By : A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA.

People of Sri Lanka experienced the worst period of its existence economically, socially, morally, and culturally from 2015 to end of 2019 under the Sirisena/Ranil/TNA/JVP (SRTJ) government in which parliament had no decorum with the worst ever Speaker presiding over it and this shameless utterly bias dude even allowing government members to bring in knives to parliament and threaten to kill the opposition members.

Law and order situation was abysmal, drugs and narcotics were freely available with children prone to drug addiction, underground kingpins and contract killers reigned everywhere with the patronage of government Ministers and MPs , women became commercial items and employable even in bars and taverns, price of essential food items were sky rocketing while the price of beer and liquor coming down, other hardships, difficulties, impediments need not elaborate as it would take a few pages to do so and people know the hell of life they underwent. It was under these horrific conditions some prominent Buddhist prelates and leaders of other religious and civil organizations met Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and urged to become a Hitler and rescue and bring virtue and discipline  to this country.

Since he was not holding power at that time what they expected was for him to launch a coup in association with the battered security forces and wrest control of this country. It is to respect these sentiments expressed then that Mr. Rajapaksa in his present capacity as the President of this country and in accordance with the powers vested in him by Article 33 of the Constitution has appointed a 13 member task force empowered to eliminate nefarious activities in this country.

The members of this Task Force are:

Major General (Retired) Kamal Gunaratne, Secretary to the Ministry of Defense (Chairman)
2. Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army
3. Vice Admiral Piyal de Silva, Commander of Sri Lanka Navy
4. Air Marshal Sumangala Dias, Commander of Sri Lanka Air Force
5. Mr. C.D. Wickremarathne, Acting Inspector General of Police
6. Major General (Retired) Vijitha Ravipriya, Director General of Customs
7. Major General (Retired) Jagath Alwis, Chief of the National Intelligence Service
8. Major General Suresh Salley, Director of State Intelligence Service
9. Major General A. S. Hewavitharana, Director of Army Intelligence Unit
10. Captain S.J. Kumara, Director of Navy Intelligence Unit
11. Air Commodore M.D.J. Wasage, Director of Air Force Intelligence Unit
12. T. C. A. Dhanapala, Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Special Task Force of Police
13. Waruna Jayasundara, Deputy Inspector-General of Police

 The Gazette notification has instructed all Government Officers and others to provide all possible assistance and  provide all information that may be provided and has directed the said Task Force to report to the President all cases of delay or default on the part of ny Public Officer or Officer of any Ministry,    Government Department, State Corporation or other similar institution in the discharge of duties and responsibilities assigned to such public officer or such institution.   

Fo`llowing the appointmenof the Task Force the President in his Poson Poya day message has said that  Sri Lanka will strive towards prosperity, inspired by Dhamma and strengthened by past experiences: He has  said that he believed justice for all prevails in a spiritually virtuous, disciplined and prosperous society and the government plans for not only the present but also for the future will be based on that solid foundation.

The preamble to the Gazette notification related to  the appointment of this Task Force headed by the Secretary to the Ministry (Rtd) MajorGeneral Kamal Gunaratne said: While emphasising that it is the most prominent responsibility of the government to give priority to National Security and create a virtuous, disciplined and lawful society which respects the rule of law and justice as it stated in the policy statement Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour,” 

And, whereas it has been recognized that the security of the country is a key factor in establishing economic strategies aimed at the development of a country,

And, emphasizing the equal protection of the law for the well-being of the people and for building a civilized society,

 And, considering that it is essential to liberate the entire society from the drug rampant spreading all over the society including the children who are considered as the future of a country is also a major factor in the social decline coupled with the economic decline,

The President has stated that it has been recognized that the security of the country is a key factor in establishing economic strategies aimed at the development of a country and emphasizes the equal protection of the law for the well-being of the people and for building a civilized society.

He fu8rther states that the Task Force has been appointed considering that it is essential to liberate the entire society from the drug rampant spreading all over the society including the children who are considered as the future of a country is also a major factor in the social decline coupled with the economic decline.”

As per the Gazette notification the Task Force has been empowered  to:

Take necessary immediate steps to curb the illegal activities of social groups which are violating the law which is emerging as harmful to the free and peaceful existence of society at present in some places of the country.

Take necessary measures for prevention from drug menace, prevent entry of drugs from abroad through ports           and airports and to fully eradicate drug trafficking in the country and to prevent other social illnesses caused by drug abuse.

