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A retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Army, now serving as Security Manager of a revenue-earning state corporation, caused a sensation this week.

In a signed message to his bosses, he said, that ISIS was planning attacks in Colombo taking advantage of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Such a threat, if true, would have raised not only fears but even insurance premiums.

The message went viral in the social media prompting a strong denial last Tuesday from Defence Secretary, Major General (retd.) Kamal Gunaratne. He said there was no truth to such claims. During a television talk show, he also referred to a similar letter from a construction firm dealing with government projects.

However, the retired officer who has signed his title and name with no reference to being retired, claimed he had been warned by intelligence officials in the Army. Here is an English translation of his message in Sinhala:

“A group of State Intelligence operatives briefed me that ISIS terrorists are planning to carry out a destructive attack centering on a key economic target using the prevailing situation in the country.

“They informed me that religious extremists who had been trained abroad are currently at large in society and that there is a risk that such persons will enter a public or private institution engaging in services and launching an attack using sharp weapons or sharp weapons laced with poison”

He goes on to say that the attack is being planned with the intention of disrupting current terrorism-related investigations and peaceful civilian lives.

It would be useful for the Defence Ministry to probe how such “warnings” get circulated. It is always difficult to know which ones are red herring and which are genuine. So, those who circulate them must also ensure their genuineness, said an MoD official.

Senior cop in trouble over fake news

A senior Police officer attached to the Police headquarters was invited for television and radio programmes. This week, he was in trouble over remarks he made to a Tamil radio station.

The officer concerned had said that former Minister Arumugam Thondaman had declared that as many as 7,000 upcountry people working in Colombo had returned home illegally, thereby causing a major health risk in the central highlands.

This is in the backdrop of strict regulations being implemented to prevent persons from Colombo visiting the outstations.

Mr Thondaman claimed he never made such remarks and had written to the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

The IGP in turn instructed Deputy Inspector General Ajith Rohana who is also in charge of Discipline and Conduct in addition to Legal Affairs to conduct an inquiry.

Thereafter, he wrote to Mr Thondaman stating that the officer concerned was admonished and that they were making an apology to him (Thondaman).

SLFP demands undated resignation letters from candidates

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) candidates have been told to sign undated letters of resignation and hand them over to General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera.

They seem to be taking a leaf from former President J.R. Jayewardene who got his cabinet ministers and MPs to do just that. He was then subjected to ridicule and accused of being anti-democratic. Like in many other areas, the SLFP seems to be following the JR model.

The matter also came up for discussion at a Central Committee meeting last Monday night.

One of those who strongly opposed signing the letter was former MP for Colombo district Thilanga Sumathipala.

SLAF’s Ukranian partners quarantined

Five Ukranians who have arrived in Colombo to assist the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) have been quarantined in a hotel in Negombo.

They will undergo the mandatory quarantine period before moving ahead with the tasks assigned to them.

PM prays for curfew-free Poson

At a top level meeting this week, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said that all efforts should be made to end the ongoing curfew.

He noted that by Poson full moon day (June 5) people should be in a position to visit temples and take part in other religious events.

Kuwait, Dubai flights bring COVID passengers

This week saw the return of 466 Sri Lankans from Dubai and Kuwait. They were employed there in various positions.

The first flight – a Kuwaiti aircraft — bringing them arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport with 287 passengers. Another Kuwaiti aircraft brought in 179 passengers.  The two aircraft also brought five COVID 19 passengers with them.

The flight from Dubai with 197 passengers brought 16 COVID positive passengers.