Civilians want the army, that’s why we are there –

-- Maj. Gen. Hathurusinghe, Jaffna forces commander Highest among military top brass in the North, Major Gen Mahinda Hathurusinghe, the security forces commander for the Jaffna, says he does not foresee a large reduction of security forces in Jaffna in the immediate future. In an interview with Ranga Jayasuriya, he says troops had already reduced their presence by 11,000 men. The troop reduction issue assumed special significance when the president addressing the Victory Day parade said ‘we will not reduce military presence in North just because some people are shouting at us.’ Meanwhile, the British High Commissioner in Colombo John Rankin has raised a hornet’s nest saying that there is no terrorism threat for Sri Lanka to justify retaining troops in the Northern Province.n There are calls made by various civil society groups and Tamil political parties including the Tamil National Alliance that the military should reduce their presence in Jaffna and the Wanni. People seem to be weary that there is no sizeable reduction of military presence in the North, even three years after the end of the war. I have been telling this over and over again. When I took over on August 5th 2009, our strength in Jaffna was 26,000. As of now it is 15,600. We have decreased by almost 11000 plus. Also, His Excellency (the president) in his address to the nation said that the security presence would not be reduced because someone wanted it, but that the security experts would decide how many troops would be required for the Jaffna peninsula. We will do it that way. As of now, I don’t foresee a large reduction in the immediate future, because, we have already reduced a sizable number of troops. We don’t know how much troop presence the (TNA) is referring to. We can’t read their minds, no? If they expect us to come back to the level of the 1980s, when we had only five camps in the Jaffna peninsula, of course, we also need assurance that there are no terrorist activities and that diaspora activities - that all are all zeroed. Activities by Nediyawan’s group, the Global Tamil Forum and Rudrakumar’s group must also cease. Then, we can also be comfortable that there is no threat to the security in Jaffna. Until and unless these threats are diminished, a legitimate government cannot look the other way. It is absolutely clear that we will not reduce to the level of troop numbers which other people demand for. It should be done with the advice of security experts and the ministry of defence would also, from time to time, evaluate the situation. Then we will decide. We will simply not reduce the troop presence, because somebody would think that it is the right figure for them. We are maintaining troop numbers which we think are required to secure peace in Jaffna.  According to your assessment how many troops does the army need in Jaffna? No. These things vary, no? Today I can give some number, but the figures would change tomorrow. Also, I must add that I had a meeting with chief Thurukkal (custodian) Somasundaram Swami Adinan. He categorically said we needed more troops deployed, especially in the night because of anti- social activities that are taking place. But I told him it was not basically our job, and that it was a police job. But he said he preferred that the army augmented the security in the area. That was what people wanted. Of course there are bankrupt politicians and separatist diaspora elements such as the Global Tamil Forum which tell the world a different story. But they are a minority. The majority of people want security and the hard earned peace to be secured for them.  Do you think there is a serious threat perception? The LTTE was defeated three years ago... No. It depends on the person. How I perceive the threat level and how someone else perceives it varies. We will not take anybody else’s perception, but we will take into account the security forces threat perception about the prevailing threat to the Jaffna peninsula. That is how it has been looked at.  Civilians have been asking for the return of their properties that have been occupied by the army... We are very mindful of that fact and we are very serious about that. We are doing our utmost to handover private properties which had been occupied by the army during those troubled times.  It is a gradual process. The process has been to a great extent completed. Now we are looking to handover land in Palali, which is the army cantonment. That matter is being addressed. You should be aware of the killing of a Canadian Tamil in Kilinochchi. That killing was initially attributed to the army. I understand four former LTTE cadres and a lady have now been arrested over the killing. But, don’t you think this kind of negative publicity is devastating?  That is the basic problem. What has really happened is that the political atmosphere prevailing in these areas is sowing seeds of from the same saga from the past. They want the same LTTE message to go out in a much more subtle way. They are all saying the army is doing this and the army is doing that. They want to create a total vacuum in the peninsula without the army. That is the aspiration of a few. But the majority wants peace. We know whom these other people belong to. They want to sow the seeds of desperation and separation. They are trying to attribute any anti social activity to the army. Even, when someone hangs herself, they would say: “Yes even though this girl has committed suicide, the army camp is two hundred meters away.” I don’t know what the relationship is between an army camp which is in two hundred meters away, and someone who would commit suicide using a saree to hang herself inside her room. They (critics) don’t want the army to be present there anyway, and at the same time, they want to hold the army responsible for someone who committed suicide two hundred meters from an army camp. Obviously there is no logic in this. This area Paranthan (where the Canadian was murdered) does not come under my purview. But, there is army there. This is a famous story. If anything happens, it is army... army... army. You know, when a robbery takes place, they (critics) would say: “Tamil they were speaking is not fluent”, “they were not Jaffna Tamils”. Eventually, when the truth comes out, the damage is done. Negative publicity is a real nuisance. As for the Canadian gentleman, about half of the property in the Kilinochchi town belongs to him. That was a money related murder. You said army was unduly blamed. But there was a clear case of abduction of two former JVP activists, Lalith Kumar and Kugan. The army and the police were blamed for the two abductions. That was really an isolated incident where we have two missing activists. It is not only in Jaffna, it happens everywhere, including in the south. How can the army be responsible for the abduction of two individuals? The army was not providing special protection to these two individuals. Yes, we are also concerned. We are also investigating. A habeas corpus petition is being heard. Truth will come out. Have you investigated the abduction of these two individuals? Yes, CID is conducting a separate investigation and the Achchuveli police are conducting another. Let’s wait till these are completed.