On December 31, Army Commander Shavendra Silva and Defense Secretary Kamal Gunaratne were promoted as General at the Presidential Secretariat. Following this, Army Commander Silva announced their appointments through the Presidential Secretariat, according to the Army official website.
According to the Army’s official website, the appointments are aimed at “coordinating military personnel, if necessary, to facilitate district-level quarantine centers, transportation of people for quarantine and treatment, medicine, equipment, dry food and other essential materials, and all technical necessities.” ”
In the new year, five brigadiers were promoted to Major General, and another 560 officers were promoted to the next level. According to the Daily Mirror, this is an unprecedented feat in the history of the Sri Lankan Army. Simultaneously, several steps were taken last week to further militarize civilian life. Accordingly, the issuance of driving licenses has been taken over by the military since January 2. Rear Admiral Ananda Peiris has been appointed as the new Chairman of Lanka Sathosa.
The government’s abandonment of all attempts to control the epidemic in line with its “new normal” policy of “living with the epidemic” is further illustrated by its refusal to impose travel restrictions during the last festive season. In the rest of the world, these policies have created a social catastrophe. The death toll in Sri Lanka has exceeded 200 and the total number of reported cases is approaching 45,000, with around 500 new cases being reported daily, even under the limited tests of nearly 10,000.
Even the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has accused the government of not publishing statistical data on the epidemic. The non-disclosure of this information is not a problem of the health authorities but part of the government’s informed policy to cover up the epidemic.
The government issued an emergency service order on November 27, setting the stage for the forced recruitment of port workers who did not report for duty due to health concerns as the epidemic spread. It has begun a monthly extension. The imposition of these repressive laws in collaboration with the unions has demonstrated in advance the government’s brutal readiness to crack down on workers.
Military spending has risen 47 billion rupees to 440 billion rupees this year, and new recruits have been announced. The government is trying to provide a cover for this program by cracking down on drugs and the underworld and putting national security at the forefront. The bourgeois media reports these as normal occurrences.
defense of sri lanka kamal gunaratne news militarization in sri lanka shavendra de silva sri lanka army task force sri lanka military budget defense secretary 2019 presidential secretariat