State Intelligence Service (Sri Lanka)

Last updated
State Intelligence Service
State Intelligence Service (Sri Lanka) logo.svg
Agency overview
Formed1984;39 years ago (1984)
Jurisdiction Government of Sri Lanka
Headquarters Colombo, Sri Lanka
Minister responsible
Agency executive
  • Suresh Sallay, Director
Parent agency Ministry of Defence

The State Intelligence Service (SIS) is an intelligence agency of the Sri Lankan government. [1] [2] It is the primary civilian intelligence agency of Sri Lanka and is responsible for both internal and external intelligence-gathering. It comes under the purview of the Ministry of Defence. The agency was originally named National Intelligence Bureau.

Contents

Role

SIS is responsible for the collection of intelligence about threats from internal and external sources to be used in the formulation of government policies and strategies. The duties carried out by the SIS are mainly categorized into, [3]

  1. Collection and analysis of information.
  2. Conducting undercover investigations.
  3. Conduct background checks on applicants recruited to sensitive institutions including the Armed Forces, Police and other selected state institutions.
  4. Issue threat assessment reports on VVIP and VIP security and governmental affairs.
  5. Conducting training programs for other institutions.
  6. Maintaining foreign relations on national security issues

Organisation

The SIS is part of the Ministry of Defence and is separate from the Police and Military intelligence but its staff consists of those from both police and military backgrounds. The SIS is led by a director general, traditionally from the Police but this was broken in 2019. . [4] [5]

History

Until 1984, the Sri Lanka Police were responsible for internal intelligence functions, first under the Special Branch, and later under the Intelligence Services Division.[ citation needed ] The perceived failure of the Intelligence Services Division during the riots of July 1983 led the J.R. Jayawardene Government to re-evaluate the nation's intelligence network, and in 1984 the President set up a National Intelligence Bureau. [6] The new organization combined intelligence units from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Police. [7] It was renamed the State Intelligence Service in 2006.

LTTE agents successfully infiltrated Sri Lankan government and military organizations resulting in the assassinations of several high-ranking military personnel, including Major Tuan Mutalif and Colonel Tuan Meedin both of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, putting Sri Lankan intelligence services in a desperate condition.[ citation needed ] Under the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa the intelligence agencies that were in desperate condition built-up a cohesive apparatus, which achieved significant success, including anti-LTTE operations overseas and the SIS played huge role in the Fourth Ealam war. The SIS was involved in the dismantling of the large number of long-term sleeper cells planted by the LTTE in cities helping Police track down criminals who were helping the LTTE for financial gain. [8] [4]

In January 2015 the director of the SIS, Chandra Wakista, resigned following the presidential election, amid allegations of phone tapping of opposition politicians. [9] In March Nilantha Jayawardena was appointed as the SIS director. [10]

In December 2019 the newly elected president Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed Brigadier Suresh Sallay the former head of Directorate of Military Intelligence as the head of SIS. Sallay is the first director of the SIS to come from the Military Intelligence instead of the Police. [5]

Directorates

Operations

Kumaran Pathmanathan aka KP, who was involved in arms procurement for LTTE, was captured in Malaysia and moved to Sri Lanka via Thailand by this Agency. [11]

Recently some former LTTE members were captured from Southeast Asian countries and moved to Sri Lanka by State Intelligence Service and Military Intelligence Corps (Sri Lanka) of Sri Lanka Army together.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam</span> Militant Tamil organisation in Sri Lanka (1976–2009)

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a Tamil militant organization that was based in northeastern Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lankan Civil War</span> 1983–2009 conflict

The Sri Lankan Civil War was a civil war fought in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009. Beginning on 23 July 1983, it was an intermittent insurgency against the government by the Velupillai Prabhakaran-led Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the north-east of the island, due to the continuous discrimination and violent persecution against Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lanka government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Task Force (Sri Lanka)</span> Military unit

The Special Task Force (STF) (Sinhala: විශේෂ කාර්ය බලකාය Visesha Karya Balakaya; Tamil: சிறப்பு அதிரடிப் படை) is an elite police tactical unit of the Sri Lanka Police specialising in clandestine and covert operations, combat and patrolling in urban areas, combat search and rescue, counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations, crowd control, executive protection, forward observer, hostage rescue, indirect fire, irregular warfare, jungle and mountain warfare, parachuting, psychological warfare, search and rescue people who are in distress or imminent danger from disaster. serving high-risk arrest and search warrants, special reconnaissance, support military operations, tactical emergency medical, tracking, and unconventional tactics. It was formed in 1983 not as a military force, but rather as a highly specialised armed police unit.

A security agency is a governmental organization that conducts intelligence activities for the internal security of a nation. They are the domestic cousins of foreign intelligence agencies, and typically conduct counterintelligence to thwart other countries' foreign intelligence efforts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parami Kulatunga</span> Sri Lankan army general

Lieutenant General Parami Sudammika Bandara Kulatunga, RSP, VSV, USP was a Sri Lanka Army general. He was serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and its third highest-ranking officer at the time of his assassination. On the morning of 26 June, he was killed by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber who drove an explosives laden motorbike into his staff car as it was driving to a military base at Pannipitiya near Colombo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarath Fonseka</span> Sri Lankan senior army officer

Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka,, commonly known as Sarath Fonseka, is a retired Sri Lankan army officer and politician. He was the eighteenth Commander of Sri Lanka Army, and under his command the Sri Lanka Army ended the 26-year Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009, defeating the militant group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam; he thereafter briefly served as the Chief of Defence Staff. After retiring from the Army with the rank of General, he entered politics as the common opposition candidate in the 2010 presidential election contesting against President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Ministry of Defence is the cabinet ministry of the Government of Sri Lanka responsible for implementation of government defence policy and acts as the overall headquarters of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka Civil Security Force</span> National Home Guard Service

