Ratwatte takes umbrage at criticism

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 November 1997, 23:59 GMT]
Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte Sri Lanka's Deputy Minister for Defence attacked sections of the press for criticising the government's war effort while opening the debate on the extension of the Emergency in Parliament today.

He said that certain people in the security forces who couldn't get positions they coveted provide information to pundits in the press who pontificate on military affairs.

The minister said that these pundits are saying that Operation Jayasikurui has got bogged down in the Vanni.

But the government has a set plan according to which the operation will proceed stage by stage towards completion he said.