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Engineering force (Baas) Krishantha De Silva who gave false evidence against Fonseka is Army Commander -Whither SL ?

(Lanka-e-News -22.Feb.2015, 11.30PM) President Maitripala Sirisena and ministry of defense lastday appointed major general Krishantha De Silva as the new army commander replacing army commander Daya Ratnayake who is due for retirement. Krishantha is an old boy of Royal College , Colombo , and an officer attached to the engineering force of the army.

It is reported that there is massive opposition and criticism mounted within the army ranks against Krishantha De Silva’s appointment . This is because following the coaching received  from ex defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse,  Krishantha  became notorious as  one among those who  gave  false evidence in the military court against Gen. Sarath Fonseka in the case founded  on a frame up , whereby the general  who won the war was sent to jail while also  divesting him  of all his military  honors , medals ,recognition and  his privileges.

Gen. Fonseka after quitting the forces entered politics and contested the Presidential election as a common candidate with the support of all parties . After he lost the election , and later when he was abducted from his residence by an army group , Krishantha was the secretary at that time to the army commander Jagath Jayasuriya. On top of that , Krishantha even went so  far as to give evidence in the military court ,and testified that the  charges against Fonseka that he did politics while being in the army were true ,at that time.

It was reported that Gotabaya Rajapakse compelled Krishantha to  do that. It is to be noted that when Gotabaya forced other officers too to testify against Fonseka falsely , they refused on the ground that they cannot give false evidence. However Krishantha agreed to stoop to the level of carrying out Gotabaya’s  sordid instructions. Consequently ,  Gen. Fonseka was sentenced to jail . 

Fonseka who was elected as a parliamentary representative by the people is unable to serve them now , because of that sentence passed on him which precluded him from attending    parliament for three consecutive months resulting in losing his MP post. 

In addition , it was Krishantha De Silva  , the secretary at that time who obstructed the 14 army chiefs (also victims of the unjustifiable vindictive actions taken against Gen. Fonseka ) who were sent on compulsory retirement from filing human rights cases , and aborted their attempts by threatening that if they go ahead with that action their pensions would be withheld.   In any case their pensions were not paid. The pensions that are paid compulsorily to army chiefs were also not granted to them.
 
Now , the newly installed  government has  revoked  the sentence passed on Gen. Fonseka.  What is crucial pertaining to   this decision is  , this government has in other words accepted  the position  that the evidence given by Krishantha De Silva at that time was false.

It is a fact   the present government has now acknowledged that Krishantha De Silva’s actions  were  unacceptable and that he is one who gave false evidence. In the circumstances , the issue is : on  what legal premise  is Krishantha De Silva appointed as army commander who had acted in violation of the laws ?

Gen. Fonseka the common candidate was put behind bars for two long years at that time without valid grounds . Now coming out after serving for 2 years in jail , he campaigned to defeat the brutal and barbaric Rajapakses . When that is the truth of the matter and it is Krishantha  who put Fonseka behind bars unconscionably by giving false evidence , on what basis can Krishantha who was recalled from abroad ,and   given the army commander post be justified ? 

Is this appointment therefore a revenge taken against Fonseka ? A  crazy and folly driven decision? An  underhand deal  in collusion with evil disruptive forces ?  a stupid political machination playing into the hands of the  enemies ?  or goofy governance in the name of good governance ?

We leave it to the people to decide which description suits best in the present context.

The disillusionment and disappointment within the ranks of the army over the appointment of the new army commander is also based on the following additional grounds :

1. Krishantha may be the most senior , but not every senior is appointed as the army commander of a country. There are several other factors governing the appointment.

In the main ,an officer who had not been a commander of a division  is not appointed as a country’s  army commander. Krishantha had only  been a commander of a Brigade but never a commander of a  division during his whole lifetime. This was because of his incapability , and for no other reason.

During the Jaya sikuru operations , the brigade that he was commanding came in for a severe LTTE  assault ,  as a result , the LTTE seized the rifles and heavy artillery weapons from the army. Moreover, because of Krisantha De Silva’s  indiscretions and foolish strategies  , a large number of soldiers had to sacrifice their lives. A military investigation too was subsequently conducted into this debacle when it    came to light that Krishantha De Silva deserted his rank and file , and fled from the scene of battle. Besides , Krishantha did not have any idea of what quantity of weapons were captured by the LTTE .From that point of time , Krishantha was never allowed to command a division let alone a brigade . 

If the report  aforementioned is not  laid hands on   and hidden by Krishantha after he becomes army commander tomorrow, that report should still be there with the army.. In such circumstances , when such a military investigation report exists against the army officer  , appointing him as the army commander is to spell doom and  voluntarily court disaster for the country .

2. Sri Lanka is a country that fought a thirty years old war. The war that began against a small group of terrorists escalated into a  thirty year war. The terrorists who were a small group grew into a huge unofficial armed force backed by its , naval and air forces because at that time officers like Krishantha De Silva of the engineering force who had no knowledge about war strategies  became army commanders. The best examples are Denis Perera and Nalin Seneviratne who were appointed as army commanders.

