Gotabaya says North is not militarised

6 February 2012 04:09 am

Sri Lankan defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stoutly denied he was militarising the northern region and insisted troops “are maintaining absolutely essential presence” and were spread across all 22 districts on the island.
 
He was responding to the charge by Tamil parties and the diaspora that army camps flooded the north even after the government won the war over 30 months ago and no civilian activity — not even family celebrations — could happen without the presence of an army officer.
 
“We have achieved large-scale development and restoration of normalcy within a short span after ending the 30-year war on terror.
 
It’s sad that some people do not recognise this and instead are talking of sanctions against us. Is this fair and justified?” Mr. Rajapaksa, the influential brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, told DC in an interview at his high-security office in Colombo. (Source: The Asian Age)