Justice for senior Army officers sidelined by Rajapaksa regime

Apr 20, 2016

There are many officers who were subjected to various injustices and personally avenged by ex-defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, ex-Army commanders and other senior officers close to Gotabhaya. They had been denied promotions, ranks and foreign training.

Most of these officers had joined the Army during the 1980s, had to leave their parents, wives and children to serve in operational areas, have completed or neared 30 years of service, and are to retire in a few years’ time.

The incumbent commander inquired into their plight. He awarded the NDC course to a Gajaba regiment officer who had been unfairly treated by Gotabhaya for five years, promoted to major general an engineering corps officer who had been opposed by the ex-commander for four years, promoted to brigadier the four offices who was unfairly treated by the former signal corps commander, recommended a designation and a promotion for an officer unfairly treated by the eastern security forces commander for three years, promoted to brigadier an officer who had been sidelined by the former chief of staff for two years, given a directorate to an officer who had been transferred from the headquarters, where he had held two directorates, to the eastern security forces headquarters.

Senior Army officers say justice should be done for the officers who are presently being unfairly treated by certain senior officers and regimental heads.

When asked for comments, two major generals, one presently serving and the other who has retired, said justice could be done to such officers by considering recommendations not only by the regimental heads, but also by the heads of divisions where they had previously served and presently serving, recommendations by the directorates and the confidential reports for previous years, when giving promotions.