From the Battlefield to the Boardroom: new report exposes massive militarisation

An internationally released report exposes the creeping take over of civil administration by security force commanders in Sri Lanka within just over a year of the second Rajapaksa rule.

A CHART published by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) jointly with JDS names 39 mainly army officers recently given key positions of state by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, himself an ex-army officer.

The statement follows:

JOINT PRESS RELEASE: From the Battlefield to the Boardroom – the militarisation of Sri Lanka.

Johannesburg: Dozens of retired military officers are taking over the civil service in Sri Lanka, said journalists and lawyers outside the country. A CHART published by the International Truth and Justice Project and Journalists for Democracy Sri Lanka names 38 mainly army officers recently given key positions of state by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, himself an ex army officer.

“This is a creeping take over,” said the ITJP’s Executive Director, Yasmin Sooka, “add to this the centralisation of power in the hands of the President, the nepotism, the cronyism and the appointment to government positions of a shocking number of individuals who still had court cases against them at the time. This amounts to a coup by stealth. Democracy is being steadily eroded.”

The chart shows loyal military officers exert control over the COVID response, the police, the intelligence services, the prisons, foreign policy, airports, sea ports, customs, utilities, agriculture, fisheries, land development, wildlife protection, and last but not least, the Bribery Commission.