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Sarath Fonseka spent Rs. 2 million and Rs. 2.7 million of GOVT $$$ for personal use! - HE CALLED USA! Can he end corruption?
Wand proof? Here you go
Gen Sarath Fonseka, who has entered the presidential fray on an anti-corruption platform, misused the official satellite phones to make personal overseas calls to the US in particular and used Army Welfare Fund to settle the bills, Asian Tribune investigations show.
Telephone-gate, as the scam is described in army circles, related to the period when the General was posted to Jaffna and Vanni as a Major General and amounted to between Rs. 2 million and Rs. 2.7 million. Mangal Samaraweera as the posts and telecommunication minister of the day ‘gifted’ an Inmarsat Satellite phone to the General to remain in touch with Colombo from Jaffna.
‘In the event, if I too received a steady unwavering political commitment and support, I could have finished the Tigers in double quick time’, he stated. And added: ‘Why I alone, any mediocre army commander like Sarath Fonseka could have easily defeated the Tigers’. - Gen Kottogoda
Asian Tribune understands that General Fonseka did not surrender the Satphone when he was transferred out of Jaffna on the orders of the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe to Vanni and that he had taken the phone to his new place of posting. This deprived his successor Maj Gen A. Wijendra of the Satphone facility, as overall forces commander in Jaffna.
This is not the first time that the Telephone-gate has come up front.
The Sunday Leader, a weekly not known to be friendly to the Rajapaksas, reported the issue on its 30 July 2001 issue under the heading ‘SLA officer accused of misusing satellite phone’. It said the highest number of calls he made through this phone was to the United States of America, the duration of one call being a whopping 110 minutes and 48 seconds that cost Rs.33, 793.84.
The Sunday Leader also gave the following breakdown of the bills for the period from July to December 2000 saying it has in its possession the ‘invoices’ addressed to the Commander of the Army, Army Head Quarters.
July 2000 – Rs. 81, 538.17
August 2000 – Rs. 901, 020.94
September 2000 811,886.76
October 2000 – Rs. 605, 826.99
November 2000 – Rs. 287, 442
December 2000 – Rs. 131, 630.27
Army headquarters was aware of the ‘misuse’, and in 2005 raised several pertinent questions. The then army chief, General SHS Kottogoda cautioned Fonseka against audit objections to the misuse of Satphone.
His letter, {COMD /1/2() dated May 27, 2005}, a copy of which has been accessed by Asian Tribune was the first official ‘admission’ of Telephone-gate. It was a sequel to the bill raised by the Sri Lanka Telecom.
‘Having gone through the detail (of the) bills which are attached, I find that no local calls have been taken but all are overseas calls’, the chief wrote to Fonseka, who was a Major General then.
And knocked on the knuckles, saying ‘These Satellite phones were made aval (available) for Comd’s of SF (J) and (W) to be used in an emergency if all other comms would fail and for urgent op reqmts. However I find that calls taken during the months indicated at para 2 are all overseas calls and has no relevance to op trqmts of the Army’.
Army chief, General SHS Kottogoda refused to settle the bill to avoid audit objections later. ‘… a sit has risen where Army is unable to settle these bills as these calls cannot be certified as official calls. Further this may lead to other audit queries as well’, he sternly told the Fonseka.
The tone and tenor of the letter clearly indicated that the army would not settle the bill and Fonseka himself must foot the bill. It is possible that amount could have been deducted from the Major General’s salary but for a turnaround in his fortunes – towards the end of 2005, just 20-days before his retirement, Fonseka was appointed Army Chief on the recommendation of the the Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
According to many serving and retired army officers, if these calls in question were indeed personal calls, then Sarath Fonseka has a moral obligation to settle the relevant bill with his own money.
But Asian Tribune reliably learns that Sarath Fonseka made use of the Welfare Fund of the Army to settle these telephone bills.
Recently Asian Tribune wrote to present Army commander asked for the details regarding the unauthorised telephone calls made by Sarath Fonseka and how and who paid for those calls. Answer from the Army Commander is awaited. Asian Tribune now learns that, Army has reportedly mooted an investigation into this matter.
