Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has expressed concerns about a possible conspiracy to assassinate her, similar to the politically motivated assassination of her late husband, Vijaya Kumaratunga.
In a letter to the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security, Ravi Seneviratne, she raised objections to the recent reduction in her security detail. According to the letter, Senior DIG Ajith Hemasiri issued a directive on October 31 reducing her security personnel from 50 to 30.
Kumaratunga highlighted the disparity in security allocation among former presidents, noting that other former heads of state receive teams of 243, 200, and 109 security personnel, while she has been assigned only 30. She expressed confusion over the criteria used to make this decision, emphasizing that she is the most threatened among the five retired presidents and the only one who has survived an assassination attempt.
The letter further claims that police intelligence had previously informed her of threats made by the LTTE in 2006 and 2014, declaring their intention to target her even in retirement. Despite these warnings, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa retains 243 security personnel, including 63 military officers and 180 police officers, while Maithripala Sirisena has 109 police officers, and Gotabaya Rajapaksa is protected by 200 security personnel, including 175 military officers. In contrast, Kumaratunga’s security has been reduced from 50 to 30 personnel.
Kumaratunga also questioned the current government’s stance on VIP security. Referring to statements made by JVP leaders during the presidential election, in which they pledged not to seek VIP security upon gaining power, she pointed out that government leaders now have substantial security provisions, suggesting that even they recognize the necessity of such protection for VIPs in Sri Lanka.
