The safe house
and the enemy within
"All
further investigations into the Kandy Police raid on the Military
Intelligence Safe House at Athurugiriya have been dropped since the
authorities are now convinced it was used for legitimate purposes
"
Minister of
Interior, John Amaratunga, in an exclusive interview with Anthony
David, Deputy Editor (News) in The Sunday Times of May 26.
All further
investigations have indeed been dropped. That is 144 days after
then Superintendent of Police, Kulasiri Udugampola, Director (Operations),
Kandy Division, raided house No: 844, Millennium Park, Athurugiriya
- the Safe House run by Army's Directorate of Military Intelligence
(DMI).
During the
144 days, whilst the United National Front Government maintained
a stoic silence, the country's national security interests were
compromised, the Sri Lanka Army was grossly humiliated and the nation
was made to believe this Safe House was nothing more than a hideout
for a gang of marauding murderers in uniform.
The raid on
the night of January 2, this year, led to the recovery of - ten
(M4) anti tank mines (with two fuses), four light anti tank mines
(thermobaric), a pair of goggles, three T-56 assault rifles, 66
sets of camouflage uniforms resembling those used by Tiger guerrillas,
two water bottles, eight large claymore mines, eight small claymore
mines, 17 exploders, nine rolls of 16 mm wire, eight rolls of 7.022
mm wire, three small antennas, 12 detonators and a cyanide capsule.
An officer, four soldiers and a DMI informant (who was later recruited
to Army ranks) were arrested.
The moment
after the raid was most poignant. Inspector General of Police, Lucky
Kodituwakku, who had no prior knowledge, spoke on a mobile phone
to Mr. Udugampola at Athurugiriya. He was to assert that Army Commander,
(Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle), had assured him the Safe House was
used for legitimate purposes and the items found could be accounted
for. Later, Lt. Gen. Balagalle himself spoke on a mobile phone to
confirm to him the assurance given by his boss, the IGP. They were
of no avail. For once, a Police Chief and an Army Commander found
themselves hopeless and helpless.
In a lorry
hired by the Athurugiriya Police, Mr. Udugampola, now an ASP (after
a Supreme Court order invalidating the promotions of some to the
rank of SPs) brought the weapons cache to Military Police Headquarters
at Narahenpita. The six in custody followed in a Police vehicle.
By then, the media had been tipped off. They arrived there but were
disallowed entry by the Military Police.
The scene shifted
to Cinnamon Gardens Police Station. The cache of weapons and other
items were placed on display on tables and even on the floor. The
media was allowed to freely photograph or video film them. After
the officer protested, he and the men were allowed to remain in
their vehicle.
The find and
the men arrested, it was claimed, were all part of a sinister plot
to assassinate Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe and other United
Front Leaders. Lending credence to this claim was an earlier event
- a letter then United National Party Chairman, Charitha Ratwatte,
wrote to Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Balagalle, during last December's
polls campaign. He said thermobaric explosives had been brought
from operational areas in the North to the Panaluwa Army Testing
Range. Certain persons reportedly attached to a Northern Tamil political
party were being trained in its use.
He alleged
that Army deserters were flown from the North and training was being
co-ordinated by the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI).
Mr. Ratwatte feared there might be an attempt to use these weapons
on meetings held by the UNP leadership and the Leader's campaign
trail. Lt. Gen. Balagalle replied there was "no substance"
in the information.
Mr. Ratwatte
cannot be faulted for acting promptly on what appeared then to be
credible information about threats against the UNP leadership. A
close confidant and loyalist of Premier Wickremesinghe, he took
prompt action to avert any harm that might come against the UNP
leader or other seniors.
But now, reports
of threats to the lives of UNP leaders, like the allegations against
the workings of the Safe House, appear to be baseless. Police investigations
have revealed there is no shred of evidence. Yet a campaign of disinformation
based on half-truths and untruths continued.
It was The
Sunday Times
(Situation Report - January 6) that exclusively revealed
the fact that the Safe House was used by the Directorate of Military
Intelligence to conduct counter terrorist operations. It gave details
of how the Captain and five others, part of a Long Range Reconnaissance
Patrol (LRRP) group, infiltrated areas controlled by guerrillas
and carried out devastating attacks. Yet, the men were being detained
as "terrorist suspects" under the Prevention of Terrorism
Act.
