'President using military personnel productively'

Disna MUDALIGE

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has used military personnel in a wise manner by understanding their true potential with the conclusion of the war, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said.

"Understanding their ability to work efficiently in different fields, their commitment to serve the nation, their discipline, leadership qualities and willingness to work, the President offered overseas missions to them by appointing them as deputy ambassadors while serving as army officers," he said.

He was speaking at the fourth annual symposium of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.

International counter terrorism expert Prof Rohan Gunaratna speaking on 'Post War LTTE Structure: The Threat and Response', said Sri Lanka needs to develop a very comprehensive communication strategy to project what is happening on the ground to counter misinformation and disinformation of the LTTE propaganda.

He commended the video countering the Channel Four video produced by the government and said that such efforts must be made more frequently and in a more systematic way to counter the false allegations of LTTE supporters.

He observed that Sri Lankan missions and associations overseas should be more active and ministries in Sri Lanka itself should look outwardly.

Prof Gunaratna observed that LTTE cadres who fought in the recent battle will not resort to violence again since they know the futility of war and had suffered a lot from it.