three wings, would be established with the CDS in the chair. The CDS would consult the commanders of the three wings under the direction and supervision of the Defence Secretary.

Opposition United National Party (UNP) MP John Amaratunga had said in Parliament that the government had given powers of a “deputy head of armed forces” to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is the head of the armed forces.

He told the House that the Bill envisaged more powers for the Defence Secretary and some exceeded even that of the Defence Minister.

He pointed out that the Defence Secretary had been given the power to control the armed forces without being answerable to Parliament.

There have been some concerns on the role of defence services in the post-Prabakaran situation. The ranks of the military, all the three wings put together, swelled to over 200,000 and the allocation for defence for 2009 was pegged at Sri Lankan Rs.177.1 billion ($1.66 billion).

The allocation for defence in 2008 was Rs.166.44 billion. Sri Lanka’s ratio of soldiers to population (under 20 million) must be one of the highest in the world.

In an interview to the State-run television telecast on May 27, the Army chief said he intended to add another 100,000 soldiers.

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