During the period of Nalin Seneviratne as army commander  , when the LTTE were attacking with mortars , Nalin had not even heard of mortars. When  the soldiers who managed to escape came and told Nalin , something like rockets were used as explosives by the LTTE , he listened to them like a stunned bull with eyes wide open. This disastrous situation arose because ‘Baases’ ( manual work  force heads ) of engineering force who knew nothing about war became  army commanders.

Fortunately , after Nalin Seneviratne,  this trend was changed , and instead of ‘baases ’  of the engineering force of the army being appointed as army commanders, officers of the   infantry or from the war tanks unit were appointed  as army commanders. Indeed this is why the war was finally won. But now when there is a victorious army with a large infantry , a ‘baas’ of the engineering force being appointed again as the army commander is not only frowned upon by one and all , but resented bitterly even by the army’s entire rank and file . 

3. This is the same Krishantha De Silva who did all the sordid biddings of the Rajapkses  a hundred times  before the Rajapkses were thrown out lock , stock and barrel. It is only on one solitary occasion , ( the last)  about a month before the political upheaval – that is the final days of the Rajapakses , he did not heed Gotabaya’s instructions. At that time Krishantha was in Russia as a deputy Ambassador . Krishantha  a self seeking opportunist  who intuitively understood  that the Rajapakses were going to lose, declined the invitation extended to him to arrive in Sri Lanka for Rajapakse’s  election campaign . 

Perhaps , the heads  of the new government are misled to believe Krishantha is not a Rajapakse lickspittle and lackey  on the basis of  Krishantha’s  last refusal. 

It was Krishantha De Silva who was in charge of the forward maintenance  area (FMA) responsible for the captives and those who surrendered during the war.  He received instructions from the immediate top from Jagath Jayasuriya .Both of them were not involved in war operations proper .They were only in charge of the army  who were giving support from the rear . 

It was Krishantha De Silva in charge of the Tamil  captives of war and those surrendering  who handed them over to the murderous group of Gotabaya that met him , in pursuance of instructions given by the latter and Jagath Jayasuriya.  The fate  of 1500 captives who were so taken is not known  even today. 

Recently , photographs were released by the Tamil diaspora of the mass killings including civilians like  Isapriya . These were the killings relating to those who were released by Krishantha in dereliction of his duty in order to comply with the illegal order   issued by Gotabaya. This black mark that stained the country owing to his  actions is indelible even today. Though as many as  hundred thousand died on the battle field , that did not mar the image of the country as did this relatively few killings of those who surrendered and taken captive.

Those who speak in defense of Krishantha claim that the Tamil nationals  who surrendered and came in as captives to the forward maintenance area were forwarded to the camps, and it is from there they were taken  and liquidated . But , in that case too , it is Krishantha who should be held responsible and none else, for he has not maintained any record of this. If he had duly discharged his duty , and maintained records , the killing could not have been done subsequently. In the circumstances , by appointing Krishantha as the army commander , the government for good governance  is certainly going to face the dire consequences of its  egregious indiscretion sooner than later .

4. It is not for nothing Gotabaya sent Krishantha as the SL deputy ambassador to Russia .The aim was to enlist him to assist in the arms sales linked to the secret floating armories  that were run by Gotabaya.  Udayanga Weeratunge , a relative of Rajapakses , the SL ambassador to Russia was engaged in the necessary  arms purchases for Gotabaya , while in Russia. Information is now surfacing that  Udayanga Weeratunge was directly engaged in Gotabaya’s arms deals , and Krishantha De Silva was also  in Russia to facilitate them .

Today , there are many vital  objectives the SL army has to accomplish. One of them is to free the army from the politicization by the Rajapakses for so many years , and de politicize it. The second is to mete out punishment legally to the army chiefs who were responsible for devastating the death donation association by illegally tampering with it , and  who are  facing corruption charges. 

At all events , nothing can be more ridiculous  and ludicrous than to think that these objectives  will be accomplished by the new commander going by his  notorious antecedence highlighted in the aforementioned  paragraphs.  
 
By a Special Defense Reporter (Translated by Jeff) 

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by     (2015-02-22 21:15:59)

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  6 discussion on this news

Most of the facts about him are correct including his shameful deserting the rank and file. ( He had run away in shorts and General Weerasooriya has visited the place). Therefore, it is pathetic that a person of this calibre has been appointed Commander of the Army - 1st time in the history of Sri Lanka. For the 1st time in the history Sri Lanka, an officer, who had already been superseded (by Daya) has been appointed Army Commander. For the 1st time in the history Sri Lanka, the appointment of the Commander of the Army has been a mockery, comedy of errors and a disgrace to the prestigious, respectable and vital appointment which is held with reverence and looked up to. The authorities could not properly evaluate and select the right person to appoint. Once a name was published and then statements were published denying. One can not include such a vital issue in 100 days programme, We feel so dejected about the whole issue. We can see the new govt is taken for a good ride! A responsible citizen
-- by Nimalka Perera on 2015-02-23

several self seeking opportunisst who intuitively understood the change changed their colours and qualified.
-- by s kalpage on 2015-02-23

