Sri Lanka warns of Western intrusion

Sri Lanka has cautioned its citizens over possible attempts by some Western countries to infiltrate the island similar to what was done in the Arab region. The country's Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, in a live interview on state television on Tuesday night, said that some countries may use various excuses to remove even a democratically elected government. Rajapaksa accused the Western countries involved in the operations to remove former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi of double standards as those same countries had raised objections to Sri Lanka's military operations against the Tamil Tiger rebels. Several Western countries including Britain have been calling for an international independent investigation in the alleged war crimes committed in Sri Lanka during the final stages of the war against the rebels. The Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tigers in May 2009 after 30 years of war but human rights groups and some Western countries allege that the military also killed unarmed rebel leaders and civilians in the process. Rajapaksa said that if those countries are seeking accountability in Sri Lanka then they should be held accountable for Gaddafi's death as well. He urged the Sri Lankan people to be cautious as the Western countries which sought to overthrow leaders in several Arab states may attempt to do the same even in Sri Lanka using human rights as an excuse. Rajapaksa also said that some former top Sri Lankan military officers have now been posted as diplomats overseas for specific reasons including to monitor the activities of Tamil Tiger supporters living overseas.