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angry CBK and the village idiot Though she did not name me this time, she left no doubt the references were pointedly directed at me. It was in an "interview" with State-run media. The text was identical in all the media. She was asked: Q: You had issued a statement when former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe signed the CFA (Ceasefire Agreement) with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Velupillai Prabhakaran on February 22, 2001. You had included your criticism in it. But addressing the 54th SLFP anniversary on September 6 you had mentioned that the CFA was a good thing. Some of the media has reported these words. This has raised questions particularly within the SLFP. What is your stand on the CFA as against what has been reported? She gave a lengthy reply. For reasons of clarity, an English translation of the official text is reproduced in full: A: "I have always said that the CFA was essential to Sri Lanka. I have said the signing of it was very good. But I have maintained that some of the clauses were not good. I have told that some of them should be changed. I said that when I was the President it was wrong for then Prime Minister Mr. Wickremesinghe to go ahead and implement the CFA, particularly without the approval of the Executive President. During President J.R. Jayewardene's period former Prime Minister, R. Premadasa was given the duties of a peon. Accordingly the authority of the Executive was needed. I criticised certain clauses in it. "I maintained that it was a good thing. I was consistent regarding it. I sent a letter to then Prime Minister Mr. Wickremasinghe. We released this letter to the media. In that letter I clearly stated that it was a good thing and that I too had signed something similar. He told me that he was going to do something, but did not tell me about the clauses. "He did not tell me the date when it was being signed. He only told me the idea. I said good and that I will give my fullest co-operation, but it should be discussed with me. That is why I wrote that letter. I said some of the clauses were dangerous. Some of the powers given were dangerous to the country's independence. That is what I said. I never said it was wrong. Speaking at the 54th SLFP anniversary celebrations I talked about development activities of the country during the past 11 years as the President. "These 11 years and nine months were under the SLFP and I was speaking about these activities. During an hour long speech I mentioned that Mr. Wickremasinghe signed the CFA and that was very good despite some shortcomings and then came to the current situation. Even then, in my letter I mentioned it. That was not new. "The question is about some media who call themselves independent. Private media who are not independent but loyal to Ranil Wickremesinghe highlighted this point. I never spoke so long about it. During my public speeches I said it was good, but there were some bad sections in it. Due to the CFA, there is no war, but there are some violations. "An example is the assassination of Mr. Kadirgamar, other killings and abductions. Whilst saying these were bad, I said there was no war. This should be seen relatively. That is what I said. This is being used by them to say that I spoke good about Ranil Wickremesinghe and not about our candidate Mahinda Rajapakse. I commended Rajapakse at length. "The other question is about a person writing for a private media organisation on defence matters who thinks he is a Mahadenamuththa. This person picks up secrets and publishes them keeping the country's national security at stake. Some of them are false. Certain extracts from the letter which I mentioned have been published. I have told my media unit to act. "From the beginning I mentioned it (CFA) was good. Without stating that fact, it is mentioned that I am speaking good about it now. This is after criticising it earlier that I am changing my opinion at different times. Even earlier I said it was a good thing. I told that repeatedly. Even today I say that is good. Otherwise the war will commence. Nobody wants the war. Even the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) says no to war. I have not changed my opinion at any time. This (CFA) is a good thing. But there are shortcomings. Even today I say that." A tape recording of President Kumaratunga making reference in Sinhala to the "person writing for a private media organisation on defence matters who thinks he is Mahadenamuththa" was repeatedly aired by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC). It later extended to the Independent Television Network (ITN) and the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC). This was all on Tuesday. The next day state run print media published the interview as the main story on their front pages. The full authority of the President of Sri Lanka and her State media machinery was being brought to bear on me. For those who are not familiar with Mahadenamuththta, he was a village leader. According to Sinhala folklore villagers sought his advice to solve their problems. He was so foolish, all his advice ended in a fiasco. This leader was also assisted by a set of people who were equally foolish. One of his acts underscores his idiocy. When villagers found it difficult to retrieve a clay pot locked in a goat's head, they turned to Mahadenamuththa. He advised them to cut the goat's neck. Thereafter, when it was difficult to pull out the severed head, he asked that the clay pot be smashed. Unlike that Mahadenamuththa and his idiotic acts, I can reveal now, President Kumaratunga has both directly and through her close advisors sought my views and advice on matters related to national security and the military on a number of occasions. That was during the period when Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Front Government was in power. These were over exposures I had made in The Sunday Times. The catalogue is too long to list here. I will just cite two among many examples due to constraints of space. One related to my revelations about the Police raid on the Army's intelligence cell at Athurugiriya. As a result of a series of exposures in The Sunday Times, she appointed a Presidential Commission of Inquiry. Its findings not only confirmed what I said but prompted her to order the indictment of the Police officer who led the raid. I revealed the recommendations of retired Norwegian Major General Tryggve Tellefsen, then Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to recognise the Sea Tigers as a "de facto" force. On the basis of what I exposed, she