Sri Lanka security measures not relaxed despite the end of the war

Sri Lanka has not relaxed security measures in the country or reduced the strength of its security forces despite the conclusion of the three-decade long war with the Tamil Tiger terrorist organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) nearly three years ago, the military has said.
The military has stressed that the security forces have taken top measures to consolidate national security and according to the Army spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya Army troops have been positioned to cover the entire island. The Army spokesman has further noted that Army personnel are also assisting the country's development projects and due to their contributions the country has been able to save three billion rupees. The Sri Lanka Army's Humanitarian Demining Unit also conducts the mine and unexploded ordnance removal operations in the former battlefields of the North which were heavily mined during the LTTE control. Media director of the Army Brigadier G.V. Ravipriya has said that a total area of 1,937 square kilometers has been cleared up to the end of February 2012. According to the Economic Development Ministry an area of 124.7 sq km is yet to be cleared in the North and East of buried death traps, landmines and other deadly explosives. Air Force media spokesman Group Captain Andrew Wijesuriya has told the state-run radio SLBC that a special aviation safety programme is also being implemented and air surveillance is being carried out continuously. Undertaking non-military air operations connected with national development, the peace-time Air Force has also implemented a program to develop runways of domestic airports, the spokesman has noted. Navy media spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasooriya has meanwhile told the SLBC that the Navy has been able to establish maximum security in the seas off the island, which according to the spokesman is seven times larger than the land area. The number of naval camps has been increased tow fold, he has added. The Navy is continuously conducting 24-hour naval patrol in the sea along coastal areas to control drug and human trafficking as well as to prevent the intrusions by possible terrorists or criminals from the seas that threaten the security of the country. Sri Lankan security forces comprehensively defeated the LTTE terrorist group and restored peace in May 2009. Although there are no known incidents of terrorist activities within the country since then, intelligence reports reveal that the overseas pro-LTTE groups and LTTE cadres who fled the country during and soon after the military operation are regrouping in Europe and Canada.