National Intelligence Chief resigns
June 8, 2019 03:51 pm
The Chief of National Intelligence Sisira Mendis has resigned from his post with immediate effect.
Mendis, Director of Sri Lanka’s Centre for National Intelligence under the Ministry of Defense, had served as DIG of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and was also head of the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) from 2008 to 2009.
The national intelligence chief’s resignation comes after testifying last week to the parliamentary select committee that the April 21 attacks could have been averted.
President Maithripala Sirisena summoned an emergency cabinet meeting on Friday night and has refused to allow any police, military or intelligence personnel to testify before the committee.
The President’s office did not comment on the meeting, but said the president had told senior police officers on Friday that he will not allow any serving officer to testify, AFP reported.
The President said last week that he met with the national police chief and his top brass 13 days before the attacks but no officer raised warnings passed on by India and based on information from a detained jihadist.