The revelation
had its repercussions. IGP Lucky Kodituwakku, summoned Mr. Udugampola
to a conference of DIGs at Police Headquarters the very next day
-January 7- (Situation Report - January 13) to brief them on events
that led him to conduct the raid.
Mr. Udugampola
disclosed the tip off came from a "very reliable informant."
When Mr. Kodituwakku asked how it had happened, he replied he was
in the Magistrate's Court in Teldeniya when he received a call on
his cellular phone. The informant said a weapons cache was hidden
in a private house at Athurugiriya. He had immediately written the
details and obtained a Court Order from the Magistrate that very
day.
Senior DIG
H.M.G.B. Kotakadeniya, raised objections. He said it would be inappropriate
to call upon Mr. Udugampola to reveal details at the DIGs conference.
But the Police Chief, he explained, was free to privately ask for
details if he so wished. The reason - Interior Minister John Amaratunga,
had directed Mr. Kotakadeniya to obtain help of CID officers and
supervise the inquiry launched by Mr. Udugampola. He flaunted Mr.
Amaratunga's letter and argued any statement by Mr. Udugampola could
be prejudicial to the probe under his supervision.
If Mr. Udugampola
told the DIGs conference the tip off for the raid came "from
an informant" who called on his cellullar phone, he was to
later declare he received information that Chanuka Ratwatte, (son
of former Deputy Defence Minister, Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte), then
wanted in connection with the Udatalawinna massacre, was visiting
a house in Athurugiriya. Before his briefing ended abruptly in view
of objections raised, Mr. Udugampola, admitted he conducted the
raid without the knowledge of his own superior officers, SSP Kandy,
Ashoka Ratnaweera, then DIG Central Range, Mahinda Balasuriya or
the IGP himself.
And now,
investigations personally supervised by senior DIG Kotakadeniya
are over. He has declared that correct procedures have been used
to procure the weapons found in the Safe House. Police have found
no evidence of any conspiracy or plot to assassinate any UNF leader
- allegations that led to the raid by Mr. Udugampola and the subsequent
inquiry under the supervision of Mr. Kotakadeniya assisted by a
CID team. Nor was there any shred of evidence, or even a slight
hint, that Chanuka Ratwatte had visited the Safe House. First to
extracts of a report on the findings of the inquiry supervised by
DIG Kotakadeniya, sent to M.N. Junaid, Secretary to the Ministry
of Interior, dated January 29, this year:
"On
31.12.2001, Mr. K. Udugampola, SP, Operations Kandy, whilst conducting
inquiries into the Udatalawinna Massacre in Kandy, had received
information that one of the suspects in that case namely, Chanuka
Ratwatte was visiting a house at Athurugiriya. The information further
alleged that this house belonged to an Army officer.
"Thereafter
Mr. Udugampola had obtained Magistrate's directions to conduct further
inquiries and thereafter Mr. Udugampola had informed Major General
Ivan Dassanayake (Provost Marshal) and on the instructions of the
latter, Major Clifford Soysa had been released to go with the Police
to check on the information at the house concerned.
"The
Police visited the scene along with the Army personnel
.
.
arms and explosives were taken into custody by Mr. Udugampola. The
following persons who were in that house were also taken into custody.
(Note: the names and addresses of the officer, four men and informant
are withheld).
Action
taken by SP Mr. Udugampola
"The
suspects and the productions were taken into custody and were taken
to Kandy to facilitate further inquiries. The suspects were detained
on a detention order issued by the SP Kandy for 03 days and thereafter
an application made to the Ministry of Defence for authority to
detain them for a further 90 days under the Prevention of Terrorism
Act.
"On
5.1.2001 I received instructions from the Hon. Minister of Interior
that a team of officers be directed to assist Mr. Udugampola in
conducting inquiries under my personal direction. Thereupon a team
of officers from the CID headed by SSP D.S.Y. Samaratunga conducted
inquiries both in Kandy and in Colombo.
Evidence
Available
"Capt. N (Name withheld) is the most senior officer who had
been taken into custody by the Police in consequence of the inquiries
conducted by Mr. Udugampola. He stated in his statement that he
had functioned in the Directorate of Military Intelligence since
1991. From 14th July 2001 up to 19th December, 2001, certain military
equipment was procured by him with the approval of the Director/DMI
and the Director/Ops. having made applications through proper channels
to conduct undercover operations in Batticaloa with the active participation
of informants deployed by the DMI.
