Key Army camps in the North will not be closed

The Government today insisted that key Army camps in the North will not be closed and troops will remain in the area.

Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka said that the joint opposition was spreading false claims that the Army will be withdrawn from the North.

Speaking during the budget debate in Parliament, Saturday, the former Army Commander turned Minister said that the need to maintain a military presence in the North and East is similar to the need to maintain a military presence in the South of the country.

Tamil political parties in the North have been demanding that the military be withdrawn from the North as the war is now over.

However Fonseka said that the Government will not compromise national security.

Meanwhile former Minister Douglas Devananda said that some recent incidents of violence in Jaffna has been linked to political parties in the North.

Devananda told Parliament that the incidents linked to sword gangs must be properly investigated and appropriate legal action taken. (Colombo Gazette)