MR denies he built presidential residence in Kankesanthure

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has denied he built a presidential residence in Kankesanthurei while he was in office and asked the public not to be misled by malicious propaganda. In a statement issued today, he said that until it was destroyed by LTTE terrorists in the 1980s, there used to be a presidential residence within the Jaffna Fort which has not been rehabilitated to date. “The property in Kankesanthurei is an International Relations Centre belonging to the presidential secretariat which was being constructed by the Navy. The public may be aware that some of the best known convention centres in the country like the BMICH, the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute and Nelum Pokuna came under the presidential secretariat,” he said. The statement added,” The International Relations Centers in Kankesanthurei and Arugam Bay were being built not as presidential residences but as international convention centers to be used when Sri Lanka hosts international events. These centers would also have been used when foreign dignitaries and other such individuals and delegations visited the north or the east. With the establishment of peace a heavy influx of foreign visitors to these areas was expected. Unlike the older convention centres coming under the presidential secretariat, these new establishments had been designed with residential facilities. Cabinet approval was granted for the construction of these International Relations Centres. Portraying these establishments as ostentatious ‘presidential residences’ is a part of the campaign of vilification against me that has been going on for the past few months   (CK)