Sri Lanka’s Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna today demanded a verification from the Sunday Leader editor over the common opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka’s controversial statement alleging that the Defense Secretary ordered to kill surrendering LTTE leaders.
The retired military chief and presidential election candidate said in an interview to the weekly newspaper Sunday Leader that the Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa ordered the Division 58 Commander Major General Shavendra Silva to kill all the LTTE leaders and not to take any surrenders.
JVP parliamentarian K. D. Lalkantha today asked the newspaper’s editor Ms Frederica Jansz to produce a recording of the interview to assert the existence of such a statement purportedly made by General Fonseka.
General Fonseka later recanted the statement saying that he was misquoted by the paper. However, Ms. Jansz stood by her interview.
“Do you think a journalist would refrain from recording an interview conducted with General Sarath Fonseka, who is a presidential candidate and who will be winning on the 26th? the JVP MP questioned.
MP Lal Kantha said if Ms. Jansz is unable to produce a recording they have to consider her as a partner of a conspiracy against the common candidate.
“We would like to ask her to act responsibly. We also request her to produce the recording to the country. Then we will be able to determine what Sarath Fonseka said and didn’t say,” the MP said.
General Sarath Fonseka’s allegations stirred up a hornet’s nest locally as well as internationally, prompting a UN body to call for an inquiry on the operations by the government and its armed forces during the final stages of the battle with the LTTE rebels in May 2009.
The statement despite recanting by the former army commander has endangered the country’s security forces and military leaders subjecting them to possible war crimes inquiries. The government has vowed that it will not allow any international forces to subject its troops to any kind of investigation.
source: LankaPage.com