The link between bread, boats and betrayal in Sri Lanka
The Defence Ministry in Colombo has said that anyone in Sri Lanka who criticizes its security forces is a traitor to the nation; his comments came after, Sri Lanka governing party’s main opposition leader saying, “As the price of a loaf of bread increases, the media and the government destroy three LTTE boats daily.”
The main opposition in Sri Lanka accused the government of exaggerating military victories to hoodwink the public on ever increasing Cost of Living (CoL). Opposition and United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickramasinghe also said the media also seemed to be moving with the government in this campaign.
[Ranil Wickramasinghe, UNP leader]
The National Security Media Centre’s Director General Lakshman Hulugalle told the media: “We consider anyone who criticizes the defence forces to be a traitor to the nation as such people undermine the lives of armed forces personnel.” He urged the media to refrain from publishing any reports that would undermine the efforts of the armed forces.
He said that after the sinking of three LTTE arms ships by the Navy a few weeks ago, some sections claimed that it was done to distract attention from the cost of living. “That is not true, these brave men destroyed the ships for the sake of the country and not to help any political party or individual. Please don’t mix these up with politics,” he said.
However, he was quick to note that the Navy was able to destroy the LTTE ships due to the leadership given by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Navy Chief Wasantha Karannagoda.
Navy Spokesman D.K.P. Dassanayake also urged the media not to undermine the Navy personnel, who risked their lives to successfully detect and destroy the LTTE arms shipments.