Given below the full text of the news report that appeared on 30 July 2001 issue of the The Sunday Leader :
SLA officer accused of misusing satellite phone
The Sri Lanka Army is in a quandary as to how it could meet the telephone bills of Major General G.S.C. Fonseka, overall operations commander with that runs into several millions of rupees. Fonseka however is at present in the United Kingdom on a training course.
Fonseka, according to the documents that are in the possession of The Sunday Leader, has run up this bill by mostly using his official satellite phone take calls overseas.
The highest number of calls he has made through this phone is to the United States of America.
The duration of one such call is 110 minutes and 48 seconds that costs of Rs.33, 793.84.
The Sunday Leader is also in the possession of the invoices addressed to the Commander of the Army, Army Head Quarters Colombo, for the months begin from July to December 2000.
Following is the breakdown:
July 2000 – Rs. 81, 538.17, August 2000 – Rs. 901, 020.94, September 2000 811,886.76, October 2000 – Rs. 605, 826.99, November 2000 – Rs. 287, 442, December 2000 – Rs. 131, 630.27
Senior officials attached to the defense ministry admitted they were aware of the misuse of the satellite phone facility granted to the Fonseka but refused to comment further.
Meanwhile military spokesperson Brigadier Sarath Karunaratne, while commenting that the officer accused of misusing the phone facility was Major General Fonseka, said he was not sure as to what action would be meted out by the ministry of defense against him.
He admitted he was aware of the issue, but said that it was yet to be discussed by the defense hierarchy.
“You see, this has never happened in the past. This is an abnormal case don’t know what to do,” he pointed out.
He explained that under the normal procedure an inquiry into such as is should be conducted.
But he said he was not aware as to whether the ministry was contemplating such a thing. Meanwhile, military sources said that this satellite phoning facility which was given to Fonseka by former posts and telecommunication minister, Mangal Samaraweera. This facility had been given to Fonseka when he was transferred to Jaffna. But when he was posted to the Wanni subsequently, it is learnt that Fonseka has taken this unit along with him, depriving Major General A. Wijendra who succeeded Fonseka in Jaffna, from this facility. Fonseka was sent to the United Kingdom for a higher training course last till December with the state spending some 6.5 million rupees. He is expected to return to the country in December this year.
At present he ranks ninth in the seniority list of Sri Lanka Army and defense ministry sources said he is likely to be the next commander of the army. The sum spent on the telephone that is mentioned above is only from the invoices obtained while Fonseka was serving as the overall operations commander in the Wanni. Details of the bills when he was using the same in Jaffna, sources say, may also be running into several more millions rupees.”
In the meantime when Asian Tribune contacted he said, “I too could have finished Tigers but for….: Gen Kottogoda said
More and more voices are being heard these days that a strong backing from the political leadership to the army could have seen the end of LTTE menace quite a while ago. Some analysts even contend that the leadership had used the armed forces to achieve its political ends. Interestingly, this view is shared by a former army commander Gen SHS Kottogoda, the predecessor to Gen Sarath Fonseka.
‘I too could have finished Tigers but for lack of political backing’, General Kottogoda told the Asian Tribune.
‘When I was the Army Commander the political leadership was not ready to fight to finish the Tamil Tiger terrorists. The political leadership was dilly dallying and wavering. It was only interested in making use of the armed forces to gain extra political mileage’, he recalled.
Asked whether he too could have led the army to victory with political backing, the former army chief replied in the affirmative.
‘In the event, if I too received a steady unwavering political commitment and support, I could have finished the Tigers in double quick time’, he stated. And added: ‘Why I alone, any mediocre army commander like Sarath Fonseka could have easily defeated the Tigers’.
people accuse Rajapaksa of corruption, but not proof. Can someone corrupt like Sarath end corruption in Sri Lanka?
Wand proof? Here you go
Gen Sarath Fonseka, who has entered the presidential fray on an anti-corruption platform, misused the official satellite phones to make personal overseas calls to the US in particular and used Army Welfare Fund to settle the bills, Asian Tribune investigations show.
Telephone-gate, as the scam is described in army circles, related to the period when the General was posted to Jaffna and Vanni as a Major General and amounted to between Rs. 2 million and Rs. 2.7 million. Mangal Samaraweera as the posts and telecommunication minister of the day ‘gifted’ an Inmarsat Satellite phone to the General to remain in touch with Colombo from Jaffna.
