Colombo, Nov 09: Sri Lanka's sacked Defence minister acknowledged today that a rebel Tamil tigers' camp near Trincomalee posed a threat to the eastern port, but denied he had been lax in his duties as claimed by President Chandrika Kumaratunga. The camp had existed for several years and the President had long known about it, the former minister Thilak Marapana told a media conference here.
Rebels in the camp were particularly dangerous as they possessed three or four heavy artillery pieces which they had captured from government troops, he added.
"We are aware of the threat and have taken adequate steps to safeguard against that threat, and (Kumaratunga) knows that," he said.
The President cited the presence of the camp as one of the reasons for wresting control of Marapana's portfolio and those of the Information and the Interior Ministers on Tuesday.
She also claimed that during the peace negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Marapana and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had endangered the security of the state through their laxity on defence matters.
Marapana today denied he had been deficient in his duties.
"At no time did I or the Prime Minister endanger the security of the state," he told reporters.
Bureau Report