"On
19.12.2001 he went into occupation of the Athurugiriya Millennium
Park house with due permission from the authority concerned. The
rent for this house was paid by the Army on a signed agreement.
On 21.12.2001 the party went to Batticaloa to conduct their operations
and returned to Athurugiriya Safe House on 27.12.2001.
"Their
decision to suspend operations was the result of the cease-fire
with the LTTE which was announced. The arms and ammunition kept
at Millennium house were the weaponry, which were in the possession
of this team to conduct these operations. They were to be returned
to the respective Armouries and Stores of the Army in due course
and in fact preparations were being made on 28.12.2001 to return
them to stores. As a matter of fact on 2.1.2002 a part of the stock
had been handed over to the Army stores.
"Brigadier
Kapila Hendavitharana corroborated the facts contained in the statement
given by Captain N
.. and stated that the arms referred were
issued following procedures laid down by the Army and after having
recorded them in the relevant documents. The Safe House at Athurugiriya
was established and operated with the express permission of the
Army Commander.
"The
statements of the suspect Army officers and the Army informant were
recorded in detail by Mr. Udugampola and these statements generally
corroborate the statement made by Captain N
..
Observations
"The inquiries conducted so far have established that the arms
and ammunition that were found in the Safe House had been procured
by the team of officers concerned by following the correct procedures
that are followed by the Army. The statement made by Brigadier Hendavitharana
and the documents that were subsequently checked by the inquiring
officers confirmed the stance taken by Captain N
. that the
stock of weapons were in fact procured after following due process
stipulated in the Army rules and regulations.
"The
investigations conducted so far by the Police have not been able
to clearly establish the bona-fides of the alleged claim made by
the suspects that the stock was kept in the house to conduct undercover
operations in the East. It has to be stated clearly that the Police
have no clues to affirm or deny such a claim. But it cannot be
gainsaid that this team has in fact in the past been involved in
such undercover operations, which has had a positive destabilizing
impact on the morale of the LTTE operatives in the East.
"Undercover
operations in their very essence are conducted secretively and only
those who have to be necessarily kept informed are privy to these
secret operations. The Army Commander and the Director of Military
Intelligence are two persons who should necessarily and inexorably
possess this information and both of them have confirmed that they
were kept informed and their specific permission obtained for the
operation.
"One
necessary area where further probes may be necessary is to elicit
from the Army Commander whether it is incumbent on him to keep the
political authorities informed of such operations. For instance
whether the Army Commander was duty bound to inform the Hon. Minister
of Defence that such operations are being conducted. If such a practice
had in fact been followed in the past the Army Commander would have
kept the Minister of Defence informed of such operations. Conceding
that such a procedure had been followed in the past and if it is
now admitted that was not followed in the present case, the Army
Commander would have to give a reasonable explanation as to why
his superiors were not kept informed in relation to this particular
operation.
"Another
sticking point that may have to be clarified is as to why a Safe
House for an operation to be done in the East, be established at
such a great distance from the intended theatre of operations. In
fact the investigating officers have attempted to elicit a cogent
explanation from Brigadier Hendavitharana, but the reply has not
been comprehensive and convincing. Perhaps it is believed that the
Commander of the Army may be able to provide plausible reasons.
Position
vis-à-vis the detention of the suspects
"As
mentioned in a foregoing Para the suspects were detained under the
6(1) of the PTA for 03 days and thereafter an application was made
to the Hon. Minister of Defence for obtaining a Detention Order
under 9 (1) of PTA for further 90 days. On 12.1.2002 orders were
received from the Ministry of Defence to hand the suspects over
to the Army, which order, was duly complied with. It has been expressly
indicated that the Hon. Minister has not agreed to issue this detention
order on the suspects.
(Note:
Defence Minister Marapana declared that the material the Police
submitted to him to justify the Detention Order was "hopelessly
inadequate" - See Situation
Report - January 27).
Consequently
further inquiries into this issue will have to be conducted under
the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code.
