Intelligence reports received two weeks ago; acted swiftly though not made public: President President

• Acted swiftly based on intelligence reports of potential threats whereas actions taken by government not made public

By Ajith Siriwardana
Claiming that the government has ensured security of all citizens, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said yesterday the government acted swiftly based on intelligence reports of a potential threat whereas the actions taken by the government were not made public.  
He told an election rally in Puttalam that it was the responsibility of the government to act according to the intelligence reports and ensure people’s security rather than having press conferences when the government received intelligence reports.  
“A war situation has erupted in the world. Sri Lanka has also faced some threats due to that. We were informed two weeks ago of a potential threat to Sri Lanka. We beefed up security in those places immediately. We do not hold press conferences when we receive intelligence reports. Our responsibility is to act according to the information and ensure security of the people,” he said.  

The President said the government beefed up security in respective areas and launched investigations immediately based on the intelligence information.  
“We were able to arrest several suspects. We did not hold press conferences. There was no news about that. Our responsibility as the government is to prevent any attacks. We have ensured the security of all citizens in the country,” he said.  
He also said the government held constant discussions with intelligence agencies, police and security forces twice some days. We discussed at night some days and via technology as well. We took all the action. Some are perturbed and say action must have been taken earlier. We do not inform others and provide security. We took all actions promptly,” he said.