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PCoI probing political victimisation: Former Navy Chief accused of ignoring Defence Ministry directives 

04 Jun 2020

By Skandha Gunasekara  It was revealed yesterday (3) at the Presidential Commission probing political victimisation of the former Government, that former Navy Chief Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne may have conspired against the State by ignoring directives of the Ministry of Defence to assist Avant Garde Maritime Services (AGMS).  During the third day of hearings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCOI), AGMS CEO and Chairman Maj. (Retd.) Nissanka Senadhipathi presented evidence that sought to prove that the former Navy Chief had deliberately overlooked instructions of the Ministry of Defence. The counsel appearing for Senadhipathi, K. De Soyza PC submitted  copies of letters by the former Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi, ordering the Navy and other officials to facilitate the transportation and storing of weapons legally given by the state to AGMS through  Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd. (RALL) on 5 October 2015. On that same day, the Navy had raided the floating armory MV Avant Garde 15 nautical miles off the west coast of Sri Lanka, in international waters.  “Regardless of the instructions given by the Secretary of Defence, the Navy Chief at the time ordered the seizure of the MV Avant Garde ship along with 1,700 weapons and ammunition,” Senadhipathi told the Commission.  The Navy proceeded to seize the ship on 6 October 2015 and this fact was disclosed to the Commission through the submission of a letter written by the MV Avant Garde Captain Gennadiy Gavrylov, when it was handed over to the Navy.  At this point, PCOI Chair Supreme Court Judge (Retd.) Upali Abeyratne said that the former Navy Commander had crossed a line.  “This amounts to conspiring against the State. This is a serious issue. The former Navy Chief has taken an arbitrary decision contrary to the instructions of the Ministry of Defence and thereby the Commander in Chief, the President at the time. It is an embarrassment to the then Government,” Justice Abeyratne said, noting that the naval officers concerned would need to be questioned by the Commission.  Subsequently, Senadhipathi claimed that his complaint about the former Navy Chief regarding this matter was the reason for an attempt on his life.  “Because I was making an issue out of this, over the Navy Commander’s arbitrary actions, he tried to have me killed. That is why he sent two of his officers to try and assassinate me in December that year,” he said.    

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