Kosgama Debacle: Investigate Involvement of Crooks Seeking Commissions on Weapons Purchases
Posted on June 7th, 2016
Dilrook Kannangara
The security debacle and a resultant explosion in Kosgama is the worst Sri Lanka has seen. It may have costed over $10 million (1.5 billion rupees) in destroyed stock. Damage to houses and complex also runs to a few hundred million rupees. Heads must roll over this debacle. The Defence Secretary and the Army Commander must take full responsibility and resign from their posts forthwith. That will facilitate an impartial investigation into the matter. It is nearly impossible for an accident to spark the initial explosion and then spread to the entire complex. A systematic and deliberate ignition is more likely. Those involved within and outside the complex must be investigated.
Since the war victory in 2009, the need for regular purchases of stocks ended. Stocks need to be replenished only when the material reach their use by date which is long. That means no regular purchasing. It is no secret purchases attract lofty commissions and this was one of the most lucrative industries during wartime. Someone was not making big bucks he/she used to make for decades. The possibility of such an involvement must be seriously considered and investigated.
It may also be part of a concerted attempt to remove army camps. Fires have been lit around army camps in the north in an attempt to remove them. Political thugs have stormed into army camps demanding the camp is dismantled. In this context, such acts of terror cannot be ruled out.
It is essential to deploy artillery and multi barrel rocket launchers (MBRLs) within striking distance of Colombo Port and Colombo City to deter a foreign invasion and foreign-aligned locals conniving with foreign parties to siege the city. Since MBRLs have a maximum range of 25km, it is imperative they are kept well within that range. A reasonable quantity of artillery must also be kept handy. Unlike attack planes, helicopters, ships and tanks a fired artillery cannot be stopped. In the case of MBRLs, only seconds are needed to discharge its volley making it nearly impossible to stop them. Therefore, removing army camps with these facilities within 20km from the Colombo Port is not advisable. The point is not their use but the capability it brings to deter an enemy. If there are no defences whatsoever, every invader will try their luck. Similar capabilities have saved many smaller nations against bullying tactics of larger invaders. The government must not make use of this to remove army camps and weapons depots within 20km of the Colombo City. That jeopardizes national security. Any Indian or Tamil involvement in the incident aimed at weakening security capabilities in Colombo should be investigated.
The present dispensation has proved clearly it cannot look after national security interests. This may be the tip of the iceberg or the start of something huge.
June 7th, 2016 at 11:19 am
Thanks Dilrook for your invaluable account on this most suspicious incident and alerting the good patriotic people of SL and elsewhere.
” The Defence Secretary and the Army Commander must take full responsibility and resign from their posts forthwith. That will facilitate an impartial investigation into the matter. ”
No doubt this has to be the direct demand from the majority of citizens for the security of the nation at this perilous juncture. While national security is purposely downgraded and continued to do so by the current leadership, this can be a sinister conspiracy that even PM must be asked to resign immediately as the winds of change is looking most dangerous for SL.
June 7th, 2016 at 12:04 pm
As I have been saying for a while this is part of the overall plan from the Western think tanks. In order to break up the country the first step is to impoverish the country and bring it to its knees. Then they can do as they wish with it. This was the reason for the bond scams by Arjun Mahendran with blessings from RW. It provided two things. It brought down the value of the rupee and also provided money for the UNP to win the July 17’15 parliamentary elections. In addition RW was always wary of the Armed Forces and and has done his best to weaken the Forces. From the time this Govt came into power they have been removing the security camps and demoralizing the army, navy and air force. The way they handled the insulting language used by the Eastern provincial Minister against a Navy officer and then how this Minister was subsequently invited to lunch at the Navy camp shows how low we have fallen. This incident is the latest in the series of actions to demoralize the forces.
The fire at Maharagama too may have multi purposes. When Gota was in charge he had a Committee to handle arms purchases. Now it will be done by Ravi Karupaiah with RW’s blessings. I understand from news reports in the press that they are going to buy $1.5 billion worth of arms from abroad. I understand they (Ravi and RW) are expected to get large commissions on the purchase which will further strengthen their own pockets and the UNP coffers.
