Friday, 15 May 2015
The appointment of Major General Jagath Dias as the second in Sri Lanka Army indicates that President Maithripala Sirisena is continuing with the militarisation agenda adopted by his predecessor, despite promising to dismantle it.
Militarisation of the Civil Service and the Foreign Service has been one of the main accusations by the then opposition against the Rajapaksa regime.
Yet the current government has appointed General Jagath Jasuriya, with whom Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka even refused to shake hands following his promotion, as the country’s ambassador to Brasil & General Daya Rathnayake as the ambassador to Pakistan.
Interestingly, General Rathnayake is not only accused of openly campaigning for Mahinda Rajapaksa during the presidential elections, but has also been a key figure in dismantling the police investigation into the coup attempt on the election day night.
Since being elected to the office on 08 January, many supporters were surprised, to say the least, about the President’s appointments to some of the crucial positions in the government and media.
Whether it is his incompetency or simply ignoring the advice by well-wishers is not clear but his latest decision to appoint war criminal Jagath Dias as the second man in command is certainly a serious matter of concern.
Jagath Dias’ name is thought to be among 40 war criminals named by the UNHRC report to be published in September.
He is accused of serious crimes against humanity while commanding the 57 Division during the last stages of the war.
While Jagath Dias was not permitted to attend training courses in Western countries, he faced strong protests when he was attending training in India.
With this controversial appointment, the president’s good image as a champion of peace and reconciliation has irreversibly been damaged in Sri Lanka as well as among his international allies.
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