‘In the event, if I too received a steady unwavering political commitment and support, I could have finished the Tigers in double quick time’, he stated. And added: ‘Why I alone, any mediocre army commander like Sarath Fonseka could have easily defeated the Tigers’. - Gen Kottogoda
Asian Tribune understands that General Fonseka did not surrender the Satphone when he was transferred out of Jaffna on the orders of the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe to Vanni and that he had taken the phone to his new place of posting. This deprived his successor Maj Gen A. Wijendra of the Satphone facility, as overall forces commander in Jaffna.
This is not the first time that the Telephone-gate has come up front.
The Sunday Leader, a weekly not known to be friendly to the Rajapaksas, reported the issue on its 30 July 2001 issue under the heading ‘SLA officer accused of misusing satellite phone’. It said the highest number of calls he made through this phone was to the United States of America, the duration of one call being a whopping 110 minutes and 48 seconds that cost Rs.33, 793.84.
The Sunday Leader also gave the following breakdown of the bills for the period from July to December 2000 saying it has in its possession the ‘invoices’ addressed to the Commander of the Army, Army Head Quarters.
July 2000 – Rs. 81, 538.17
August 2000 – Rs. 901, 020.94
September 2000 811,886.76
October 2000 – Rs. 605, 826.99
November 2000 – Rs. 287, 442
December 2000 – Rs. 131, 630.27
Army headquarters was aware of the ‘misuse’, and in 2005 raised several pertinent questions. The then army chief, General SHS Kottogoda cautioned Fonseka against audit objections to the misuse of Satphone.
His letter, {COMD /1/2() dated May 27, 2005}, a copy of which has been accessed by Asian Tribune was the first official ‘admission’ of Telephone-gate. It was a sequel to the bill raised by the Sri Lanka Telecom.
‘Having gone through the detail (of the) bills which are attached, I find that no local calls have been taken but all are overseas calls’, the chief wrote to Fonseka, who was a Major General then.
And knocked on the knuckles, saying ‘These Satellite phones were made aval (available) for Comd’s of SF (J) and (W) to be used in an emergency if all other comms would fail and for urgent op reqmts. However I find that calls taken during the months indicated at para 2 are all overseas calls and has no relevance to op trqmts of the Army’.
Army chief, General SHS Kottogoda refused to settle the bill to avoid audit objections later. ‘… a sit has risen where Army is unable to settle these bills as these calls cannot be certified as official calls. Further this may lead to other audit queries as well’, he sternly told the Fonseka.
The tone and tenor of the letter clearly indicated that the army would not settle the bill and Fonseka himself must foot the bill. It is possible that amount could have been deducted from the Major General’s salary but for a turnaround in his fortunes – towards the end of 2005, just 20-days before his retirement, Fonseka was appointed Army Chief on the recommendation of the the Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
According to many serving and retired army officers, if these calls in question were indeed personal calls, then Sarath Fonseka has a moral obligation to settle the relevant bill with his own money.
But Asian Tribune reliably learns that Sarath Fonseka made use of the Welfare Fund of the Army to settle these telephone bills.
Recently Asian Tribune wrote to present Army commander asked for the details regarding the unauthorised telephone calls made by Sarath Fonseka and how and who paid for those calls. Answer from the Army Commander is awaited. Asian Tribune now learns that, Army has reportedly mooted an investigation into this matter.
Given below the full text of the news report that appeared on 30 July 2001 issue of the The Sunday Leader :
SLA officer accused of misusing satellite phone
The Sri Lanka Army is in a quandary as to how it could meet the telephone bills of Major General G.S.C. Fonseka, overall operations commander with that runs into several millions of rupees. Fonseka however is at present in the United Kingdom on a training course.
Fonseka, according to the documents that are in the possession of The Sunday Leader, has run up this bill by mostly using his official satellite phone take calls overseas.
The highest number of calls he has made through this phone is to the United States of America.
The duration of one such call is 110 minutes and 48 seconds that costs of Rs.33, 793.84.
