Ranil rejects Batalanda wrong doing, says Report was public document since 2000

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe said today he wholly rejects the Batalanda Commission report and that it was appointed wholly with the intention slinging  political mud at him.

“I wholly reject the report. No one can say the report was kept hidden. It was published as a sessional paper in 2000  but no one including the JVP asked for a debate,” Mr.Wickremeisnmghe said in a special video-taped  statement today.

He also said that there is no precedent in this country or anywhere else in the world of debating a sessional paper 25 years after it was published.

The former president also gave a background to the incidents that led to the Batalanda Housing Scheme being allocated for use by members of the armed forces.

‘After the signing of the Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987, the JVP began a campaign to cause violence across the country. At that time President J.R.Jayewardene gave ministers the responsibility of safeguarding vital state installations in different areas. The area around Sapugaskanda had vital installations including those linked to fuel and electricity supplies as well as the free trade zone, for the security of which the army was called in,’ he said.

‘During the time the Sapugaskanda police station was attacked and the OIC was killed. At the time Minister Ranjan Wijeratne ( State Minister for Defence at the time) called me and asked me to provide the houses for the members of the armed forces to occupy  and steps were taken accordingly,” Mr.Wickremesinghe added.

He said that a member of the Provincial Council, a cooperative chairman, a police sergeant were also killed during this period while the home of another PC member was also set on fire.

“The government in power had to take measures to ensure the security of the country,” he said.

“After 1994 Chandrika Kumaratunga appointed the Batalanda Commission  wholly with the intention of political mudslinging but that was not successful. I was called only as a  witness. I was the Leader of the Opposition at the time,” he said.

He added that the Commission in its report found that the procedure in which the houses were located was wrong  and that he was indirectly responsible but there were no allegations against me.

The former President added that the report details the terrorist acts carried out by the JVP  in great detail as well and the terrorism instigated by the group.