Attorney-at-law Manoj Gamage has claimed that the Government has taken steps to significantly reduce the security detail of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.  

Speaking at a press briefing held at the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) policy centre on Wednesday (11), Gamage claimed that the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of human resource management had notified the security division of Rajapaksa in this regard through an official letter on Tuesday (10). According to Gamage, a total of 116 security personnel from Rajapaksa’s security detail have reportedly been withdrawn, including officers with specialised experience in providing security for very important persons. It is reported elsewhere that Rajapaksa’s security detail is now down to 60 personnel, and that three Defenders provided to him have also been withdrawn.  

He expressed concern over this decision, emphasising that it could pose a significant security risk, given the presence of groups that still follow the ideology of the slain leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai Prabhakaran. Gamage described the Government’s actions as a serious matter, particularly considering Rajapaksa’s role in eradicating terrorism during his Presidency.

It has been reported elsewhere, citing the Police, that a certain number of cadre from the security details of former Presidents Maithripala Sirisena and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga have also been withdrawn after reviewing reports on the security threats that they face; these reductions, according to the said report, bring Sirisena's security detail to 51 and Kumaratunga to 58. According to the said news report, the security detail of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe too is to be curtailed. There is no mention made of in the said news report of any changes to the security detail of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.