Take necessary measures to take legal action against persons responsible for the illegal and antisocial activities conducting in Sri Lanka while locating in other countries.

To investigate and prevent any illegal and antisocial activities in and around prisons.

Senior Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Defense, Mr. D.M.S. Dissanayake has been appointed as the Secretary of the s           aid Task Force.

Opposition groups and their cronies who look at everything that has been done by this government and the Prtesident pessimistically have raised their sarongs to yell that the President by appointing this Task Force fully manned with security services personnel is fast moving towards establishment of an autocratic regime.   As per the Political Editor of Sunday  Time Sri Lankan groups operating from abroad have already launched a campaign against the government.  He says that an outfit named People for Equality in Sri Lanka (PEARL), a lesser known organization from Washington DC, was quick to respond with a statement saying PEARL strongly condemns this week’s establishment of two presidential task forces in Sri Lanka, which sets the country on a firm course to autocratic governance.

A singleton named Tasha Manoranjan claiming as the Executive Directior of this outfit Pwael” has ssaidThe new presidential task forces are a serious escalation in the president’s move to militarize the activities of the state in the name of national security and as a response to the pandemic. Both new task forces appear to be exclusively Sinhala and include suspected war criminals, indicating Sri Lanka’s strengthening of its ethnocracy with the backing of a president … and ….will exacerbate the existing militarisation…..  of the Tamil-dominated North-East, breeding further tension and instability in the region,”

The London based unregistered website which is highly critical of the government and the President has said that the appointment of a presidential task force signals a major shift towards authoritarian leadership on June 2, 2020, the very day that a constitutionally mandated deadline lapsed for the convening of Parliament. It says that with the Supreme Court decision on June 2, 2020 paving the way for unchecked executive rule, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa looks to be sidelining even the Cabinet of Ministers and establishing control over the whole state machinery with his generals and the Task Force comprises exclusively military men, including Brigadier Suresh Sallay, once the country’s much-feared director of Military intelligence., and the website says for the first time in Sri Lanka’s republican history, the President of the country has made the civilian authority – the public service – subservient to military officials.

The Colombo Telegraph also has published a twitter comment made by a member of the Jaffna University lecturer Dr. K. Guruparan saying that from Poverty Eradication to Higher Education everything will now be run by Task Forces. Although the website attempted to show this as an independent scholarly opinion, it is a well known fact that the Jaffna University is a den of pro-LTTE separatists and the academics there are champions of separatist ideology. This partisan Website also states that other constitutional experts have voiced concerns that with the Supreme Court decision to disallow leave to proceed in eight petitions filed challenging President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s refusal to reconvene Parliament despite the constitution mandating that Parliament can only remain dissolved for a three month period and no later”, constitutional democracy had gone into Triage” in Sri Lanka. It says that activists are concerned the Supreme Court decision to stay out of the complicated constitutional question and allow presidential rule without a Parliament for an unspecified amount of time permits the President to consolidate power and entrench ‘rule by the generals’ – rendering even his prime minister and cabinet of ministers helpless observers in the face of the development.

Another vicious character who seems to have got much upset about the latest developments is the foreign sustained notorious NGO potentate Pakiasothy Saravenamuttu who operates two partisan websites – Groundviews and Vikalpa – which were used these two websites during the last five years as the voice of Tamil separatists and since November 16^th these sites are being used as major propaganda organs of the Tamil separatists and anti government elements to air their views against President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the government.

This NGO potentate in the name of his NGO, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) in a statement has expressed its deep concern with the appointment of two Presidential Task Forces by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Following aew extracts from the statement.

These appointments came soon after the Supreme Court refused leave to proceed to all petitioners on the subject of the dissolution of Parliament for more than three months and the holding of free and fair elections. At present, Parliament has been dissolved for longer than the constitutionally mandated three months.

Thus, there is no legislative oversight over executive action. In such a context, the appointment of the two task forces demonstrates troubling trends of authoritarian rule and militarisation with serious implications to constitutional democracy and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

By Gazette No. 2178/18, the President has appointed a task force to build a virtuous, disciplined and lawful society” in Sri Lanka. It is to be headed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and comprises the heads of the Armed Forces, Police and Intelligence Heads, Chief of Customs, and the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Defence.
The task force is composed of present and former military and law and order officials and the mandate of the task force is vague and overbroad; terms such as ‘anti-social activities’ have no specific legal meaning, which raises the concern as to how the task force intends to take legal action against such activities.` 

It is unclear as to whether the task force is meant to only deal with the prevention of trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances or whether it is meant to deal with a broad range of other issues. Added to the confusion is the question whether the task force is meant to formulate policy or if its role is to implement existing laws and policy. 

