Army insists no security threat to Jaffna

The army today insisted that there was no security threat to the Jaffna peninsula following the January 8 Presidential elections.

Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General Nandana Udawatte also denied reports that additional troops had been deployed to Jaffna following the recent protests over the rape and murder of a girl in the area.

The protest in the Jaffna town turned violent with stones being pelted towards the police and the Jaffna Courts Complex.

Udawatte told a group of journalists at the Palaly army camp in Jaffna that?the police continues to maintain security in Jaffna and that the military is not involved in civilian administration.

He also said?that military camps have not been removed from locations which could result in a threat to National security.

Udawatte said that large areas of land used by the army during the war, had been released in stages from 2009.

He said that even the High Security Zone in Palaly, where the Jaffna domestic and military airport is also located, has been reduced and is limited to areas based on National security requirements.

“The Palaly base is not just for Palaly but the entire Jaffna. Also today’s security situation can change in the future so we need to keep that in mind as well,” he said.

In Jaffna, the army says 19,159.38 acres of land has been given back to the civilians by the army since 2009 but most of the land is yet to be?made use of by the owners as some are abroad or some had resettled elsewhere during the war.

Major General Nandana Udawatte also insisted that the Sri Lanka army is a very disciplined unit and?rejected attempts to link troops to the alleged heavy use of drugs or heroin in Jaffna after?2009.?(Colombo Gazette)