Social Empowerment and Welfare Minister S.B. Dissanayake yesterday said that he did not think that President Maithripala Sirisena was serious when he asked Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka whether he was interested in accepting the position of Army Commander or Overall Commander.
Minister Dissanayake was addressing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party’s weekly press conference at the SLFP headquarters yesterday.
He was replying to a question raised by a journalist regarding the said conversation which Health Minister Dr.Rajitha Senaratna said at Wednesday’s weekly Cabinet briefing had taken place between President Maithripala Sirisena and Field Marshal Fonseka.
“There is no need to have special units because such units do exist,” the minister said,” However, I like the fact that Sarath Fonseka has done a yeoman service to his country while in the service of Sri Lanka Army.”
“I don’t think that it would be worthwhile to delve too deeply into this. I really did not feel that there was any agenda so as to be considered big behind all of this,” stressed Dissanayake.
“It came to my attention because Minister Rajitha Senaratna had spoken about it in length,” he said.
“I think it was discussed how discipline may be brought into effect through various means and the idea that some powers may be given to Field Marshal Fonseka came up along the way in line with the subject,” he said.
Irrigation Minister Wijithamuni Soyza said that he did not know whether the President had said something to the effect in lighter vein or not, but he wished that it was so because the government has a responsibility by the masses to run the country smoothly without being affected by actions that disturb the peace. “A government cannot allow strike action that affects the daily routine of the people.Protests and strikes should not hinder the free movement of the people,” he pointed out.