Defence Secretary bids farewell to outgoing Turkish Ambassador
December 30, 2019· Ambassador Ozcuhadar says Muslims are not involved in the Easter Sunday attacks on churches
· Defence Secretary says all communities are safe, protected and treated equally
The outgoing Ambassador of Turkey Tunca Ozcuhadar paid a farewell call on Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne at the Ministry, today (30 December 2019).
During the meeting, Ambassador Ozcuhadar and the Maj.Gen. Gunaratne discussed a wide range of issues of bilateral relations, including defence and security matters, enhancing training opportunities for Security Forces between two countries, intelligence sharing and enhancing bilateral cooperation.
The Ambassador said Muslims were not in involved in the Easter Sunday attacks on churches in last April and the Muslim community was always supporting the government and the people.
In response, Maj. Gen. Gunaratne said incidents like Digana in Kandy, where some disputes took place between two communities, would not happen under the present government as it was fully committed to bring the culprits to the book to ensure safety and protection for all communities in the country,.
He also said the country’s people would be equally treated as Sri Lankans irrespective of their ethnicity and the religion.
Maj. Gen. Gunaratne said Islam was a religion of peace that preaches unity among the communities and that the actions of a few misguided youth, could not be attributed to that great religion.
Thanking the outgoing Ambassador Ozcuhadar’s service during his tenure in the Sri Lanka, Defence Secretary wished him well in all his future endeavors.
Third Secretary of the Turkish Embassy in Colombo, Nazan Deniz was also present at the occasion.
