Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

The Intelligence Unit of the Vavuniya Police found weapons caches in the Mullaitivu and Killinochchi districts during search operations on 15 and 16 March.

The weapons and ammunition are believed to have belonged to the LTTE. Further investigations are underway, Police Media Unit said.

The weapons caches included 127 ammunition, 85 Multi Purpose Machine Gun ammunition, 2000 Multi Purpose Machine Gun links, 10 RPG bombs, 10 hand grenades, 11 Multi Purpose Machine Gun empty dummies, one Multi Purpose Machine Gun and 25 links, eight unidentified weapon parts, three anti-aircraft bullets, 42 ammunition belts, one radio set, one map, two Rocket Propelled Grenade Launchers, six General Purpose Machine Guns, one General Purpose Machine Gun barrel, one T56 rifle, three Light Machine Guns, one 50 mm part, one 120 mm mortar fuse and one wire and detonator.

Pakistan's Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Khalid Shameem Wynne is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka from 18 - 22 March 2012 on the invitation of Sri Lankan Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke.

During his stay in Sri Lanka General Wynne is scheduled to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa, defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Chief of Defence Staff and the Commanders of all the three services of Sri Lanka, Pakistan High Commission said in a release.

During his four-day tour General Wynne is expected to visit Northern and Eastern Provinces including Kilinochchi and Trincomalee.

On March 21, General Wynne will be the Chief Guest on the occasion of launching of Pakistan NDU Alumni Chapter in Sri Lanka, a platform for Sri Lankan Officers of all three segments of the Armed Forces who attended training course at Pakistan's National Defence University Islamabad.

Senior Sri Lankan officers from the three armed forces annually attend courses at the National Defence University in Pakistan.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have comprehensive and mutually beneficial training collaboration for Army, Navy and Air Force.

'The visit of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Pakistan to Sri Lanka is of immense importance as the time tested relationship between the two friendly countries is transforming on to a different pedestal of association after the war ended in Sri Lanka,' the High Commission said in its statement.

It added that Pakistan is one of those very few countries which provided all out support to Sri Lankan stance on allegation of human rights issue recently brought up at the UNHRC Session.

Since independence, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have consistently maintained close, cordial and mutually supportive relations especially in the field of defense. Both nations have assisted each other during testing times in their histories.

On the invitation of the Ministry of National Defence of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development of Sri Lanka visited China from 29th February 2012 to 07th March 2012.

Mr. Rajapaksa met with General Ma Xiaotian, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and General Liang Guanglie, State Councilor and Minister of Nation Defence of China on 1st March 2012. This marks the first interaction the Secretary of Defence had with the Minister of National Defence of China.

The meetings culminated in further strengthening the bilateral relations between the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and the PLA and the Secretary also discussed matters related to the training programs designed for the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in China and requested for increased training opportunities in future. Positively responding to the request, the Chinese authorities assured increased number of vacancies for the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in the training programs in future.

In addition to the meetings, he visited No: 24 Air Force Division, No: 24 Infantry Brigade and Qingdao Garrison. During these visits Mr. Rajapaksa was received by the senior leadership of PLA Army, PLA Navy and PLA Air Force and was honoured by the inspection the of Guard of Honour .

The weapons caches included 127 ammunition, 85 Multi Purpose Machine Gun ammunition, 2000 Multi Purpose Machine Gun links, 10 RPG bombs, 10 hand grenades, 11 Multi Purpose Machine Gun empty dummies, one Multi Purpose Machine Gun and 25 links, eight unidentified weapon parts, three anti-aircraft bullets, 42 ammunition belts, one radio set, one map, two Rocket Propelled Grenade Launchers, six General Purpose Machine Guns, one General Purpose Machine Gun barrel, one T56 rifle, three Light Machine Guns, one 50 mm part, one 120 mm mortar fuse and one wire and detonator.

Fourteen (14) naval divers, who successfully completed their Clearance Diver Course III (2011), were awarded with insignia at a ceremony held at the Diving School of the Naval and Maritime Academy in Trincomalee on 16th February 2012. Deputy Area Commander (Eastern Naval Area) Commodore SWC Mohotti was the Chief Guest.

A total of 24 naval personnel underwent the 5 and 1/2-month course which tests endurance to the maximum and provides exposure to a host of subjects that include air & skin diving, diving operations, underwater & surface demolition as well as explosive ordnance disposal. Recruit LSS Silva (ED 104421), who was selected the Best Diver, was awarded the Commander Bahar Memorial Trophy for his excellent skills in diving.

The insignia awarding ceremony concluded with a display of a range of diving skills by course participants to entertain the relatives and well wishers who had gathered at the venue to congratulate them on their success.

Italian Naval Ship Grecale arrived at the Port of Colombo on 17th March 2012. It departs on 20th on completion of logistic replenishment.

Grecale is a Maestrale Class frigate commanded by Commander Francesco Procaccini. It is 123 meters long and has a displacement of 3250 tons. The ship s complement consists of 232 personnel including 23 officers.

The 07th Junior Naval Staff Course (JNSC) commenced on 12th March 2012 at the Naval and Maritime Academy in Trincomalee. Fourteen naval officers representing Executive, Marine Engineering, Electrical, Patrolman, Civil Engineering and Supply branches along with 03 officers from the Sri Lanka Army have enrolled to follow the course.