raised issue with Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik. Maj. Gen. (retd.) Tellefsen was re-called from Sri Lanka and never returned to his post. Does she now feel her actions were all wrong because they were based on exposures and advice of a village idiot like Mahadenamuththa? If that is the position, she owes the nation an explanation. After her latest remarks, I began receiving telephone calls from many friends, relatives, well wishers, diplomats and contacts inquiring why President Kumaratunga was once again targeting me. Many remembered the angry references she made to me when she addressed officers of the Armed Forces and Police on Friday July 29. The callers included two of President Kumaratunga's own Cabinet Ministers and several officers in the Armed Forces and the Police. Some of the latter warned me about my safety since "interested parties" could take cover under her outrage to cause bodily harm and point the finger at the Government. They reminded me of previous instances. One such instance came in the late 1990s when I was exposing corruption then in the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF). Armed men conducted a night raid on my house on February 12 1998. Two Air Force officers, then serving, were indicted in the Colombo High Court. The late Sarath Ambeypitiya, High Court Judge sentenced them to ten years rigorous imprisonment. They were also fined Rs 10,000 each. The case is now in appeal. In this instance the conduct of investigations by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and its successful conclusion before Courts were only possible because of President Kumaratunga. She resisted all pressures, some from her own powerful ministers and ensured that investigations were not stalled, and justice was meted out. That incident occurred in the backdrop of a vicious campaign by the State media over purported allegations that I was leaking military secrets. I was in fact exposing corrupt activity in military procurements then. A powerful politician then closely associated with President Kumaratunga, who made these allegations, was behind the moves. On one occasion, in November 1997, he was behind a plot to have Selvathurai Senthinathan, described as an LTTE translator, to give a mock interview over state run television networks and declare he translated to Tamil what I wrote in the Situation Report. He said his translations were given directly to his leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Before this plot was executed, I was tipped off. We could not wait till the next edition of The Sunday Times. The precursor to today's Daily Mirror, the Midweek Mirror and the Lankadeepa reported details of this plot. Yet, the powerful politician went ahead. He chaired a meeting of state media officials including those from Rupavahini, ITN, SLBC and Lake House at a room in the Police Special Task Force Headquarters at Bullers Road, Colombo. Also taking part was the Military Spokesman at that time. Besides asking them to use the taped video interview, he also directed that transcripts be made available to the print media. It was he who was at the butt end of my exposures over corrupt activity. I have since been able to unravel more details behind this plot. Senthinathan was trained by an Intelligence officer of a service arm based in Colombo. He now holds a different position in an important area. There were special flights for this officer to travel to a hideout near Vavuniya where Senthinathan was "trained." An Air Force official, one among whom corruption allegations were revealed, made available a flight to collect the tape of the recorded interview. When the coaching by the intelligence officer ended, the interview was aired over state run radio and television. The transcript was printed in the State run media. Then Senthinathan told this intelligence officer not to send him back to Wanni. He feared he would be killed. The on camera interviewer, a journalist who became a volunteer Army officer, later disclosed to me how he received briefings and the pointed questions revolving around me. Funny enough, he apologised to me for having to undertake "the contract" under orders. The confession came two years later when he came home to invite me for his book launch. Later, during a visit to Kilinochchi in June 2002 LTTE's media spokesman Daya Master, who was escorting me to various areas pointed at Mr. Senthinathan. He was walking along a road near the town. Daya Master said Senthinathan had never worked for the LTTE in any capacity. Though conversant in English, Senthinathan has had a medical history of having an unsound mind and had strayed into a military camp, he said. So, that conspiracy failed. What I was disclosing on corruption in military procurement then has at last, been acted upon. The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption is now dealing with some of those including this once powerful politician who reportedly made millions making hay during "Eelam War Three" - the costliest phase in terms of both human and material losses. It was during the tenure of President Kumaratunga's then People's Alliance Government. Even in this instance, I must say in fairness to President Kumaratunga, she disapproved of the actions of this powerful politician, at least in my case. That is why the sinister campaign could not be continued. For reasons of confidentiality, I cannot elaborate. Why am I being targeted now? Is it for "picking up and publishing secrets," publicly claimed to be half truths, that purportedly places the "country's national security at stake"? No, it is not and that is very clear. All this finger pointing at me is over last week's Situation Report in The Sunday Times where I commented on the remarks President Kumaratunga made about the CFA at the 54th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Readers of The Sunday Times, who are discerning enough, are the best judges of what I said last week. They can easily compare that account with the angry and contradictory responses that have emanated from President Kumaratunga. The Situation Report, her letters to Mr. Wickremesinghe and her remarks are all in the public domain. Before any further comments, I reproduce below a verbatim account of the relevant remark made by President Kumaratunga. As reported earlier, besides the 54th anniversary of the SLFP, this was also the occasion when her party's candidate for the upcoming presidential election was being introduced to a large gathering. The account in Sinhala, given below, is a transcript from her tape recorded speech. It is followed by an English translation.
