Front Page

Front Page

Mystery American at Govt. Intelligence meetings
By Anthony David
Defence circles were highly perturbed over the presence of an American at recent meetings of the Sri Lankan intelligence community chaired by retired DIG Merril Gunaratne, now Defence Advisor to the Ministry of Defence and the person tasked to oversee all intelligence matters.

This is the first time a foreign national has appeared at a regular meeting of all local intelligence agency heads, one that is held to review the week's intelligence. Such meetings are regarded as highly sensitive since all intelligence information received by the respective agencies is collated, discussed and analysed.

According to sources in the Directorate of Internal Intelligence (DII), the country's premier intelligence agency, this is the first time in the history of Sri Lanka that a foreign national has been allowed to sit with heads of all government intelligence agencies and hear their intelligence inputs. "This not only poses threats to their own sources of intelligence but raises very serious questions over national security and the wellbeing of the state," the highly agitated source said.

According to the source, Mr. Gunaratne, who has been placed in charge of the overall working of all the state intelligence agencies sought answers from those present at conferences on behalf of the American.

Some are learnt to have expressed reluctance to answer questions raised. The American himself had been asking direct questions from some of the heads of intelligence agencies too. The questions have ranged from LTTE suicide bombers to current LTTE military preparations to attack targets. "In any other country, whoever permitted such a person to sit at a high-level conference of national intelligence agencies could be liable for high treason," the source pointed out.

Efforts by The Sunday Times to ascertain who granted permission for this American to be present at meetings of state intelligence agencies proved futile. A high-ranking Defence Ministry source said "we are completely in the dark."

A source in the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington said, "we are not aware of any official United States Government representative taking part in any such intelligence conference. As far as we are aware, there is no request for any of its nationals to be present at meetings of Sri Lankan intelligence agencies.

"We have some arrangements for intelligence co-operation and training assistance with the US. Details, however, cannot be explained," the source said. Mr Gunaratne and the American in question were said to be in Kandy during the weekend.

Back to Front Page