I agree with you that we must have Forces which can be mobilized quickly close to Colombo. When we have a proven enemy (India) which keeps dumping their Untouchables into Sri Lanka and then make accusations that the Sinhalese are committing ‘Genocide’ on these unhappy people, to harass Sri Lanka, we have to make sure we have a strong armed forces – army, navy and air force to protect the country. Like little Switzerland does with so many powerful countries around it, we too should have an army of at least 2 million on standby. Switzerland trains all young men and women from 18-40 years old in warfare and use of weapons. They then go back to civilian life but are on call at a moment’s notice. This is why they were not invaded by Germans during World War II. We need to do the same if we are sensible about protecting ourselves from India’s and others machinations.
June 7th, 2016 at 2:20 pm
As Dilrook said,
Maintaining DETERRENCE is essence of National Defence.
In fact, if Sri Lanka had learned the lessons of repeated foreign invasions, particularly from India, in our historical past, we would have developed strong national armed force IMMEDIATELY after independence.
The DEMONSTRABLE weakness of our 6000 man Army encouraged the Tamil Tigers to recruit, train and field a larger force of fighters initially with India’s FULL SUPPORT. The means to overcome an ill trained Army of 6000 soldiers used for ceremonial purposes and strike busting was easy; a 300,000 man armed force was impossible to overcome with internal proxies, and TOO COSTLY to overcome with foreign troops. That is called DETERRENCE!
DETERRENCE is the ESSENCE of National Security. A war AVOIDED because of DETERRENCE is FAR BETTER than a WAR WON after the expenditure of great many lives and national treasure.
June 7th, 2016 at 4:04 pm
Cerberus hit the nail. IMF loan is could end up in clearing old stocks of arms from US and Europe.
June 7th, 2016 at 4:04 pm
Or from India.
June 7th, 2016 at 10:00 pm
Agree with Ananda and Cerberus.
In addition to a 6,000 strong army in late 1970s, it was very poorly armed with only shotguns. We only had a handful of AFVs. No warships and FACs capable of stopping Tamil Nadu infiltration. Although we had Russian jets in the 1970s, the UNP government’s policies put them out of action. So we had only rotor driven bombers and Bell helicopters (designed for rescue operations). Our army was turned into a full ceremonial army. It was nothing short of a miracle we survived with such and army and within 30 years, while fighting a war, managed to elevate into a formidable fighting force. Sadly, now the armed forces are going backwards in capabilities and morale.
Our constitution must guarantee the minimum level of national security, minimum defence only budget and the supremacy of national security. A method has to be devised to bring military leaders to parliament via another avenue (not elections) based on seniority to bring to discussion important national security implications of mostly foolish decisions parliament takes.
June 7th, 2016 at 11:46 pm
This is killing several birds with one stone. Primary objective seems to be the complete dis empowering of the country’s armed forces to set the scene for the LTTE disapora-led re-engineered invasion of the country. Secondly, this manufactured ‘incident’ invokes the goni billa effect of “look what happens when armed installations are held amongst civilian areas. This is why we want all army camps and armaments out of the North.” Wigneswaran has already got on the band wagon and the yahapalanaya FB sites have already started the brain washing the morons who will swallow the tripe- (there are many of them!).
The tasty breadcrumbs of the project for vultures like Ravi Karunanayagams would be huge commissions from arms deals to replace the lost arms- somehow I don’t think the replacement of the lost arms is on the agenda at all!
June 8th, 2016 at 1:16 am
Can this not be the handy work of the emergent LTTE? If the enemy cannot possess the resources, then the next best thing is to destroy it. This angle must be looked at very closely. Aappaya’s administration will take all measures to hide the truth. Obviously there will be many who know what happened.
