Cabinet Meeting Convened By President Ends Inconclusively: Ministers Decide To Wait For PM's Return To Make Final Call

September 13, 2018

The urgent Cabinet meeting President Maithripala Sirisena convened today ended inconclusively as the Ministers could not arrive at a final decision on matters relating to the possible arrest of Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne.

The Cabinet meeting ended when the Ministers decided to wait for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s return from Vietnam to make a final decision.

The Cabinet was convened this morning as the country’s most senior serving military officer faced imminent Police arrest over his alleged involvement in abductions and killings of 11 youth.

Wijegunaratne left for Mexico earlier this week, hours before he was expected to give a statement to the CID on the murders of 11 Tamil youth. 

The Chief of Defence Staff office told media Wijegunaratne left for Mexico on a 'government assignment' and he would take part in the Mexican national day representing the government. 

There is also a possibility that Wijegunaratne may be arrested if and when he appears before the CID. 

The Fort Magistrate previously permitted the CID to arrest Wijegunaratne if there was suffifient evidence to suggest his involvement in the incident. 

It is not entirely clear as to when the Chief of Defence Staff is sheducled to return to the country from Mexico. 

Wijegunaratne is to be questioned on whether he helped ex-Navy officer Chandana Hettiarachchi alias Navy Sampath - the main suspect in the abductions and murders of 11 youth -  to flee to Malaysia to avoid Police arrest.