’Prez told not to invite IGP to Oct. 2018 SC meeting’

Former Defence Secretary Kapila Wadiyaratne today said President Maithripala Sirisena informed him not to invite IGP Pujith Jayasundara to the Security Council meeting on October 2018.

Mr. Wadiyaratne came out with this information while testifying before the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probing the Easter Sunday attacks last afternoon.

He said this in response to Acting Chairman of the PSC Jayampathi Wickramaratne said that former Defence Secretary was summoned before the select committee because of a statement made by IGP Jayasundara that Mr. Wadiyaratne had informed him that President had instructed him not to invite the former to the Security Council meeting.

“I usually do not question the President, therefore, I did not ask him as to why the IGP had been refrained from attending the Security Council meeting. During that time there was an investigation in progress concerning the IGP’s involvement with Namal Kumara’s assassination plot of the President. There were also some other matters which should not be informed to the IGP. I thought that was the reason for not inviting him. Sisira Mendis informed me that he could not convey the message to IGP Jayasundara that the latter’s presence was not necessary for the NSC. Soon after that IGP Jayasundara called me and asked whether he had been asked not to attend the meeting. I confirmed it and said that the President told me so. Till that day the IGP continued to attend all NSC meetings,” he said.

He said President Sirisena did not inform him not to invite anyone else to the Security Council meeting. Therefore he said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was invited to the Security Council meeting during his tenure and the latter attended the meetings during his time as Defence Secretary.

Mr. Wadiyaratne said he was not aware of Security Council meetings that were held after October 2, 2018, as he resigned from the post on October 30, 2018. “I decided to resign from my post on October 30, 2018, on my own, as I saw that the country was going into a constitutional crisis after the happening on October 26, 2018,” Mr. Wadiyaratne said.

Further, the former Defence Secretary said it was the Minister of Defence who decided as to who was to be summoned to the Security Council meeting.

Mr. Wadiyaratne revealed that the Security Council had got information on the revamping of the LTTE during his tenure as the Defence Secretary, while it also discussed the impending Islamic extremism and the name 'Rilwan' was talked about as a person who was involved in extremism. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)