June 8th, 2016 at 3:36 am
this article is absolutely correct. The Colombo harbour and for that matter the Hambantota Harbour too should be within 20km of an army camp which possess MBRLs. I am almost certain that there is RAW involvement when it comes to this fire at the army storage facility at Kosgama. I am almost certain that the US imperialists and countries who support them such as the US, the EU, Canada, Norway and Sweden alone with India wants to weaken Sri Lanka’s defences in order to scare Sri Lanka into submission. For that, weapons belonging to the Sri Lankan Forces must be destroyed. It is these same countries who insist that the Sri Lankan Forces leave the North and the East. We should not forget that the UNHRC resolution called for the restructuring of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. The UK has appointed a retired UK Army General stationed in New Delhi for this purpose i.e. to get the Sri Lanka Forces to leave the North and the East. The strategy of Sri Lanka should be to state categorically once and for all that the North and the East is not only an integral part of Sri Lanka but also part of the historical homeland of the Sinhala Buddhists (as well as all the others peoples who live there) and that the Sri Lankan Forces will never leave the North and the East or anywhere else in Sri Lanka, ever. RAW involvement can be strongly suspected in this blast at the Kosgama Army Storage Camp. Sri Lanka should not only strengthen its Army surveillance units but also train new trainees in surveillance. The Sri Lanka Forces should have a separate strategy section with a dedicated team studying the potential threats from potential and actual enemies such as RAW, LTTE, India, US, UK, EU, Canada, Norway, Sweden etc. and device plans to avoid any potentially adverse plans of theirs to weaken Sri Lanka’s defences. Unfortunately internal spies and adversaries cannot be counted out. I feel that Ranil, CBK, Sirisena, Mangala and even Ravi (if he has some deals with regard to defence contracts), the Defence Secretary etc. are all suspect and any one of then could be aligned with RAW, India, the US, the UK, EU etc. They are already extremely subservient to RAW, India, the US, the EU, UK, Canada, Norway, Sweden etc. The INGOa and NGOs who depend on thousands of dollars is also suspect. So the Sri lanak Forces should immediately ensure that all their camps, bases, equipment is extremely secure, set up a strategy section and study all actual and potential enemies, increase surveillance of actual and potential enemies and most importantnly never, ever, ever leave the North East or for that matter any part of Sri Lanka. Also provide maximum security to Colombo harbour, Hambantota Harbour, all power plants, all airports, all oil and gas storage facilities, the entire Trincomalee, Colombo City, all important communication facilities etc.
June 8th, 2016 at 4:35 am
Stranger than fiction acts in the name of Reconciliation by the UNP led Yahap govt.
Downsizing, Relocating, and Demoralising the Armed Forces of Lanka is the worst thing they have done yet.
Lanka appears to be going backwards to the earlier problems with the LTTE ….
What is the real objective here ?
June 8th, 2016 at 5:19 am
There is a purposeful objective by the leadership to destroy first the Sinhela nation and allow any other to capture our country as long as the Sinhela nation is totally broken into subjugation.
June 8th, 2016 at 6:49 am
It is karupaiya karunkanayagam commission job. Read the article below from LW yesterday.
Karupaiya is catholic-traitor chief pol pot ponil wickramasinhalakiller’s buddy. A catholic of course. So he is above
the law of course like minister of erection (permanent) john mara, xxxx harin etc. etc. So karupaiya is totally safe.
just like catholic buddies mahendran at the CB. Pol pot ponil will say look at me, I’ve got Batalande murders,
CB robbery of 5000 billions, millennium city intelligent officers to catholic tigers of tamil drealam aka ltte
bullet etc. etc. under my belt. One pirith nool on tv, I am die-hard Buddhist to a lot of Sinhala modays.
They don’t know I’m the biggest conman in Sri Lanka. I’m a die-hard catholic, token Buddhist. But Sinhala
modayas can’t see me through. Even you tell them they don’t understand. I show my pirith nool clad
right hand all the time when I talk, Sinhala modayas think I am a son of Buddha. That’s how stupid some of
these Sinhala modayas. Look at jaathiya vinashakarana party aka jvp. We burn them in tyres, cut their heads off
etc. But the modayas lick our shoes now for a bit of money.
Look at me. Sinhala modayas made me prime minister. Me and my catholic
buddies untouchable. West is always in my pocket. So carry on. Destroy Sri Lanka, Sinhalese and Buddhism.
But don’t do any thing to hurt our brethren tamils, mussies and catholics. Sinhala modayas? Be brutal with them.
They are doormats. They have no rights. Modayas. Tell them one or two tom pachas, a lot of them will
believe every word.
From LW yesterday…..
Alarming News ……
Posted on June 7th, 2016
By, Professor Nishan Wijesinha Ethul Kotte, Kotte.)
Mr. Ravikarunanayake is striking a massive arms deal which is estimated over 1.85 billion US dollars; of which the underhand commissions are said to be over 35%.