"Dear friends, we should not forget that. We want to establish the ceasefire permanently and through that invite the LTTE to stop these breaches. They have agreed after the assassination of Lakshman Kadirgamar. Now the dispute is where the talks should be held. But the LTTE has said they are willing to discuss this. But we should be able to talk of a peace that could be implemented. We should offer at least devolution of power, to the LTTE which is demanding a separate state." Her speech was made on September 6. The next day both print and electronic media, except the State run, took note of the significance of her remarks. Here was an occasion where she was paying tribute (Pranamaya in Sinhala) to Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe. Though the reference was brief, she was acknowledging that it had helped the economy. Tourist arrivals had increased three fold compared to those days, she said. Despite a drop during the tsunami, it was picking up now, she declared. The issue here was not about the CFA, which President Kumaratunga, had always said, was very good. No one in his or her right senses would say President Kumaratunga was opposed to the CFA. Here was an occasion where she was paying tribute to the man (Ranil Wickremesinghe) who brought about that ceasefire and was acknowledging that it had helped the economy. This was in marked contrast to her earlier claims that he had endangered national security. The accusations were made in a string of letters she wrote and in public speeches she made. Then she never paid him any tribute nor acknowledge the benefits to the economy. Instead she took over the portfolios of Defence, Interior and Mass Communication. That was from Mr. Wickremesinghe's United National Front (UNF) Government. Here was the difference. And such a public tribute was coming on the occasion when she was formally endorsing, for the first time, her own party's presidential candidate. Naturally, several media outlets, both print and electronic, highlighted this tribute. Particular mention should be made of Maharaja Television Network (MTV) which repeatedly broadcast footage of President Kumaratunga's remarks just the way she said it. Could the private media be faulted for not being independent because they reported this? Can they be blamed as being loyal to Ranil Wickremesinghe just because they highlighted this matter which was newsworthy and of public interest? Though she did not speak so long on this subject, has not President Kumaratunga said something of national importance after more than three and half years of the ceasefire? Why then blame it on the private media? Why did the other media choose to remain silent? Is it not worthy to report President Kumaratunga paying tribute to her main adversary whom she had only criticised since the signing of the CFA? More so when lot of scorn has been poured over him over the CFA? Was it because it amounted to bad publicity? These are among a plethora of questions that would arise in the public mind. It is to underscore the significance of President Kumaratunga's observations that the Situation Report last week was almost entirely devoted to this subject. There are no secrets and no national security at stake in this. This accusation is often made as a smoke screen whenever some politicians find themselves in an uncomfortable position. I had made reference to the nine page letter she sent Mr. Wickremesinghe on February 27 2002, just five days after he had signed the Ceasefire Agreement. That letter is public knowledge. It is well known that President Kumaratunga told Mr. Wickremasinghe she was "indeed glad you have arrived at a Ceasefire Agreement with the LTTE." As I said, it was President Kumaratunga, who in the past formed the fountain from which all the criticism on the Ceasefire Agreement had flowed. She had even raised questions of legality over the CFA then. But now she was paying tribute to Mr. Wickremasinghe. From that letter, I quoted extensively on the serious concerns raised by President Kumaratunga over some Articles of the CFA. Due to constraints of space, I cannot repeat them. That was to point out that nothing had been done about them.I therefore raised the following issue: "If the defence portfolio was taken over and later the UPFA Government was voted to power more than a year ago, these serious concerns were never addressed. A review of the CFA is now being called for on grounds relating to escalating violence. Here again, it is to examine its stricter enforceability and not to amend any provisions that have remained causes for serious concern over the past three and half years. Was it lack of vision then or lack of foresight now?" President Kumaratunga is evidently angered and even embarrassed that I have posed this question. Instead of responding to this, she has made accusations at me. If indeed she had taken follow up action on the issues she raised with Ranil Wickremasinghe, the public have a right to know. The question comes to the fore since she has now paid tribute to Mr. Wickremasinghe and is due to talk with the LTTE on the working of the CFA. I said last week that "despite the many concerns she raised