by Madura Ranwala and Saman Indrajith

National Freedom Front Leader and Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa, MP, who was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, yesterday morning, was enlarged on Rs.10,000 cash bail and two sureties of Rs. 1 million each yesterday evening by the Negombo Magistrate. The case would be taken up on Oct. 28.

The MP, who was to fly to Italy, France and England via Dubai to delivers a series of lectures on the UNHRC resolution to Sri Lankans living in those countries, had been thwarted, NFF leader’s media spokesman said.

The lecture titled ‘Suddage Adikaranaya saha Jathiye Awanaduwa,’ was earlier given in Sri Lanka and subsequently a book was launched under that title.

Sri Lankans living overseas had requested MP Weerawansa to educate them on the real impact of the resolution that was passed at the UNHRC recently, as the LTTE activists were celebrating the passage of that resolution, media secretary of NFF Leader, Anuruddha Bandara told The Island.

CID had arrested MP Weerawansa at 3.00 a.m. yesterday due to a passport issue and had prevented him from taking the next flight scheduled at 10.00 a.m. without allowing him to sort out the passport matter, the spokesman said, alleging that the MP had been arrested by the CID even without a complaint by the Controller of Emigration and Immigration.

Police Media Unit (PMU) said that the MP had first produced an invalid passport to the emigration and immigration officer at the counter and over that travel document he had earlier lodged a complaint with the Thalangama Police station, claiming that it had been lost and then given the new passport that he had been obtained later.

The arrest was made soon after Leader of the House Lakshman Kiriella told Parliament that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had intervened to secure permission for Weerawansa to leave the country after the latter had been stopped by Immigration and Emigration authorities for attempting to travel using an invalid passport.

MP Weerawansa arrived at the BIA in the early hours of yesterday to leave the country for Italy as part of his official tour of Europe, but was detained as the passport was past the expiry date.

MEP Leader MP Dinesh Gunawardena informed Speaker Karu Jayasuriya that MP Weerawansa had been stopped at the BIA and authorities had done so citing that there was a court order preventing Weerawansa leaving the country.

Speaker Jayasuriya said he had not been informed by any authority regarding the incident.

Earlier in the day Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that he was not aware of the matter and if there was such a court order then nothing could be done.

He instructed the Leader of the House Minister Kiriella to look into the issue.

Kiriella later informed the House that MP Weerawansa had been stopped by he Immigration and Emigration officials for keeping an invalid passport in his possession.

He also said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had given necessary directives to authorities to enable MP Weerawansa to undertake the tour uninterrupted.

“We know that no matter where he goes, he will definitely return to this country. Therefore, the Prime Minister took measures to rectify the issue so that MP could leave the country to Europe as planned,” he said.

Courtesy:The Island