By Shamindra Ferdinando

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has received assurances from both the police and the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had been wiped out; therefore there was absolutely no likelihood of the group staging a comeback.

Premier Wickremesinghe said that he sought clarification from the police and the DMI in the wake of recent media reports in respect of resurgence of LTTE activity.

The PM was addressing a gathering at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) on Tuesday.

The military brought the war to a successful conclusion in May 2009 on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon.

Castigating the media for propagating a revival of the LTTE, Premier Wickremesinghe alleged that the issue was being exploited in a bid to pave the way for former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s return to power. The Premier called former President and Kurunegala District MP Dutugemunu.

Recent recovery of explosives, including one suicide jacket and subsequent arrests made by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) prompted the Joint Opposition to warn the government of possible terrorist threat.

Premier Wickremesinghe alleged that the King had entered into an agreement with LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and funds were provided to the organisation. Referring to missing media personality Prageeth Ekneligoda, Premier Wickremesinghe emphasized that he never engaged in such activities.

Finding fault with a section of the media for pursuing an agenda inimical to post-war national reconciliation, The Premier asked the media whether they wanted the resumption of the conflict and to lose the media freedom again.

Emphasizing that the media faced a challenge, Premier Wickremesinghe asked whether they wanted media freedom. “If you don’t want media freedom, tell us. Then, only what we like can be published.”

Commenting on the on-going investigations into the disappearance of Ekneligoda on the eve of January 26, 2010 presidential polls, Premier Wickremesinghe asked whether his crime was speaking up for democracy. Recalling that Ekneligoda had worked for Sarath Fonseka during the 2010 presidential polls campaign, Wickremesinghe said that the media personality was today called an LTTEer. Ekneligoda had been also accused of having contacts with the LTTE; the Premier said adding that he intervened to save the life of Dhammika Ganganath Dissanayake following his abduction. Premier Wickremesinghe said that he spoke to certain persons soon after Dissanayake’s abduction to secure his release. Had it not been for his intervention, Dissanayake, presently Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Japan would have suffered the same fate, Premier Wickremesinghe said.

The Premier said that some of those who had identified themselves as Sinhala and Buddhist media propagated that inquiring into Ekneligoda’s disappearance betrayed war heroes. If the media treated one of their own in such a disparaging way, was there any point in discussing media freedom with them, Premier Wickremesinghe asked.

Wickremesinghe challenged the media to name a single media that didn’t want him to quit politics while declaring he couldn’t win elections. The Premier said that the media disparagingly called him an LTTEer, a Norwegian and an American. “Having ignored the advice given by the media to quit politics, I ended up as the Prime Minister of President Maithripala Sirisena led administration,” Wickremesinghe said.

Recalling the circumstances under which he in his capacity as the then Prime Minister presented the Right to Information Act to parliament during 2003, the UNP leader said that there was a lapse of 13 years before it was again tabled in parliament.

Sharing the credit for paving the way for Maithripala Sirisena to secure presidency with political parties, civil society and a section of the media, Wickremesinghe vowed to introduce a new Constitution. The UNP leader predicted that the proposed Constitution would further strengthen fundamental rights. Media rights, too, would be beefed up.

The PM briefly explained measures taken by the government in consultation with other stakeholders regarding proposed constitutional reforms. The Premier also revealed about two important meetings scheduled to take place shortly in that regard.

Premier Wickremesinghe acknowledged that there could be shortcomings though they had done what was expected of the new administration.

He also strongly condemned the media for ignoring the killing of their northern colleagues during the conflict and their sufferings at the hands of the previous government.

Courtesy:The Island