For the first time, officers from the Sri Lanka Army and the Sri Lanka Air Force have been invited to follow the Navy s Junior Naval Staff Course with the intention of both upgrading its status and promoting the harmony among the three services. Accordingly, three officers from the Sri Lanka Army representing Signal Corps, Singha Regiment and Sri Lanka National Guards have been included to follow the course along with their naval counterparts.

Junior Naval Staff Course, inaugurated on 07th March 2005, aims to enhance the theoretical and practical knowledge on naval administration and staff skills of junior officers of the Sri Lanka Navy in order that they would perform their duties in a most efficient manner. Further efforts have been taken to offer a Postgraduate Diploma for officers who successfully complete the course, with the accreditation of certain training courses conducted at NMA to Kotalawela Defence University (KDU).

The Sri Lankan Chapter of Pakistan's National Defense University Alumni Association was launched today (21/03/2012) in an impressive ceremony held at Colombo, Pakistan High Commission in Colombo said in a press release.

Pakistan's visiting Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Khalid Shameem Wynne, NI (M) was the guest of honour at the event which was also attended by the High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka HE Seema Ilahi Baloch.

The Chief of Defense Staff Sri Lanka Air Chief Marshal WDRMJ Goonetileke and the Sri Lankan Army Commander Lt Gen Jagath Jayasuriya also attended the event along with the members of Alumni Association and a large number of prominent personalities of Sri Lanka.

The National Defense University Alumni Association is a platform for the Sri Lankan Officers of all three segments of the Armed Forces who attended training courses at the Pakistan's National Defense University Islamabad. Air Chief Marshal WDRMJ Goonetileke, Chief of Defense Staff Sri Lanka is the Chief Patron of the Alumni Association, while the High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka is the Co-patron of Alumni Association.

The National Defense University (NDU) is the premier institution of Pakistan, catering for the needs of senior leadership from various segments of the society, both domestic and international, in comprehending security issues and policy / strategy formulation. The NDU is a center of excellence in academic and research pursuits in diversified disciplines providing well thought out inputs on national security at strategic level. The University imparts higher education in policy and strategy formulation at various tiers with emphasis on national security and defense, and act as a national think tank.

Several Senior Sri Lankan Officers from Armed forces have been attending courses at the National Defense University annually since 1993. Currently the NDU Alumni Association has 26 members, who hold highly significant assignments in their respective institutions in all the segments of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces.

The launch of the Association during the visit of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Pakistan to Sri Lanka is of immense importance as the time tested relationship between the two friendly countries is transforming on to a different pedestal of association after the war ended in Sri Lanka.

It is relevant to add that Pakistan is one of those very few countries which provided all out support to Sri Lankan stance at the UNHRC Session.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka being located in the South Asian region and being members of various regional and international bodies like UN, commonwealth, NAM and SAARC are mutually important for each other. The relationship between Pakistan and Sri Lanka is based on mutual trust and commonality of interest in maintaining regional peace, security and stability. Pakistan has always supported the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka. Both countries have shared common perceptions on almost all regional and international issue and are working together on all these forums for shared values and interests

Since independence, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have consistently maintained close, cordial and mutually supportive relations especially in the field of defense. Both nations have assisted each other during testing times in their histories.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have comprehensive and mutually beneficial training collaboration for Army, Navy and Air Force. Over a period of time, a strong bond of commitment and mutual understanding has been reached between both the friendly armed forces. In future too, both the brotherly countries are expected to work more closely in the field of defense to boost peace efforts in the region.

In a dramatic turn of events, the arrest of two ex-LTTE suspects, by the Terrorist Investigation Division at Killinochchi last week, had led to the revelation that they destroyed, with surface to air missiles, a Sri Lanka Air Force plane (Antonov 26) aircraft, along with 36 troops and a Ukrainian crew, on March 20, 2000, Police Media Spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana said yesterday.

Following their arrest, the two ex-LTTE cadres had confessed under interrogation that they had fired two missiles at the aricraft flying from the Palali Airbase in the North to the Anuradhapura Airbase, SSP Ajith Rohana said

The attack which shocked the military establishment at that time took place around 11.56 a.m. on Thursday March 30, 2000 and the aircraft crashed into a teak plantation between the Weerawewa tank and Kumara Vidyalaya, Talawa eight kilometres South of Anuradhapura.

The Ukraine built Antonov-26 aircraft had been chartered by the Sri Lanka Air Force and investigators initially believed that it had crashed due to a technical fault as eyewitnesses said that the aircraft burst into flames soon after it crashed.

The Military, Naval and Air Force Attache of the Embassy of the Russian Federation In Sri Lanka, wrote to the Directorate of the Operational Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence requesting that the State and private media correct the news reports that the aircraft were not either manufactured or piloted by the Russians contrary to report as Ukraine had become an independent State since 1991 and they were the ones who manufactured the aircraft and flew it.

Security sources said, at the time of the incident, the Ukrainian pilot had reported of engine trouble a few minutes before it had crashed and troops from the Anuradhapura base were the first to rush to the scene of the crash and attempt to put the fire out with the assistance of the Police.

That incident occurred one week after another Ukrainian built aircraft, an Antonov-12, operated by a private company, Skycabs had crashed near the Katunayake Airbase on March 24, 2000.

A team of Ukrainian and local investigators drew a blank and subsequently closed the case as an unsolved mystery.

Further investigations by the TID have revealed that during the final days of the Vanni war, the military recovered the capsules of the missiles used to bring down the aircraft and handed them over to the Air Force.