He said he was prepared to face the allegations leveled by the UNHRC, on behalf of the armed forces, and get cleared of all the charges.

He was speaking at the presentation of colours for the light infantry regiment at its Panagoda headquarters.

Mr. Sirisena is the first head of state to attend a colours presentation of the light infantry regiment.

Military will not be weakened

He said he would give a pledge before the war heroes’ memorial never to weaken the military.

During the final war, he said, he had served as the acting defence minister, by which he has a clear understanding of the complexities of the war.

Also, he had escaped LTTE attacks on five occasions, said the president, adding that he can recall the unpleasant past and the pleasant war victory.

Despite allegations by political opponents that the government was trying to weaken to armed forces, he said that both officially and unofficially, he would introduce new technological knowhow and make the Sri Lankan armed forces as a leading military.