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CBK vs The Sunday Times: Who said what?
Last week's political commentary on Page 10 has drawn a response from former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. She has sent a letter to The Sunday Times on the letterhead of "The President's Office" dated 23 November, 2005. It is an old-letterhead with President Kumaratunga's Presidential insignia. President Kumaratunga ceased to be President on November 18, 2005.

Mr. Chandrapala Liyanage, spokesman for President Mahinda Rajapakse said yesterday that none other than the President (Mr. Rajapakse) was entitled to use official letterheads of "The President 's Office" .

"Former Presidents always make that clear. For example, President Wijetunga's letterhead says "President Wijetunga's Office," Mr. Liyanage pointed out. He said the use of the letter head to suggest President Kumaratunga was still president was an abuse.In any event, we reproduce Ms. Kumaratunga's letter to The Sunday Times in full, with the Political Editor's brief rejoinder below it.
I write with reference to your political editor's column carried in the Sunday Times of 20th November 2005. President Kumaratunga wishes to state that she has watched in silence for several months while confidential conversations between her and Mr. Rajapakse which no one else was privy to, have been consistently carried in your political correspondent's column.

Firstly, she would like to congratulate the "Sunday Times" for its ability to obtain details of confidential conversations between President Kumaratunga and her Prime Minister, which could only have been related to you by one of the two persons concerned.

She has decided to break her silence because every one of these conversations have been reported in an incorrect manner, to the disadvantage of President Kumaratunga and to the advantage of the other person concerned.

She regrets that the "reporter" has been making totally false reports of actual incidents and that you have not taken the trouble to verify facts from the 2nd person concerned in this.

The particular column with which we take issue has been designed to clearly imply that President Kumaratunga is a power hungry person, trying to cling on to a few more days of power, in a most lowly and insulting fashion.

President Kumaratunga wishes to state that there are totally incorrect statements carried in the said column. We would be most grateful if you could carry this correction in your Sunday newspapers, according the same prominence that you have given the false statements.
I give below the relevant incorrect facts and the true situation with regard to them.
1. At the bottom of column 01, you state that Mr. Rajapakse had made arrangements to be sworn in as President on the 18th and that President Kumaratunga asked him not to do so and to wait until after the 23rd November.
The first part of the statement is completely erroneous. When President Kumaratunga called Mr. Rajapakse around 9.30 a.m. on the 18th to wish him for his birthday and his victory, Mr. Rajapakse did not inform her that he has already planned to take oaths at 6.00 p.m. that day. President Kumaratunga wished him and asked him when he intended to take oaths as arrangements for the ceremony had to be made by her staff, as is usually done.

The Prime Minister informed her that he was awaiting a date and time from the astrologer. At the time Mr. Rajapakse did not reveal to her that he had already decided to take oaths at 6.00p.m. that day - the 18th of November, and that he had instructed his Secretary, Mr. Weeratunga to contact the President's Secretary, Mr. Karunaratne, requesting him to make arrangements for the oaths ceremony. Therefore the question of President Kumaratunga requesting Mr. Rajapakse to postpone his swearing in did not arise in anyway.

2. Later on in the conversation President Kumaratunga did inform Mr. Rajapakse that she had agreed to a proposal that the incoming President should not simply take his oaths and go away as has happened for former Presidents, but that there should be a ceremonial welcome for the incoming President, as well as a ceremonial farewell to the outgoing President. This was to become the practice for all future Presidents to follow. President Kumaratunga agreed to this on the basis that part of the vision of her Governments was an endeavour at good and decent governance and that in a country where there is much polarization in the political sphere, it would be a good practice for the outgoing President to hand over in a dignified manner to the new President.

President Kumaratunga only informed Hon. Rajapakse of plans of these ceremonies, informing him that the committee in charge of arrangements had informed her that the 03 Forces and the Police would be available only from 21st November onwards to undertake this ceremony as they were deployed island-wide on election duty, hence the 23rd of November had been tentatively decided. All that President Kumaratunga informed Hon. Mahinda Rajapakse was that it would be good if he could find an auspicious time for the 23rd. Mr. Rajapakse did not disagree at any point to the 23rd.

He said that he would let her know once the auspicious times are given to him. At this point Mrs. Kumaratunga told Mr. Rajapakse that if he preferred to take oaths before the 23rd it was alright with her, but that the 23rd would be good as the ceremony could be done in a very appropriate manner. Hence your "informant" has completely misled you.

President Kumaratunga wishes to reiterate that Hon. Rajapakse at no point told her that he wishes to hurriedly take oaths at 6.00p.m. on the 18th although he had decided so already and had begun to make arrangements for it.

3. You also say in column 2 paragraph 2: that Kumaratunga was insisting, even after 11 1/2 years as President that she should continue for a few more days and that Mr. Rjapakse's refusal caused a "war of words" between the two of them. She did not ask for a few more days or a moment more than Mr. Rajapakse wished.

All that she said was that for the first time a grand welcome ceremony with a full guard of honour and a 21 gun salute were arranged for him and that the Forces needed time until the 23rd. President Kumaratunga is not in the habit of begging for anything that is not her due.

If the editor of The Sunday Times is at all capable of being even an iota impartial towards President Kumaratunga, he may remember that President Kumaratunga gracefully decided to bow out and announced that she would do so, after the Supreme Court decided that her Presidential term shall end in 2005 and not in 2006, although she had every Constitutional reason to disagree with the decision and she was even advised to go back to the Supreme Court with a petition disagreeing with the decision.

The "war of words" occurred not because Mr. Rajapakse refused to await the 23rd for his oath-taking ceremony. It happened for some unclear reason when Mr. Rajapakse suddenly raised his voice and started to shout at President Kumaratunga. It was President Kumaratunga who requested Mr. Rajapakse to calm down and not to start unpleasant arguments as it was "his" good day. President Kumaratunga did not say "I lost my mother because of you", but she did tell him not to try to intimidate her in the same manner he was used to doing with her mother, by screaming at her as he had done several times in the past. Finally Mr. Rajapakse agreed with President Kumaratunga not to carry on the argument and the conversation stopped there.

4. You also say in column 3 paragraph 2; that President Kumaratunga asked Mr. Rajapakse to make her brother the Minister of Foreign Affairs. President Kumaratunga did not ask Hon. Rajapakse to make anybody Minister of Foreign Affairs or Prime Minister. Hon. Rajapakse volunteered the information that he did not want to make Anura Bandaranaike the Foreign Minister. President Kumaratunga did not want to discuss details with the President elect and requested him to discuss whatever problems he had with Anura and to arrive at his decisions. President Kumaratunga willfully did not talk of the Premiership as she was aware that Hon. Rajapakse had already promised it to about five people!

5. Finally President Kumaratunga earnestly requests the Sunday Times to please base their attacks on her on true facts, if they wish to continue to abuse her as has been their practice, since 1991. Her deep faith in media freedom is such that she is willing to accept criticism based on fact, but not lies and abuse based on lies.

- Media Unit
Our Political Editor adds: I stand by all the facts in my commentary last week, and thank President Kumaratunga for re-confirming the discussion that took place between herself and President Rajapakse.

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