The Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayake - President, Minister of Defence, Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and Minister of Digital Economy

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, during the debate on the Heads of Expenditure of the Ministry of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, and the Ministry of Defence, I am pleased to present several points.

¶ 02 Over recent days, I observed Members stating that there is a major threat to national security and that the public live in great fear—some even suggesting we should resign and hand over Government. Such a narrative is being built.

¶ 03 Recall our stated plan after winning the Presidential Election: we said we might not obtain a strong majority at the General Election. Yet, at the General Election we won an even stronger victory. Then a discourse arose that by March the economy would collapse and force a change of Government. Today we are placing our third review report before the IMF Board, and I believe it will yield a favourable outcome. The economy is moving to a stronger stability. When that hope evaporated, the next narrative was that opening vehicle imports would put unbearable pressure on the dollar. About USD 117 million in LCs are open so far, and the rupee has strengthened, not weakened. If anyone expected to ride economic chaos to power—forget it.

¶ 04 Another route by which past governments fell was internal party crises, like in 2001. But this Government is not facing any such internal contradictions. Some tried to praise me and disparage my colleagues to sow division—we will not fall for that.

¶ 05 Next, you considered whether a grave national security crisis could topple us. That will not happen either. Another recent route has been mass street protests overthrowing regimes. Beyond speaking to the media or in Parliament, I do not think you can muster people now for that. So that too will not work.

¶ 06 What is the current attempt? To paint a picture that national security is in severe peril and that the Government is unable to protect lives, so power must change.

¶ 07 What is the ground reality? No ordinary citizen has been harmed by these recent underworld clashes. However, they have created a degree of fear—we acknowledge that. But no ordinary citizen’s daily life has been directly threatened to the extent that they cannot carry out their activities.

¶ 08 We identify two principal avenues of threat to national security: ethnic nationalism and extremism. Our long war and the Easter Sunday attacks both had, at their roots, nationalism and extremism. We will not allow those to rise again.

¶ 09 On the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA): our position is to repeal it. But we need a legal framework to combat organized crime and extremist tendencies that cannot be addressed by ordinary law in abnormal contexts. We have appointed a committee to draft such a framework, and we will repeal the PTA accordingly. This has long been the people’s desire; only our Government will realize it. But we will never allow nationalism and extremism to re-emerge.

¶ 10 The second key threat is organized criminal gangs. They are not merely individual criminals; they grew under political patronage. If you name a gangster, I can tell you the politician behind him. That is the truth. They were nurtured under certain political leaderships. That is why when someone shouts “Amare, calm down, I’m here,” Amare falls silent; he recognizes who commands him. Who now sheds crocodile tears about these gangs? Those very political authorities who nurtured them.

¶ 11 Thus, political authority stood behind their growth. Elements within law enforcement also got entangled. In the Mideeniya triple murder of a man and two children, one of those arrested is a Police Constable. In the court shooting, two arrested are police officers. A T-56 from Mt. Lavinia Police was stolen and given to the underworld. From one military camp, 73 T-56 rifles went to criminal gangs; 35 have been recovered; 38 remain. Earlier, when an inquiry into such weapons leakage was commenced, higher authorities ordered it halted. Licensed weapons were given even to children of former Presidents—one had seven firearms. Where were these people living—was there a war at their doorstep? Some weapons were shuttled between MOD and Police with no clear accountability. This shows a dereliction of duty and a lack of professional state management.

¶ 12 We continue to seize illegal firearms. The nation became a dual state: a formal visible layer—Police, military, courts—and an underground armed criminal network with complicit officials. We have two options: either go along with the underground state, as was done before, or confront and dismantle it. The NPP Government will dismantle these networks and end them in our country. No one in Government gives any protection to any organized criminal or gang member—none.

¶ 13 On the Police: the Acting IGP and the Police have made significant arrests and seizures, including of officers involved in crimes, to break these links. These are not political transfers or purges; they are to sever the nexus. We are acting on public demand to suppress armed organized crime.

¶ 14 We have concerns about recent incidents: Mideeniya murders; Aluthkade court shooting; Kotahena murder; the Uswetakeiyawa murder; theft of weapons at Mt. Lavinia; and the Minuwangoda shooting. Except Minuwangoda, the others are clashes between different gangs—five separate groups becoming simultaneously active. Two other locations at risk are Batticaloa and the North, where structures exist to mobilize armed groups. We suspect a planned conspiracy to activate multiple groups at once to create a sense of instability, possibly to obstruct our anti-corruption and serious crime investigations. We have alerted the IGP and intelligence services to monitor this closely.