The Department of Civil Security is an auxiliary force administered by the Ministry of Defence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Tigers</span> Air force of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

The Tamil Eelam Air Force or Sky Tigers was the air-wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who used it against the Government of Sri Lanka. They also called themselves the Tamileelam Air Force (TAF). Though the existence of the Sky Tigers had been the subject of speculation for many years, the existence of the wing was only revealed after an attack in March 2007, during Eelam War IV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuan Nizam Muthaliff</span>

Colonel Tuan Nizam Muthaliff, RWP, MI was a Sri Lanka Army officer and intelligence officer who, while serving as the commanding officer, 1 Military Intelligence Corps, was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the ceasefire and peace process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gotabaya Rajapaksa</span> President of Sri Lanka from 2019 to 2022

Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is a former Sri Lankan politician and military officer, who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his resignation on 14 July 2022 due to months of public anger. He previously served as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development from 2005 to 2015 under the administration of his elder brother former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, during the final phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War.

Shanmugam Kumaran Tharmalingam is a former prominent member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Pathmanathan was on Interpol's most wanted list for various charges including arms smuggling and criminal conspiracy. He is also wanted by India's law enforcement agencies in connection with the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and for violation of the Terrorist Act and the Indian Explosive Act. He was arrested on 5 August 2009. Pathmanathan was released from prison on 17 October 2012, when the complaints against him by Sri Lanka were withdrawn.

The core of the security and intelligence system of the Republic of Croatia consists of two security and intelligence agencies:

The Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) (Sinhala: දිගු දුර විහිදුම් බලකාය Digu Dura Vihidum Balakaya) is a covert operation unit of Sri Lanka Army Special Forces. This unit is also known as the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU). Colonel Raj Vijayasiri of the Special Forces is credited as the main figure who introduced the DPU concept first to Special Forces of Sri Lankan army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka Armed Forces</span> Combined military forces of Sri Lanka

The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, and the Sri Lanka Air Force; they are governed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The three services have around 346,700 active personnel; conscription has never been imposed in Sri Lanka. As of 2021 it is the 17th largest military organisation in the world, with 1.5% of the Sri Lankan population actively serving. Sri Lanka Armed Forces are Asia one of the best-funded in the world, having the world's 25th largest defense budget.

Divisions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam refers to the military, intelligence and overseas divisions the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Most of these divisions were destroyed during the Eelam War IV, and only parts of the intelligence and financing divisions remain overseas.

The Millennium City Scandal refers to a military scandal that took place within the Millennium City housing scheme, Athurugiriya, Sri Lanka on 2 January 2002. Widespread media coverage and miscommunication between the Directorate of Military Intelligence and the Sri Lanka Police resulted in the exposure of military covert operations units known as the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols of the Sri Lanka Army. Identities of its members were classified and known to only to a few high-ranking military officers and the President of Sri Lanka.

North-East Rehabilitation and Development Organization (NERDO) is a Non-Governmental Organization in Sri Lanka, created by Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the ex-chief arms procurer and leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). After Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias KP was captured by Sri Lankan military intelligence operatives in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia in August 2009, he was brought into Sri Lanka. Since then, as a result of confidence and understanding shared between Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and KP, he began to collaborate with Sri Lankan Government. On 9 July 2010, KP registered his organization for the provision of relief to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) while upgrading facilities for better physical, mental and living conditions for them. He also stated that one of the main objectives of NERDO was to upgrade education facilities of children. Thavaratnam Sinniah, president of the Jaffna District Fisheries Societies’ Federation acts as its chairman and KP as the secretary. NERDO is also involved in the reintegration process of former LTTE cadres. Its projects include building orphanages, vocational training centers, model farms etc. First NERDO operated children’s home Anpu Illam was declared open in Muthaiyankattu village, Mullaitivu in July 2011.

The Government of Sri Lanka maintains intelligence agencies that conduct intelligence activities to support the national security of Sri Lanka. Their intelligence assessments contribute to the conduct of national security, military planning and law enforcement. The main organisations are the State Intelligence Service and the Directorate of Military Intelligence. These intelligence agencies are coordinated by the Chief of National Intelligence (CNI), who reports to the Secretary of Defense.

References

  1. ↑ Fuard, Asif (6 January 2008). "Slashing of security and the slaying of a politico". Sunday Times .
  2. ↑ Jeyaraji, D. B. S. "Tigers sustain three-pronged strategy". The Nation .
  3. ↑ "Performance Report 2019 - Ministry of Defence" (PDF). Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  4. 1 2 Moorcraft, Paul L. (19 March 2013). Total destruction of the Tamil Tigers : the rare victory of Sri Lanka's long war. Barnsley, South Yorkshire. ISBN   978-1-78383-074-9. OCLC   865026030.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. 1 2 "Sri Lanka intel chief sacked over Easter attacks". 9 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  6. ↑ Williams, Clive (30 April 2019). "Public Sector Informant: Should heads roll after New Zealand and Sri Lankan intelligence failures?". Canberra Times . Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  7. ↑ SRI LANKA - A Country Study
  8. ↑ "Role of Intelligence Services". www.defence.lk. Archived from the original on 2013-09-13.
  9. ↑ "Intelligence Chief Quits". Sri Lanka Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Nilantha appointed SIS chief". Sri Lankan Mirror. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  11. ↑ Athas, Iqbal (9 August 2009). "KP- he knows secrets that have never been told". Sunday Times .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.