The Sri Lanka arms and ammunition dump yard was blast off with this negotiation on mind. Mr. Karunanayake’s intentions are not to settle the National Financial Deficit, with the borrowed IMF Loan, but to obtain maximum mileage for his own gain.
This is further confirmed with the net profit of over 1.85 billion made by AMW motor vehicle company which belongs to a close relative that of Mr. Ravi Karunanayake. On the other hand what has Ravi really done for the Nation?
He has only robbed the Nation of its monies and ideal public and private ventures including that of Shrimathi Athulathmudali’s and the late Lalith Athulathmudalii’s personal and political party funds. He completely robbed off Sathosa where even Mr. Bandula Gunawardena was not able to ease of the damage.
June 8th, 2016 at 6:52 am
Most probably this must be an outright sabotage.
Few valid points to ponder about…
Can disarming SL military be an inside job with outside orchestration?
If this is a sabotage, what objectives they can achieve through it? political, military and national security!!!
This leaves the entire SL military disarmed, creating a crisis in national security. why someone need to do it at this very moment? who benefits from it? Is there something in the offing / awaiting?
Is this incident has anything to do with the upcoming constitutional changes?
Just imagine a possible scenario of bringing a new constitution, stripping most of the rights of Sinhalese, and then offering so called federal solution by force. What would happen next? Would people tolerate it? Would SL military tolerate it?
Are they expecting a mass protest afterwards? Planing to suppress it through a bloodbath? Feared of the reaction of the SL military in such event?
In such political disorder and chaos, is India planing to intervene again?
Is it East Pakistan/Bangladesh solution2 awaiting? Is this plot of disarmament really meant to minimize their casualties?
How current administration can prove their innocence?
1. Immediately placing military supply orders and filling the shortage within few weeks/months.
2. If they do not want to do it, then we must understand that this is nothing but an inside job and is part of a larger conspiracy.
3. If the GOSL says they do not have necessary funds to purchase ammunition at this point, what opposition must do is to make China to publicly offer a military aid/ loan for GOSL to fill/purchase necessary supplies at this moment of national security crisis.
4. We really need to see the reaction of the GOSL and how they want to remedy this situation.
June 8th, 2016 at 8:52 am
First the country was crashed monetarily through the Central Bank scams, and now the Armed Forces weakened. There certainly is a Master Plan in operation.
Final result is failry obvious …. demise of the Sinhala/Buddhist nation and what of the future ? Neo-colonisation ?
June 8th, 2016 at 9:43 am
The last time when Ranil was the Prime Minister, he signed an illegal Norwegian drawn up peace agreement with the terrorist leader Prabakaran, violating the constitution bypassing President Chandrika Kumaratunga. At the time the Norwegian leader issued a statement advising Ranil to ignore the President and implement the Peace agreement with Prabakaran. History tells that the Armed forces were forced to adhere to this agreement, whilst Tiger terrorist gangs acted with impunity, disregarding the agreement and consolidating their hold on territory. During this period the Tigers imported shiploads of arms and communication equipment, whilst Ranil’s then government starved the armed forces of vital ammunition and arms, stating there is no need to replenish shortages as there is a Peace agreement. At the same time the Army intelligence too was decimated through assassinations and the notorious allegation against their underground activists stationed in the Millennium City, exposing them to Prabakaran’s killer gangs.
Fortunately this came to an end as even the then President Chandrika could not tolerate Ranil’s high handed actions and dissolved the Govt to hold fresh elections. This action resulted in Mahinda Rajapakse winning the elections and revamping the demoralised and weapon starved armed forces.
Today Ranil is back in power and similar things are beginning to happen. Worst of all is the destruction of the country’s economy with irregular Central Bank bond issues resulting in billions of dollars going to known and unknown private dealers. This has now happened on two occasions. President Sirisena still has the powers to investigate the responsible parties for these bond issues, but regrettably his actions so far has been to protect them.
The other mystery is, why are the JVP, JHU and SLFP stalwarts as well as General Sarath Fonseka, all of whom previously supported the defeat of terrorism and development of the economy under Mahinda Rajapakse, have now joined the new government under Ranil/Sirisena, and are keeping silent, wasting critical time, without effectively preventing the gradual destruction of the economy and defence forces.
June 8th, 2016 at 2:04 pm
Sri Lankans! Wonder not FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS, THEY TOLL FOR THEE!
