Sri Lanka appoints military officer as Chief of country's intelligence agency

Sri Lanka for the first time in its history has appointed a military officer as the chief of the country's top intelligence agency which was criticized failing to prevent the traumatic Easter terror attack that took the lives of more than 250 people in April. The former director of the Military Intelligence, Brigadier Suresh Sallay, has been appointed as the chief of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) which is the country's principal spy agency, according to the reports. It is first time in Sri Lankan history that a military officer had been appointed as the chief of SIS. His appointment comes just after three weeks after former defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected as the President vowing for better services and security.

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Rajapaksa praised for ending civil war

Rajapaksa is praised for helping to end the island nation's three-decades-long civil war against the militant group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during his service as the defense secretary. In 2006, he survived an assassination attempt that was carried out by the LTTE with minor injuries. The seventh President of Sri Lanka had also pledged to pardon the military commanders in prison for violation of human rights during the war. This has also lead to the fear escalation of ethnic tensions of the Tamil struggle for an independent state under his administration. Rajapaksa has also served as a powerful secretary in the Ministry of Defence but has been accused of persecuting critics.

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Legal cover to intelligence agencies

Gotabaya Rajapaksa reiterated the promise of a fresh probe into the Easter attacks. Rajapaksa said that a presidential commission would be formed on the request of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, a top leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. On October 13, in an election rally in Kadawatha, a town on the outskirts of Colombo, Rajapaksa had promised of a legal cover to the intelligence agencies.“We will give due powers to the intelligence officers and also the necessary legal cover to perform their duties,” said Rajapaksa. “By doing so, we will rebuild a secured country where you can live without any fear,” he added.

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