By

Saman Indrajith

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday told Parliament that no permission had been granted by the Ministry of Defence nor booking notes had been issued to release weapons to sea marshals from the floating armoury belonging to the Avant Garde Company.

Responding to a series of questions raised by JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake previously, the Premier said that there were no documents to ascertain the number of weapons on board or which country they belonged to.

The government of Sri Lanka had not issued a single licence to any of the weapons in the floating armoury, he said.

“All those weapons had licences issued by different countries and weapons were released and taken back under supervision of the Navy,” he said.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said there were no documents to prove then Sri Lankan Ambassador to Nigeria, A.S.P. Liyanage had acted as a mediator or signed any agreement between Avant Garde and Nigerian company.

The PM ruled out the allegation of government stalwarts attempting to influence and manipulate the Attorney General to hinder on-going investigations on Avant Garde.

JVP Leader Dissanayake on Oct. 06 questioned the progress of investigations into the floating armoury. He asked the Prime Minister to explain to Parliament which official had permitted the entry and maintenance of a floating armoury in Lankan waters and demanded to know whether the firearms found in the floating armoury had licences.

Yesterday, MP Dissanayake demanded a debate on Avant Garde incident and a select committee to probe the matter.

PM Wickremesinghe said; “We shall discuss the matter at Party Leaders’ meeting and take a decision.”

Courtesy:The Island