Sri Lanka intelligence services that had ‘collapsed in past were restructured and revitalized’

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he had delivered on a key election promise to rebuild the island nation’s intelligence network in the year since assuming office, Reuters reported.

Sri Lanka’s former wartime defense secretary won the presidency after promising to end the spread of extremism in the country following deadly bombings in April 2019 that killed more than 250 people.

“After I came into power, I appointed suitable officials in charge of the security apparatus of the country and gave them the required authority to carry out their responsibilities without any compromise,” Gotabaya said in a televised address to the nation, which marked a year in office.

“The intelligence services that had collapsed in the past were restructured and revitalized,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

Gotabaya is the younger brother of current Prime Minister and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the two led the country to victory against separatist Tamil Tigers a decade ago after a 26-year civil war.

The president also sought to allay such concerns by saying his administration would protect all citizens’ rights irrespective of race or religion.

Sri Lanka’s constitution still has “a few controversial aspects,” the president said in his speech, reported by Reuters.

“We have already appointed a committee to seek public opinion to draft a new constitution,” he said in the Reuters report.