The task force is designed in a manner to operate as a parallel structure to existing entities, circumventing the role of the Cabinet of Ministers and purportedly capable of giving direct orders/instructions to the public service. These issues, among several others, raise extremely serious implications that require urgent attention.

Shiral Lakthilka, a national list nominee of the Shameless Jabbering Bandits (SJB) has accused the government attempting to create a surveillance system deploying the military brass to threaten critics.  He has said that intelligence officers will establish a data base of prominent people on their passions and interests and it will be used to threaten and blackmail them.  He has explained that such activities are being carried out in the United   S

ECONOMYNEXT – The opposition is accusing the government of collecting personal data that can be used to threaten or intimidate citizens.

Lawyer Shiral Lakthilaka, a National List nominee of the Shameless Jabbering Bamdits (SJB) has said that the government plans to establish a surveillance system deploying military brass to collect data amd information on The preamble to the Gazette notification related to  the appointment of this Task Force headed by the Secretary to the Ministry (Rtd) MajorGeneral Kamal Gunaratne said: While emphasising that it is the most prominent responsibility of the government to give priority to National Security and create a virtuous, disciplined and lawful society which respects the rule of law and justice as it stated in the policy statement Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour,” 

And, whereas it has been recognized that the security of the country is a key factor in establishing economic strategies aimed at the development of a country,

And, emphasizing the equal protection of the law for the well-being of the people and for building a civilized society,

 And, considering that it is essential to liberate the entire society from the drug rampant spreading all over the society including the children who are considered as the future of a country is also a major factor in the social decline coupled with the economic decline,

The President has stated that it has been recognized that the security of the country is a key factor in establishing economic strategies aimed at the development of a country and emphasizes the equal protection of the law for the well-being of the people and for building a civilized society.

He fu8rther states that the Task Force has been appointed considering that it is essential to liberate the entire society from the drug rampant spreading all over the society including the children who are considered as the future of a country is also a major factor in the social decline coupled with the economic decline.”

As per the Gazette notification the Task Force has been empowered  to:

Take necessary immediate steps to curb the illegal activities of social groups which are violating the law which is emerging as harmful to the free and peaceful existence of society at present in some places of the country.

Take necessary measures for prevention from drug menace, prevent entry of drugs from abroad through ports           and airports and to fully eradicate drug trafficking in the country and to prevent other social illnesses caused by drug abuse.

Take necessary measures to take legal action against persons responsible for the illegal and antisocial activities conducting in Sri Lanka while locating in other countries.

To investigate and prevent any illegal and antisocial activities in and around prisons.

Senior Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Defense, Mr. D.M.S. Dissanayake has been appointed as the Secretary of the s           aid Task Force.

The 13 members of the task force  are:

Opposition groups and their cronies who look at everything that has been done by this government and the Prtesident pessimistically have raised their sarongs to yell that the President by appointing this Task Force fully manned with security services personnel is fast moving towards establishment of an autocratic regime.   As per the Political Editor of Sunday  Time Sri Lankan groups operating from abroad have already launched a campaign the government.  He says that an outfit named People for Equality in Sri Lanka (PEARL), a lesser known organization from Washington DC, was quick to respond with a statement saying PEARL strongly condemns this week’s establishment of two presidential task forces in Sri Lanka, which sets the country on a firm course to autocratic governance.

A singleton named Tasha Manoranjan claiming as the Executive Directior of this outfit Pwael” has ssaidThe new presidential task forces are a serious escalation in the president’s move to militarize the activities of the state in the name of national security and as a response to the pandemic. Both new task forces appear to be exclusively Sinhala and include suspected war criminals, indicating Sri Lanka’s strengthening of its ethnocracy with the backing of a president … and ….will exacerbate the existing militarisation…..  of the Tamil-dominated North-East, breeding further tension and instability in the region,”

The London based unregistered website which is highly critical of the government and the President has said that the appointment of a presidential task force signals a major shift towards authoritarian leadership on June 2, 2020, the very day that a constitutionally mandated deadline lapsed for the convening of Parliament. It says that with the Supreme Court decision on June 2, 2020 paving the way for unchecked executive rule, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa looks to be sidelining even the Cabinet of Ministers and establishing control over the whole state machinery with his generals and the Task Force comprises exclusively military men, including Brigadier Suresh Sallay, once the country’s much-feared director of Military intelligence., and the website says for the first time in Sri Lanka’s republican history, the President of the country has made the civilian authority – the public service – subservient to military officials.

