Acted swiftly on intelligence reports though not made public: President

Colombo, October 24 (Daily Mirror)-Claiming that the government has ensured the security of all citizens, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said today the government had 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 intelligence reports and ensure the people’s security rather than having media conferences whenever 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 media conferences when we receive intelligence reports. Our responsibility is to act according to the information and ensure the 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 media 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 during some days. 

“Sometimes we discussed even at night and via technology as well. We took all actions. 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 added.