Gotabhaya dismisses threat allegations

by Shamindra Ferdinando

Defence Secretary Colonel (retd) Gotabhaya Rajapakse yesterday dismissed accusations that he threatened the Editor of Daily Mirror Champika Liyanarachchi over the newspaper’s coverage of the North-East conflict.

"There is absolutely no truth in what she says," Rajapakse told The Island, emphasizing that he only expressed concern and regret over the publication of two recent articles which he believed were detrimental to the national interest. They were essentially unfair, he said, but threatening her over the criticism of the government was never on his mind, Rajapakse said.

The Free Media Movement slammed Rajapakse over, what it termed as, gross misconduct of a senior public official. Its Convenor Sunanda Deshapriya said that that they issued a statement severely critical of Rajapakse on the basis of what Ms Champika Liyanarachchi said.

In a statement headlined Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary threatens Editor, issued on Tuesday, the FMM expressed outrage that the brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksha and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa threatened the Daily Mirror editor. Repeated attempts to contact Ms. Liyanarachchi both on Wednesday and yesterday failed.

In a brief interview with The Island, Rajapakse said that he phoned Ms. Liyanarachchi Tuesday morning to urge her to be balanced in what she published. Referring to the front-page lead story headlined ‘Armed Karuna faction running its writ in Pottuvil’ published on the previous day; Rajapakse had requested her to visit the area. "In fact, I offered her air passage to Pottuvil and a security escort. I also pointed out that biased reporting could escalate tensions between the Tamil and Muslim communities," Rajapakse said.

According to the Defence Secretary, he lost the connection but Ms. Liyanarachchi immediately called him back. But after a few minutes the call was cut off again and she called him back for the second time. Had I threatened her with death, would she have called me back to listen to what the FMM termed as my vicious tirade? Rajapakse said that Ms. Liyanarachchi visited him at his residence with Bandula Jayasekera, the Editor of Daily News. She was also invited to Temple Trees, he said, emphasizing that he called her last Tuesday simply to explain the government’s position. Rajapakse emphasized that she was known to them and was considered a friend. "Otherwise, we would not have invited her."

Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka and JHU activist Udaya Gammanpila had made an abortive bid to settle the dispute. They are believed to have talked to Ms. Liyanarachchi and subsequently assured Rajapakse that the misunderstanding had been sorted out. Political sources said that the JHU has been embarrassed by the unexpected turn of events. The Island learns that the JHU had assured Rajapakse that Ms. Liyanarachchi would not embarrass the government nor would be a part of any conspiracy against the Rajapakse administration.

Rajapakse yesterday urged British High Commissioner Dominic Chilcott not to be misled by politically motivated plots. The Defence Secretary called the meeting after Chilcott visited the Daily Mirror editorial on Wednesday to express support of the British government in the face of what a section of the media termed as growing threats to the media by the government. Rajapakse had advised the High Commissioner to be careful and not to be manipulated by interested parties. He had also assured him that there was no death threat on SLMC leader and Minister Rauff Hakeem as claimed by interested parties. The whole thing is a figment of their imagination, Rajapakse told The Island, asserting that he would not be distracted by political chaos. The ongoing efforts to militarily weaken the LTTE would continue, he stressed.