¶ 15 On investigations: the CID and CIABOC conduct inquiries; but investigations must culminate in indictments in the High Court. Recently, we have filed the “Krish” deal case; SriLankan Airlines-related indictments are imminent; the Keith Noyahr case will also reach the High Court shortly. On Easter Sunday, investigations proceed; we will not stage-manage or publicize steps—our duty is to present to Court, not to talk to media. On Arugam Bay: we acted professionally based on intelligence about a possible attack on Israeli nationals—arrested suspects before any public alarm; soon after, the US downgraded its advisory.

¶ 16 Some crimes are old and hard: Lasantha Wickrematunge was killed on 8 January 2009—16 years ago. Courts need proof beyond suspicion. Gathering strong evidence after 16 years is hard, but we are doing it. The best opportunity to punish perpetrators was in 2015 when evidence and momentum were fresh, but it was squandered. Files we sent to the Attorney General in October 2015 got responses only in January 2025—ten years later—due to political interference then. Now, when we arrest on AG’s advice, some ask why arrests at night or with spouses—these are operational matters. Some suspects have absconded; even now there is a court order to arrest a key person who is in hiding; we expect surrender soon. We will not allow offenders to evade justice. Trust our leadership more than yours—support the fight against crime and corruption.

¶ 17 As these probes advance, offenders feel the “hand” of investigation closing in—on Keith Noyahr, Easter Sunday, SriLankan deals—so they may seek to create instability. We have instructed the IGP and intelligence to give special attention.

¶ 18 Therefore, do not fear. This is not a national security collapse but a momentary spike in gang activity; we are suppressing it quickly.

¶ 19 On the “new defence team”: yes, it is new. Cabinet is new; Parliament’s majority is new; the defence team, service commanders, and intelligence heads are new—because you need new people for a new path. Previously, extensions and recalls were used to retain favourites: CDS got seven service extensions; the State Intelligence Chief had two recalls and extensions; the Chief of National Intelligence had six recalls/extensions; SIS chief had two; Army Commander two; Navy two; Air Force one. This is not a professional system; it is a feudal network. We are restoring professionalism—appointments for the State, not for personal loyalists.

¶ 20 On defence spending: we will invest more now to build a smaller but technologically advanced force by 2030—Army 100,000; Navy 40,000; Air Force 18,000. Many aircraft and weapons are nearing obsolescence; Navy platforms require higher competencies. We are allocating to repair grounded aircraft and helicopters and to restore overseas training stipends reduced since 2021 due to dollar constraints. We are building a professional, technology-enabled force loyal to the State.

¶ 21 On the Police: the force is indispensable. We will strengthen it—with vehicles, facilities, and welfare. Traffic fines incentive will be increased by 25%. We will allocate Rs. 1,000 million this year to improve basic facilities at stations—washrooms, showers, rest areas—which are dilapidated. There is a 21,000 cadre gap. Cabinet has approved recruiting 10,000 to the Police, 4,000 to the Air Force, and new intakes to the Navy, aligned to our 2030 structure.

¶ 22 We are moving the State from crudity to civility. In crude times, politicians dealt with the underworld; officials traded state arms; systems depended on personalities. We will rebuild institutional trust—so that policing quality does not hinge on who the IGP is, or intelligence on who heads it. We invite all to accept civility and reject crudity. Those who reject civility will be consigned by our new political culture to the dustbin of history.

¶ 23 We are also establishing societal yardsticks—benchmarks for Parliament, Police, Armed Forces, and institutions—so future politics cannot revert to crude practices, corruption, or personalist control. Compete with us by rising above us in civility, not by descending into old conspiracies or chauvinism.

¶ 24 Our Ministry Secretaries and service officers—especially the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security Mr. Ravi Seneviratne, the IGP, and officials—are working tirelessly. In the next eight months, with the funds voted, we will deliver our targets. The Police face major internal and external challenges—media narratives, threats from defeated political camps, and efforts by criminals to hide—but we will prevail.

¶ 25 We have ended the era of crudity and opened the road to civility. Join us.

¶ 26 Thank you.