Ministry of Defence - Sri Lanka

Ministry of Defence Categorically Refuses Allegations circulating in Social Media

May 03, 2023

The Ministry of Defence, while categorically denouncing unfounded allegations leveled against the MOD by an ex- serviceman with a blemished military career who speaks on the "purity" in armed services in a recent talk show, also refutes those allegations as disgraceful and misleading.

As such, the MOD’s response and clarification is as follows;

Cadet Officers are enlisted to the armed forces following a meticulous study of their social and family backgrounds. A strict policy of zero tolerance is exercised in illegal drug related issues within the tri services.

The Sri Lanka Army has already taken action to expel the persons involved in the drug related incident that had been reported at the Sri Lanka Military Academy (SLMA). The Sri Lanka Army will always act swiftly to uphold discipline among its rank and file.

Further, the recent revision to the ration allowance was made merely to adjust the inequality between the sum of ‘Live-In’ and ‘Live-Out’ allowances of the armed service personnel with the approval of the President following a careful study conducted over several months and not due to any external pressure, as misleadingly reported.

The MOD emphasizes that the respective tri forces facilitate the welfare provisions and related services to the Armed Forces personnel, as and when required.

Also, members of the Armed Forces are well aware that various elements with vested interests are actively working to undermine the integrity of the Armed Forces thereby creating insecurity in the country.

Armed Forces personnel are not demoralized as alleged in the said report. On the contrary, the tri services continue unwaveringly to ensure national security.

The Ministry of Defence expresses regret that certain media organisations have not made an effort to investigate the truth of such unsubstantiated accusations or to offer the right to reply.

Ensuring national security is the mission of the Ministry of Defence and it will take all measures necessary to attain its mission.