AArmy sources say the exhibition organized under the supervision of Chief of Defence Staff General Sarath Fonseka as part of the anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lanka Army has become politicized due to undue intervention by Major General Shavendra Silva and has also resulted in increasing the differences between the Defence Secretary and the Chief of Defence Staff.

Sources further said Chief of Defence Staff, General Sarath Fonseka planned to hold the 60th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Army, which is the first Army celebration to be held after defeating the LTTE, on a grand scale even before leaving office as the Army Chief and had therefore constantly supervised the exhibition and visited the BMICH on the 29th for a final inspection of the exhibition ground.

After inspecting the site for a few hours, General Fonseka had left the premises giving instructions to the relevant officials not to make any changes to the exhibits that have been approved by him.

However, after General Fonseka had left the exhibition site, Major General Shavendra Silva had visited the site and had made changes in the order of photographs that were exhibited on the site claiming it to be the orders of the Defence Secretary and had added a set of photographs featuring the President.

Shavendra Silva had informed the Defence Secretary that the area plans and photographs depicting the Mavilaru victory that ends with the final battle defeating the LTTE gave much prominence to General Sarath Fonseka and that at the end of the journey, Fonseka emerged as a hero when it should give promote the President.

Shavendra had proposed a change in the order of the photographs to the Defence Secretary. The Defence Secretary had in turn agreed to Shavendra’s proposal and had ordered him to change the exhibition site within 48 hours in a manner that would promote the President and had also asked Managing Director of Triad Advertising Dilith Jayaweera to help Shaveendra in the matter.

Major General Shavendra Silva together with Dilith Jayaweera’s group had managed to change the exhibition site in a manner that would promote the President on October 1 and 2.
Shavendra Silva managed to remove General Sarath Fonseka’s photograph that was portrayed in a position that gave it much prominence at the end of the exhibition and replaced it with a portrait of the President kissing the ground.

Finally, the exhibition that was opened by the President on October 3 was not the site that was approved by General Sarath Fonseka.

Senior Army officials now claim that the honor of politicizing the Army exhibition rested with Major General Shavendra Silva.

A senior government minister said there were no differences between the Army exhibition and the government’s Deyata Kirula exhibition.