"SP
Udugampola has now been instructed by me that if the need arises
to question Army officers, he should inform me that the officers
concerned will be informed through the Army Commander to appear
before the Police. This was done in order to minimize any irritant
that may arise between the Army and the Police. "
Mr. Kotakadeniya's
assertion that "
. this team has in fact in the past been
involved in such undercover operations which has had a positive
destabilizing impact on the morale of the LTTE operatives in the
East" is official confirmation that the DMI did in fact conduct
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRP). If there were allegations
that the Safe House was used, as a "base for political conspiracies
or assassination plots," as claimed, why could not the investigators
find any clues at all? Would those suspected of "political
conspiracies or assassination plots" follow correct, laid down
Army procedures to procure weapons to indulge in something sinister
like assassinating UNF leaders?
On the other
hand, those making a serious allegation should have had more than
a mere claim as to who was hatching a plot to kill whom? If they
did, why was such information not given to the Police? Evidently,
there was not even a clue in this regard for the Police to chase.
That is not all. Those responsible had also launched a nation-wide
propaganda campaign, easily convincing gullible sections of the
media, and the public, that DMI did not carry out any Long Range
Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRP) in any part of the country!
There were
loud claims that LRRP operations were done by only other units of
the Security Forces. Since there were no Long Rangers, even an interview
with one of them in The Sunday Times (Situation
Report - February 10) was debunked. Was this not a feeble
attempt to cover up the truth? The report of Senior DIG Kotakadeniya,
a veteran Police officer, has now exposed the futility of a campaign
of disinformation.
The Sunday
Times has learnt some disgruntled sections in the Directorate
of Military Intelligence, backed by retired Army officers, some
of them high ranking, were behind the campaign. During elections,
which leads to a change of Government, the involvement of retired
Security Forces and Police officers in campaigns for rival factions
is now common practice. Those on the winning side mount pressure
on the newly elected leadership to settle scores with their former
colleagues, or superiors, over past rivalries. This has become all
too common. But the UNF Government's continued silence, in the wake
of the obvious embarrassment, made matters worse in the case of
the Athurugiriya Safe House fiasco.
The saga has
not ended there. Even after Mr. Kotakadeniya's report, ASP Udugampola
continued with his own inquiries, ignoring instructions given to
him to seek prior permission before interviewing Army personnel.
Moreover, this is despite the Army officer and the four soldiers,
who were detained, filing a Fundamental Rights application before
the Supreme Court where Mr. Udugampola is listed as the First Respondent.
He interviewed
other officers in the Army and even recorded a statement last month
from Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Balagalle. His visit to Army Headquarters
to personally record the statement raised questions of protocol.
Police Headquarters has always followed a practice of a DIG being
present when a statement of a Security Forces Commander is recorded.
Lt. Gen. Balagalle is learnt to have raised issue over the matter
with the Ministry of Defence.
The move drew
an angry response from Austin Fernando, the outspoken Secretary
to the Ministry of Defence. He has been closely monitoring developments
over investigations into the Safe House fiasco. In a letter to Interior
Ministry Secretary, N.M. Junaid on May 7, Mr. Fernando said:
Magistrate"s
Court/Kandy Case No: 12056/2002 Athurugiriya Millennium City
"I attach a letter from Commander/SLA received in my office
regarding the above matter.
"As
a fundamental point I wish to raise whether a person who has been
cited as the first respondent in the Fundamental Rights Application
mentioned in Para 03 of the attached letter should investigate into
the case pertaining to the same issue. This action of ASP Udugampola
adds venom to viciousness and could be considered as unbecoming
of a serious public officer.
"It
would be appreciated if you could check with Actg. IG or S/DIG Kotakadeniya
on this matter and take necessary action to alleviate the injustices
and fears that may be in the minds of the Army personnel who seem
to be under threat of vicious actions by certain Police Officers.
"I
may re-iterate the famous saying that "Justice should not
only be done but appear to have been done" and hope that
the concerned officer respects such principles as a good public
servant. Please look into this matter and do justice by the officers
concerned."
Mr. Junaid
acted promptly on the Defence Secretary's complaint. He called for
a report from Senior DIG Mr. Kotakadeniya. Here are excerpts from
a three-page report to the Interior Ministry Secretary, routed through
the IGP, by Mr. Kotakadeniya:
"I
received instructions from the Hon. minister of Interior to supervise
and co-ordinate investigations into the detection of arms etc.,
by Mr. Udugampola ASP at Athurugiriya.
"In
pursuance of the instructions, I sought the assistance from the
Director CID to secure the assistance of few experienced Police
Officers to conduct investigations into this incident, in view of
the importance and other ramifications associated with the decision.