How sad the direction of the Good Governance! This is no what we expected.
-- by Malcolm on 2015-02-23

Lanka Enews has always gone over the top. One always had to read between the lines for the facts. In this case they have got the facts wrong, as I think they were espousing someone else's case‎. They know nothing about the army and do not know that Kitchener and MacArtur were engineers
-- by Maj Gen Susil C on 2015-02-24

slanderous article about the new Army Commander, the Engineers in general and even dragged in the names Generals Denis Perera & Nalin Seneviratne who were two respected Army Commanders. Lankaenews has no journalistic integrity.
-- by Maj Gen Susil C on 2015-02-24

It is very sad to note that the writer is bashing the President of the country to say that he is a fool to appoint Lt. General Crishantha De Silva (Not Krishantha) as the Commander of the Army. The President would have weighed his options comparing all the officers who are eligible to Command the Army and against his vision of what he wanted the Army to achieve. Now that he has made his decision, patriotic way to go about this would be support President’s decision and show the new commander the tasks that need to be accomplished in whatever the sincere goals the writer wish are for the betterment of the Army. I am a proud sapper officer (Field Engineers) who managed to accomplish a lot during my short career in the Army. I have done my sapper tasks, fought as a an infantryman, lead troops in infantry role, wrote the battle plan to capture Jaffna and was a major part of accomplishing it by commanding the infantry brigade that was in the final assault side by side with Special Forces and Air Mobile Brigade. Does that mean I am better than an infantryman, answer is no. We all had our own responsibilities that in combination made us win battles. Can infantrymen alone win battles without the support of all the supporting arms and services, answer again is no. If anyone wants to argue on any level about Sappers I am available to do that at any forum, but that’s beside the point, just a side show. It is unfair to be-little dead and gone past Army Commanders just because they were Sappers. General Dennis Perera was a great officer, gentleman and a great army commander. General Fonseka is a proud product of General Dennis Perera too. General Perera streamed lined lots of procedures in the Army and built the base on which it is standing today. As for General Seneviratne, he was a wonderful officer and gentleman. Under his command (General Kobbekaduwa and General Wimalaratne) we accomplished Vadamarachchi operation. Can we compare it with the operations that were carried out under General Fonseka? No -it is just a blip in comparison. But that was the first big one; which even prompted India to invade Sri Lanka. Geo-politically that was considered as huge at that time, though we all are wiser now. Army evolved over time from that ‘blip’ to ‘mega’ thanks to everyone who pioneered in finding solutions and driving it until the final objectives were achieved. None of the infantrymen knew what an RPG 7 was when it was fired at sappers for the first time in Mullativu, until a sapper officer pointed it out. We all were learning at that point from each other and no punt meant to any infantryman. US military did not know about Russian long range ground to air missile until U-2 spy plane was shot down over Russia (1960). Nor did we know anything about the ZSU 23 anti-aircraft gun LTTE used to bring down the two Avros in 1995. What we need to do is to look at everything positively in the name of the Country. When we bash key personalities for our own political mileage, the Country suffers. We are just giving lots of fuel and encouragements to our enemies. Anyone in their right patriotic mind will not say anything that will be prejudice against the Country’s cause. All the battles won belong to the soldiers and junior officers who fought under our command. They are the real heroes. If not for them I would not have achieved anything in the Army. I am grateful to my senior officers for giving me the opportunity to thrive in whatever I did in the Army irrespective of what various pundits thought. I respect them for what they were according to the environment they were brought up in. We can hardly compare them to the present day senior officers that had gone through the mill. (It is unfair too) Junior officers and men need to look up at their senior officers with respect and dignity. Publically bashing them by media is just destroying the basic concept and core structure of the Army. We can sit and argue on every fact that has written by the writer. But that will only make the situation worse as we will be arguing on the merits and demerits of possible alternate senior officers in writer’s mind. In the end we will be bashing these alternates just trying to prove a point, which would destroy their image too. We cannot do that because those senior officers are the future, if they have any flows we need to get them corrected privately and prepare them to be the contenders to become next Army Commander. Media went ahead and appointed an Army Commander (General Rabukpotha – who is a great officer) in haste, when the President has not approved it. Now media has placed him in a spot too. A President will elect his commander to suit the necessity of the country and the army. If the President is planning or anticipating a threat of a war he may choose a more aggressive commander. But if he wants the army to clean up its act and fall back to its classic role away from the politics, he may elect an officer who is capable of accomplishing his goal. Wrong person for the wrong role may not be the best. I personally feel President made a good choice, but then again I may not even qualify to express my feelings. Let the Officer who had won the trust of the President do his duty. All we should do is (if that’s our duty) to point him on the right direction. There is no perfect country or a leader, just a relative one. Likewise, there are no perfect senior officers either, just relative ones.
-- by Lucky Rajasinghe on 2015-02-25

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