New Sri Lankan gov't says to keep army in the north

Sri Lanka's new government on Sunday said that it will keep the army in the north and national security will be given priority.

State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardena said that President Maithripala Sirisena had made it clear from the day he won the presidential election that he will not allow the country to be divided.

Wijewardena said that after Sirisena had won the election, there had been several false reports spreading that the army will be withdrawn from the north, but he insisted those reports were false.

The new State Minister of Defense made these comments after visiting the central town of Kandy where he briefed on security issues.

Concerns have been raised after Sirisena won the January 8 presidential polls, as Sirisena has got support from Sri Lanka's main minority Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance, which has been pushing for the army presence in the north to be reduced following the end of the war with Tamil Tiger rebels.

The rebels were defeated in May 2009, but the former government had refused to reduce the army's presence in the north.

Wijewardena said that the new government will ensure the security forces are treated with respect and given all the facilities they require. Endi