"Only
Mr. D.S.Y Samaratunga SSP was released in response of the above
request and investigations commenced on 6/1/2002. Mr. Udugampola
was also associated in the conduct of this inquiry.
"Mr.
Samaratunga conducted inquiries under my specific directions and
instructions and a report was submitted to me on conclusion of the
inquiries on 25/1/2002. Thereafter on 29/1/2002 I submitted a comprehensive
report to the Secretary of the Ministry of Interior with a copy
to I.G. Police.
"At
the time I submitted this report, the Hon. Minister of Defence had
directed that the Army suspects be handed over to the Army. The
Hon. Minister had also declined to endorse the recommendations made
by Mr. Udugampola to further detain the suspects under the P.T.A.
"These
developments made it crystal clear that the Hon. Minister of Defence
had arrived at an irrevocable conclusion that there was no element
of suspicion entertained by him with regard to the genuineness of
the activities of the Safe House established at Athurugiriya. This
necessarily implies that the Hon. Minister was of opinion that the
business conducted by the Army in this instance was manifestly legitimate.
In view of the facts adverted to, I sought to minimize any conflict
that may occur with the Army by directing Mr. Udugampola that if
he was desirous of conducting any further investigations, by questioning
Army Officers, he should obtain my prior approval.
Mr. Udugampola
to my mind was not experienced and mature enough and have the correct
disposition to conduct a critical investigation of this nature,
the outcome of which would necessarily have far-reaching consequences
for the defence establishment of the nation. He has sought to circumvent
my instructions by obtaining the Magistrate's Order to summon Army
Officers for the purpose of questioning, on several occasions. "As
I have referred to above, since the Hon. Minister of Defence has
by inference, unequivocally concluded that the Army Officers were
not at fault in this regard, I told Mr. Udugampola that no purpose
would be served by conducting further inquiries.
"The
prime function of the Police in this instance was to ascertain whether
the Safe House was established to conduct any illegal operations.
When the Hon. Minister in charge of the Armed Services had not found
anything illegal or questionable surrounding this Safe House, the
Police had no other area to probe into. Mr. Udugampola further thinks
that the Army has not followed the internal procedures with regard
to the issuing of arms and ammunition and other sophisticated weapons,
and in the deployment of officers to perform various tasks. I attempted
to impress on Mr. Udugampola that in a war situation and in the
context of the conduct of undercover operations, such procedures
are not adhered to tenaciously and in meticulous detail. But Mr.
Udugampola appears to think that by probing into internal procedures
of the Army it would help to unravel the "mystery" associated
with this Safe House.
"With
regard to the issue raised by the Secretary Defence, I fully endorse
the sentiments expressed by him that it would be unethical and untenable
for Mr. Udugampola to conduct further inquiries into this case,
since he has been made a respondent in a fundamental case where
the subject matter related to the conduct of Mr. Udugampola during
the course of investigations. He appears to have pursued the investigations
more strenuously after the case was filed against him."
Also responding
to representations made to Mr. Junaid was the acting IGP, T.E. Anandarajah.
In a letter to Nimal Mediwaka, DIG (Central Range), on May 22, he
said:
"Mr.
Kotakadeniya, S/DIG has been directed by the Hon. Minister of Interior
to supervise and conduct the investigations into the detection of
arms, ammunition etc. by ASP Mr. Udugampola at Millennium City,
Athurugiriya.
"After
completing investigations, S/DIG Mr. Kotakadeniya has instructed
ASP Mr. Udugampola that if the need arise to question any army officer
in this connection he should obtain his approval, so that they could
be summoned through the Army Commander.
"It
has been reported that the above instructions are not being carried
on by ASP Mr. Uduga-mpola. Please inform Mr. Udugampola to carry
out this instructions in future."
As the Acting
IGP notes, it was after "completing investigations" that
Senior DIG Kotakadeniya directed Mr. Uduga-mpola to obtain his prior
approval, if the need arose, to question any Army officer. Since
that order, Mr. Udugampola has not sought to proceed further with
the investigations or interview Army officers.
There ends
the fairy tale drama of the Safe House at Millennium City.
It lays bare all the mystery except the identities of those who
were behind it.
It is for UNF
Government now to discern whether they are friend or foe. The unknown
enemy within can be more potent than the known enemy outside.
They are accountable
for a great betrayal that even a disinformation campaign has failed
to hide.
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