Launch of IGP’s book:

Dedication helped fight LTTE

Sarath Malalasekera

The three Forces and the Police were dedicated to their commitment and were able to break the LTTE network and bring peace to the country, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said.

“The men who were in the forefront of the war against the LTTE must be having a number of experiences during their battle with the ruthless terrorists,” he said.

“Put these experiences into a ‘book’ for the benefit of the future generations,” he said.

The Defence Secretary was speaking at the launch of the book titled The rise and the fall of LTTE by Inspector General of Police Mahinda Balasuriya.

The Defence Secretary said that Sri Lanka is the first country to defeat a terrorist group after three decades battle.

"The military capability of the LTTE was developed and enhanced by Velupillai Prabhakaran. Our forces and the police were able to collect all information gathered by the LTTE and conducted investigations to defeat the LTTE.

The LTTE was very careful in their operations, but our forces were able to collect small clues and operated accordingly to defeat the LTTE," he said. The Defence Secretary speaking about the killing of Janaka Perera, said that at that time, people accused the Government of being responsible for the killing.

"Our intelligence bureaus, NIB, CID and TID collected correct information and apprehended the culprits responsible for the killing," he said.

Prof Rohan Gunaratne in his foreword stated that Sri Lanka defeated the world's first insurgency of the 21st century on May 19, 2009, and the country achieved a great strategic and moral triumph by militarily defeating the LTTE. The theory that a political solution is a prelude to defeating an insurgency, often articulated by Western theorists and scholars, was shattered, he said.

After three decades of fighting a cruel and a costly insurgency, peace and prosperity finally returned to Sri Lanka, Prof Gunaratne added.

IGP Mahinda Balasuriya thanked Defence Secretary Rajapaksa who encouraged him to conduct this project.