State Intelligence Service (Sri Lanka)

State Intelligence Service
SIS
Agency overview
Formed 1984
Preceding agency
  • National Intelligence Bureau
Jurisdiction Government of Sri Lanka
Headquarters Colombo, Sri Lanka
Minister responsible
Agency executive
  • Nilantha Jayawardena [1], Director
Parent agency Ministry of Defence

The State Intelligence Service (SIS) is an intelligence agency of the Sri Lankan government.[2][3] It is tasked with both internal and external intelligence. It comes directly under the Ministry of Defence and was formerly known as the National Intelligence Bureau.

History

Until 1984, the Sri Lanka Police were responsible for internal intelligence functions, first under the Special Branch, and later under the Intelligence Services Division. The perceived failure of the Intelligence Services Division during the riots of July 1983 led the J.R. Jayawardene Government to re-evaluate the nation's intelligence network, and in 1984 the President set up a National Intelligence Bureau. The new organization combined intelligence units from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Police.[4] It was renamed the State Intelligence Service in 2006.

LTTE agents successfully infiltrated Sri Lankan government and military organisations resulting in the assassinations of several high-ranking military personnel, including Major Tuan Mutalif and Colonel Tuan Meedin both of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, putting Sri Lankan intelligence services in a desperate condition. Under the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa the intelligence agencies that were in desperate condition built-up a cohesive apparatus, which achieved significant success, including anti-LTTE operations overseas and the SIS played huge role in the Fourth Ealam war.[5]

In January 2015 the Director of the SIS, Chandra Wakista, resigned following the Presidential election, amid allegations of phone tapping of opposition politicians.[6] In March Nilantha Jayawardena was appointed as the SIS Director.[1]

Directorates

Operations

Kumaran Pathmanathan aka KP, who was involved in arms procurement for LTTE, was captured in Malaysia and moved to Sri Lanka via Thailand by this Agency.[7]

Recently some former LTTE members were captured from Southeast Asian countries and moved to Sri Lanka by State Intelligence Service and Military Intelligence Corps (Sri Lanka) of Sri Lanka Army together.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Nilantha appointed SIS chief". Sri Lankan Mirror. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  2. ↑ Slashing of security and the slaying of a politico
  3. ↑ Tigers sustain three-pronged strategy
  4. ↑ SRI LANKA - A Country Study
  5. ↑ http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20100517_02
  6. ↑ "Intelligence Chief Quits". Sri Lanka Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  7. ↑

External links

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