News
Army postpones press conference amidst outrage
19 Aug, 2019
The Army announced that a press conference scheduled to take place tomorrow on an annual defence seminar had been postponed indefinitely.
The announcement came as the international community and local activists expressed outrage over the appointment of the new Army Commander.
The Army had earlier said that a press conference will be held tomorrow (Tuesday) to announce details related to the ‘Colombo Defence Seminar 2019’, organized by the Sri Lanka Army to be held on 29th and 30th August 2019 at the BMICH.
The Seminar to be held on the topic ‘Military Excellence Developing within Contemporary Security Environment’ with the participation of nationally and internationally renowned defence intellectuals will facilitate exchange of expertise and views pertaining to the discipline of defence.
The US, UN and local civil society were concerned by President Maithripala Sirisena?s appointment of Major General Shavendra Silva as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army.
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) urged the Government of Sri Lanka to take immediate steps to review this appointment in light of the serious allegations levelled against Major General Silva.
In January of this year, CPA raised similar concerns when Major General Silva was appointed the Chief of Staff of the Army.
Major General Silva was the Commanding Officer of the 58th Division of the Army during the last stages of the war. Several public documents have levelled allegations against him of violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL).
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