Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake, a former military spokesman and decorated combat officer, assumed duties on the 1^st of August 2013 as the 20^th commander of the Sri Lanka Army. No former commander ever assumed duties under more inauspicious circumstances for barely had the ceremonial takeover of command concluded than straightaway came reports that the Sri Lanka Army had clashed with unarmed protesters in Weliveriya in the Gampaha District, with scores injured and several dead.   Read the rest of this entry »