Deputy Defence Min ister, General Anuruddha Ratwatte, well known for his verbal rapid fire, has done it again.
“It is a military practice to set targets. If the task is not completed ......we set a new time frame,” he told Daily News on February 6.
Yes, it is a military practice to set targets. They are set by military planners on the basis of operational plans they formulate.
Gen. Ratwatte candidly admits it is he who sets the targets now and not the military planners. Even then, it is not military practice to set targets to shake hands with LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran or to shock critics who criticise his conduct of the war.
War, it seems, is too serious a thing to be left in the hands of a General and a Politician. It’s a case of mixing up targets like mixing up priorities.
It was hampers galore December, last year. There were 2400 recipients to be exact.
Some say the new business empire spent Rs 26 million on them. Even if the sum was less, it sure ran into millions.
They not only contained premium liquor and imported goodies but also first class return air tickets to Singapore and other destinations.
There were 600 hampers sent to one service arm. Recipients were carefully picked. Those qualified included the ones who have been helpful and the one’s who showed signs of reaching top positions. That is to enable access at a later date.
At least four recipients rejected them. That included a senior Brigadier.
An Air Force bigwig went literally mad when he heard the code name assigned to the fly past at Golden Jubilee celebrations in Kotte.
Of all things, it was “Operation Madonna”. For sure, there are Madonna fans in the SLAF.
But the bigwig did not like the idea of associating her with the great event. So it was re -named “Operation Fly Past.”
Douglas Devananda, leader of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) politely declined a cash offer from a business house as campaign funds for last month’s local government elections in Jaffna.
The amount - a cool half a million rupees. It came in the form of a cheque from a subsidiary of a newly emerging business house. But the accompanying letter bore no graphics.
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