Front Page

Front Page

Don't take SLMM chief's advice
President tells armed services commanders
By Iqbal Athas
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has told the armed forces commanders they need not take instructions or advice from the Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), retired Norwegian Major General Tryggve Tellefsen whom she wants removed.

Written instructions, The Sunday Times learns, have gone out to Commanders of the Army (Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle), the Navy (Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri) and the Air Force (Air Marshal Donald Perera) on Friday.

The move comes in the wake of President Kumaratunga's request, also last Friday, calling upon Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, to remove with immediate effect Maj. Gen. (retd. Tellefsen) as Head of SLMM.

The request was conveyed in a letter she handed to Norway's Ambassador in Sri Lanka, Hans Brattskar, during a meeting on Friday. In the letter to Premier Bondevik she has said: "I have come to have serious doubts about his (Maj. Gen. retd. Tellefsen's) impartiality and willingness to be objective in discharging his duties under the Ceasefire Agreement."

She added: "The recent incident involving the leakage of information to the LTTE concerning a Navy operation to track down a suspected LTTE ship smuggling arms into Sri Lanka, has confirmed my opinion that Major General Tellefsen is not fit to hold the post of Head of the SLMM in the interest of the security of Sri Lanka."

The Sunday Times revealed exclusively last week the Sri Lanka Navy's complaint that the SLMM jeopardized an operation on October 16 to round up a suspected Tiger guerrilla arms vessel. The charge was made by Navy Commander Vice Admiral Sandagiri.

In a conference that followed at the Ministry of Defence last Sunday, soon after the disclosure in The Sunday Times, Maj. Gen. Tellefsen admitted he had telephoned the LTTE in Kilinochchi to ascertain whether any LTTE vessel was in the eastern waters. This was after SLMM monitor Olli Vesenius who was on board the Navy vessel SLNS Prathapa had telephoned him.

He claimed that the call was not made to jeopardize the Navy's operations but to ascertain whether any LTTE vessels were present in the general area reported to him by the SLMM monitor in Trincomalee.

Present at the conference were Defence Minister Tilak Marapana, Defence Secretary Austin Fernando, Dr. John Gooneratne (SCOPP) and Vice Admiral Sandagiri. (See situation report by Iqbal Athas for a detailed account.)

Back to Front Page