The Colombo Telegraph also has published a twitter comment made by a member of the Jaffna University lecturer Dr. K. Guruparan saying that from Poverty Eradication to Higher Education everything will now be run by Task Forces. Although the website attempted to show this as an independent scholarly opinion, it is a well known fact that the Jaffna University is a den of pro-LTTE separatists and the academics there are champions of separatist ideology. This partisan Website also states that other constitutional experts have voiced concerns that with the Supreme Court decision to disallow leave to proceed in eight petitions filed challenging President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s refusal to reconvene Parliament despite the constitution mandating that Parliament can only remain dissolved for a three month period and no later”, constitutional democracy had gone into Triage” in Sri Lanka. It says that activists are concerned the Supreme Court decision to stay out of the complicated constitutional question and allow presidential rule without a Parliament for an unspecified amount of time permits the President to consolidate power and entrench ‘rule by the generals’ – rendering even his prime minister and cabinet of ministers helpless observers in the face of the development.

Another vicious character who seems to have got much upset about the latest developments is the foreign sustained notorious NGO potentate Pakiasothy Saravenamuttu who operates two partisan websites – Groundviews and Vikalpa – which were used these two websites during the last five years as the voice of Tamil separatists and since November 16^th these sites are being used as major propaganda organs of the Tamil separatists and anti government elements to air their views against President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and the government.

This NGO potentate in the name of his NGO, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) in a statement has expressed its deep concern with the appointment of two Presidential Task Forces by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Following aew extracts from the statement.

These appointments came soon after the Supreme Court refused leave to proceed to all petitioners on the subject of the dissolution of Parliament for more than three months and the holding of free and fair elections. At present, Parliament has been dissolved for longer than the constitutionally mandated three months.

Thus, there is no legislative oversight over executive action. In such a context, the appointment of the two task forces demonstrates troubling trends of authoritarian rule and militarisation with serious implications to constitutional democracy and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

By Gazette No. 2178/18, the President has appointed a task force to build a virtuous, disciplined and lawful society” in Sri Lanka. It is to be headed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and comprises the heads of the Armed Forces, Police and Intelligence Heads, Chief of Customs, and the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Defence.
The task force is composed of present and former military and law and order officials and the mandate of the task force is vague and overbroad; terms such as ‘anti-social activities’ have no specific legal meaning, which raises the concern as to how the task force intends to take legal action against such activities.` 

It is unclear as to whether the task force is meant to only deal with the prevention of trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances or whether it is meant to deal with a broad range of other issues. Added to the confusion is the question whether the task force is meant to formulate policy or if its role is to implement existing laws and policy. 

The task force is designed in a manner to operate as a parallel structure to existing entities, circumventing the role of the Cabinet of Ministers and purportedly capable of giving direct orders/instructions to the public service. These issues, among several others, raise extremely serious implications that require urgent attention.

Shiral Lakthilka, a national list nominee of the Shameless Jabbering Bandits (SJB) has accused the government of attempting to create a surveillance system deploying the military brass to threaten critics.  He has said that intelligence officers will establish a data base of prominent people on their passions and interests and it will be used to threaten and blackmail them.  He has explained that such activities are being carried out in the United  States and the Chinese are experts of making software to suit particular interests in this field. 

Disappointing all critics who attempted to imply that the task force has been appointed to make them involve in the election campaign of the SLPP the President has instructed all heads of Departments, statutory bodies and Corporations not to participate in any political activities in support of any political group until the elections are over.

Despite these baseless and stupid criticisms the President should be whole heartedly commended for taking this bold step to create a virtuous, disciplined and lawful society which respects the rule of law and justice.  This was a long felt need in this country that got abysmally deteriorated during the last five years of pro-separatist and foreign servile rule.  We hope that the task force will achieve its objective at the shortest possible time and this country will become peaceful and harmonious for everyone to live amicably in peace and harmony.(end)