Army, Air Force Chiefs dismiss allegations level against security forces by unpatriotic politicians...
Army Commander Sarath Fonseka and Air Force Commander Roshan Goonetilleke have totally rejected statements made by UNP leader Ranil Wickramasinghe that quick and complete attention had not been provided to soldiers who were injured in the warfront to save their lives.
The Army Chief in a statement broadcast by the state owned ITN said, "The security forces have enough helicopters to transport injured soldiers immediately from the battlefield to necessary hospitals and after immediate treatment, if necessary there are enough transport planes to transfer them to Colombo for further specialized medical attention." In a sweeping statement he rejected the UNP leaders utterances as "untruth" and "distortions" meant to mislead.
The Army Chief said, most of the soldiers hit in the battlefield are by heavy artillery and mortars possessed by the LTTE that were allowed to be smuggled into the country by politicians during the days of the Ceasefire Agreement and the very leaders who allowed those weapons into the country should be directly responsible for the injuries caused to the soldiers, in an obvious attack on Mr. Wickremesinghe.
Many shiploads of weapons were allowed to be taken into the country during the time of Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe while the country's Navy was asked to show a Nelsonian eye to the activities of the LTTE as a measure to save the Ceasefire Agreement, years ago.
Both Army Chief Fonseka and Air Force Chief Goonetilleke in televised statements said the Opposition Leader's statement as a "complete distortion of the truth" and " a lie" probably concocted to sabotage the recruitment to the security forces all over the nation "by misleading the masses." Fonseka and Goonetilleke said, injured soldiers are directly transported to Palali, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa ,Mannar , Ampara hospitals etc directly from the battlefields by helicopters and from those places to Colombo if further treatment is wanted. Fonseka said there are enough transport planes coming to Colombo to transfer such soldiers.
Ranil Wickremasinghe's closest political ally Mangala Samaraweera had earlier said the present commander of the armed forces did not know warfare and that's why so many have died. Samaraweera was quoted having said that "lives of soldiers are being sacrificed because the defence secretary and army commander do not have an understanding or strategy to conduct the war." In an obvious reference to Samaraweera , the Army Commander said, it is ridiculous that people who opposed warring with the Tamil Tigers are now trying to instruct them about war strategies.
He said the strategy of the government was definitely based on years of past experience and the successful results are now showing by our valiant soldiers and their officers by using it. They are now poised to strike Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. He said, " if we took time off for the monsoon and floods we would have given an advantage over us to the LTTE. But our brave soldiers fought regardless and today we are at an advantage over them." The Army Commander said our forces have successfully run over Iranamadu cross roads and Paranthan leading to their military targets.
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ranil wickramasingheby abpilapitiya1,990 views
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