…………………………..
GL: Prez-PM combination poses danger
Island.lk
June 7, 2016, 12:00 pm
by Shamindra Ferdinando
Former External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris on Monday (June 6) alleged that the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government’s policies were meant to appease western powers, the LTTE rump as well as Diaspora groups still promoting separatist sentiments.
Prof. Peiris said the government was pursuing a course of action severely detrimental to national interest. The former External Affairs Minister was addressing a gathering at Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi Mandiraya.
Among those present were a group of Buddhist monks, former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa, MP.
The government wanted the masses to forget Sri Lanka’s triumph over the LTTE in May 2009, he said. The former minister alleged that the unprecedented decision to call off the annual victory day parade scheduled for third week of May was in line with the government’s appalling policy. It would be the responsibility as well as the duty of patriotic organizations to make masses aware of the growing challenges faced by post-war Sri Lanka, Prof. Peiris said.
Commenting on the ongoing investigations into the alleged disappearance of media personality Prageeth Ekneligoda on the eve of January 26, 2010 presidential polls, Prof. Peiris faulted the police for arresting nine members of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The former minister underscored the need to examine the arrest of DMI personnel in connection with the Ekneligoda case against the backdrop of growing international challenges. Prof. Peiris asserted that it shouldn’t be considered an isolated case.
Prof. Peiris warned of dire consequences in case the government accommodated members of various Diaspora groups in electoral lists hence making the way for them to exercise their franchise at national level elections. The move to give voting rights to members of the Diaspora was taking place amidst proposed constitutional changes, Prof. Peiris said, while emphasizing the need for constitutional safeguards to thwart the government taking decisions inimical to the country.
The former External Affairs Minister also expressed concern over a recent decision to allow those who had sought political asylum overseas to return to the country without restrictions. The previous government prohibited their return on security grounds.
Citing the recently released State Department report, Prof. Peiris said that in spite of losing its conventional military power, the separatist movement continued to pose a severe threat to Sri Lanka.
The establishment of the Office of Missing Persons (OMP), too, would be inimical to Sri Lanka, Prof. Peiris said, accusing the government of causing serious difficulties to those who had served the motherland risking their lives. Prof. Peiris said the move was being made in the run up to the forthcoming Geneva sessions where an oral statement would be made during the last week of June.
Prof. Peiris explained the threat posed on military commanders due to the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe co sponsoring a Geneva Resolution adopted on Oct 1, 2015. The former External Affairs Minister said that no provision could be as inimical as the recommendation that personnel could be dealt with administrative measures even if not found guilty by a court of law.
During the previous government, Sri Lanka always opposed US moves in Geneva though the present administration accepted the US resolution meant to haul Sri Lanka up before a hybrid court comprising foreign judges et al. Prof. Peiris recalled the support extended by China, Russia, Pakistan and African states to the Rajapaksa administration during the previous government’s efforts to defend the country at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council.
Prof. Peiris said that it would be pertinent to mention that international action against Sri Lanka had been decided on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations made by persons whose identities would remain classified for a period of 20 years since the release of UNSG Ban ki moon’s Panel of Experts’ (PoE) report on March 31, 2011.
Prof. Peiris also strongly condemned moves to introduce new laws to try those officers and men who had been accused of various alleged atrocities during the conflict.
Accusing the government of acting maliciously towards the military and the police, Prof. Peiris rapped the government for not taking action against Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sampanthan and Eastern Province Chief Minister Nazeer Ahamed in spite of them acting in a manner disparaging of the military.
Prof. Peiris also criticized the appointment of Rear Admiral Travis Sinniah as the Eastern Commander after being on US embassy staff. Alleging that the government was bending backwards to appease the US, former External Affairs Minister expressed concern over the government obtaining UK funding amounting to 6 mn pounds for projects to reform the military.
Commenting on proposed constitutional reforms and the work undertaken by the Lal Wijenayake Committee, Prof. Peiris alleged that the government was making an effort to use parliamentary committees to endorse various documents prepared by outsiders, including foreigners. The Prof said that he had received briefings from members of the Joint Opposition regarding attempts to introduce various proposals.
The Prof. condemned attempts to introduce laws to suppress the media during elections. Their strategy was to ensure that the masses would receive an opinion favourable to those now in power, he said.