with Mr. Wickremesinghe in her nine page letter three years ago and in correspondence thereafter, the guerrillas constructed a 1.2 kilometre long airstrip and acquired air capability. It is now known that military hardware is still coming in." As pointed out, all this is in marked contrast to the Security Forces whose level of preparedness dropped drastically. This is no secret. Ask any military official and he will confirm. I never claimed to know everything nor will I do so. But it seems a crime to raise issue in the public interest with those who know everything and have the power to say anything, anywhere. It was only on July 29 President Kumaratunga addressed a thousand senior officers of the Armed Forces and Police on the P-TOMS (Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure to share foreign aid with the LTTE). Commodore Somatilleke Dissanayake, Deputy Area Commander, Northern Naval Area Headquarters in Kankesanthurai raised a question about weekend newspapers baring information to the enemy and creating dissension in the officer ranks. Noting that it was an important question, President Kumaratunga replied "I know he is the man (Oya Miniha) who is doing all this. That man called Iqbal Athas, who picks up a piece of gossip (gossip kellak) and magnifies them, as if he knows everything. She turned to Police Chief Chandra Fernando and asked whether action could not be taken under the Official Secrets Act. She then declared that the job of a Defence Correspondent was to analyse a situation, point out the outcome and any shortcomings. The Sunday Times (Situation Report ( July 31 2005). What Commodore Dissanayake complained about was a series of reports in The Sunday Times (Situation Report). Sinhala translations of such reports appear in the Lankadeepa. Most of these reports centred on recommendations by then Commander of the Navy and now Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Daya Sandagiri to procure vessels and armaments at enormous cost. Questions were raised on alleged corrupt activity. An official Government Committee tasked with military procurements rejected moves to procure these items. And now, the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption is probing some aspects. In this regard, they are now in communication with Admiral Sandagiri too. He is being called upon to answer several questions. I am
not alone in the long list of persons President Kumaratunga has
directed cheap personal jibes during her eleven and half years as
President. Once she accused Ranil Wickremesinghe of having "Katey
Pittu" (or Pittu in the mouth). On another occasion, she mocked
then Finance Minister, K.N. Choksy over national television. She
identified the Editor of a newspaper by name and called him a worm.
Another response which showed she reacts with fury when things are
not favourable to her came after the Supreme Court's landmark interim
order on the P-TOMS case. "The LTTE and the Government formulated an agreement to reconstruct the devastated areas by the tsunami…. but we have a terribly extremist organisation of a political party, JVP, in Sri Lanka which happened to be a partner of my recent coalition…… "They even objected to this little arrangement and they went to the Supreme Court which is the highest law court in the country, and the Supreme Court has stayed action against this arrangement and we cannot go forward….. (pause).. I don't know if the Supreme Court also has extremists or what." Her comments prompted the Asian Tribune web site (http: www.asiantribune.com) to remark on September 14 (in the report about the interview with CCTV 9) that "President Kumaratunga is known to let her tongue run loose whenever she is under pressure or frustrated. Often she denies statements made in public accusing the media of misreporting her. Her latest attack on the Supreme Court is seen as the reaction of a politician losing her sense of balance." The same web site quoted a political commentator as saying "She is about to fall from the highest pedestal she ever occupied. It is natural for her to react impulsively to make-believe that she is in command and can continue to dictate terms." She has now conferred the title Mahadenamuththa on me. But during a meeting at the Janadipathi Mandiraya, her official residence, on a Poya Day afternoon in late 2003, she offered me an entirely different title. Unfortunately, the only other witness to this most gracious offer, Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar is no more. He has laid down his life in defending the unwavering principles he stood for. I will not say anymore for I am not sure whether this will also be categorised as half untruth. Of course, the United National Front was running the administration at that time, and I was being critical of them. |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
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Within
a short span of just nine weeks, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga,
President, Head of State, Head of Government, Head of the Cabinet,
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of Defence,
has singled me out again to make personal jibes.
