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General Shavendra gives parting shot to ill-wishers

01 Jun 2022

Outgoing Commander of the Army General Shavendra Silva, during his address to the troops upon relinquishment of his office yesterday (31 May) to assume duties as the new Chief of Defence Staff, said that there were ill-wishers who expected the Army and himself to fail, besides the well-wishers who expected their success. “There have been a large number of well-wishers around us who have been very supportive of us in the past and understood the work we are doing. We were also surrounded by a section of people who acted only for their personal gain, showing that they were close to us. Also, there were some people around us who were expecting our failure due to various personal reasons” he said, addressing the Army at the Army Headquarters. “I did not treat any of them with special treatment or fear. Instead, we took steps to maintain the maximum discipline in the Army and to ensure all misdeeds were fairly dealt with. I have always worked to protect the legitimacy and accountability of the Army. I know that it is well understood by those who expected our progress, as well as those who did not want us to succeed. Honour, confidence, and achievementsl, on which my service was based, enable me to leave this prestigious office of the Commander of the Army in an honourable manner.” He also congratulated his successor Maj. Gen. Vikum Liyanage. “I would like to express my gratitude to all the officers and other ranks, including the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army Maj. Gen. Vikum Liyanage, who is going to assume duties as the 24th Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, with all arrangements in place for my relinquishment. I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my best wishes to the new Commander of the Army. It should be mentioned that I am leaving the office of Commander of the Army to be the Chief of Defence Staff with pride and contentment,” he said. Maj. Gen. Vikum Liyanage was appointed as the 24th Commander of the Sri Lanka Army by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday (31 May).


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