With reference to the Daily Mirror online story titled ‘President said ‘go ahead’-Army Chief’, the Army Headquarters today said that there had been an error in the Army website with regard to the Army Commander’s speech and says it had published the paragraph ‘President Mahinda Rajapaksa personally instructed me to pursue the operations as planned,’ mistakenly.

The originally published paragraph stated:

“I still remember, the President, personally giving me a call instructing me to pursue the operations as planned, though he remained under enormous pressure to stop it. It was the country’s political leadership that gave strength to us to be successful.”

The amended paragraph is as follows:

“HE the President Mahinda Rajapaksa was determined and did not give in to pressures of the international community when the Wanni humanitarian operations were entering decisive phases around April 2009. I still remember, HE the President, telling me that he remained under enormous international pressure.”