The Sunday Leader is also in the possession of the invoices addressed to the Commander of the Army, Army Head Quarters Colombo, for the months begin from July to December 2000.
Following is the breakdown:
July 2000 – Rs. 81, 538.17, August 2000 – Rs. 901, 020.94, September 2000 811,886.76, October 2000 – Rs. 605, 826.99, November 2000 – Rs. 287, 442, December 2000 – Rs. 131, 630.27
Senior officials attached to the defense ministry admitted they were aware of the misuse of the satellite phone facility granted to the Fonseka but refused to comment further.
Meanwhile military spokesperson Brigadier Sarath Karunaratne, while commenting that the officer accused of misusing the phone facility was Major General Fonseka, said he was not sure as to what action would be meted out by the ministry of defense against him.
He admitted he was aware of the issue, but said that it was yet to be discussed by the defense hierarchy.
“You see, this has never happened in the past. This is an abnormal case don’t know what to do,” he pointed out.
He explained that under the normal procedure an inquiry into such as is should be conducted.
But he said he was not aware as to whether the ministry was contemplating such a thing. Meanwhile, military sources said that this satellite phoning facility which was given to Fonseka by former posts and telecommunication minister, Mangal Samaraweera. This facility had been given to Fonseka when he was transferred to Jaffna. But when he was posted to the Wanni subsequently, it is learnt that Fonseka has taken this unit along with him, depriving Major General A. Wijendra who succeeded Fonseka in Jaffna, from this facility. Fonseka was sent to the United Kingdom for a higher training course last till December with the state spending some 6.5 million rupees. He is expected to return to the country in December this year.
At present he ranks ninth in the seniority list of Sri Lanka Army and defense ministry sources said he is likely to be the next commander of the army. The sum spent on the telephone that is mentioned above is only from the invoices obtained while Fonseka was serving as the overall operations commander in the Wanni. Details of the bills when he was using the same in Jaffna, sources say, may also be running into several more millions rupees.”
In the meantime when Asian Tribune contacted he said, “I too could have finished Tigers but for….: Gen Kottogoda said
More and more voices are being heard these days that a strong backing from the political leadership to the army could have seen the end of LTTE menace quite a while ago. Some analysts even contend that the leadership had used the armed forces to achieve its political ends. Interestingly, this view is shared by a former army commander Gen SHS Kottogoda, the predecessor to Gen Sarath Fonseka.
‘I too could have finished Tigers but for lack of political backing’, General Kottogoda told the Asian Tribune.
‘When I was the Army Commander the political leadership was not ready to fight to finish the Tamil Tiger terrorists. The political leadership was dilly dallying and wavering. It was only interested in making use of the armed forces to gain extra political mileage’, he recalled.
Asked whether he too could have led the army to victory with political backing, the former army chief replied in the affirmative.
‘In the event, if I too received a steady unwavering political commitment and support, I could have finished the Tigers in double quick time’, he stated. And added: ‘Why I alone, any mediocre army commander like Sarath Fonseka could have easily defeated the Tigers’.
people accuse Rajapaksa of corruption, but not proof. Can someone corrupt like Sarath end corruption in Sri Lanka?
Looks like Shavendra Silva is going to get in trouble too !
UN calls for explanation on Fonseka’s war crimes charges against Gota, Shavendra
http://www.island.lk/2009/12/22/news1.html
The United Nations has, following allegations made by General (Retd) Sarath Fonseka of war crimes committed by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Major General Shavindra de Silva, called for an explanation from Sri Lanka on the death of leading LTTE cadres during the end stages of Eelam war IV in May this year.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Phillip Alston, has asked the government to provide explanations with regard to the circumstances leading to the deaths of three senior LTTE cadres and their families during the final stages of military operations against the LTTE.
The demand for the explanations follows the recent statement made by Gen (Rtd) Sarath Fonseka, an opposition candidate at the forthcoming Presidential election, alleging that such killings had taken place, during an interview reported by The Sunday Leader of December 13, 2009.
A letter, by the UN Special Rapporteur Alston, addressed to Mrs. Kshenuka Senewiratna, the Permanent representative of Sri Lanka at the UN Office in Geneva, states:
"These allegations were made by the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army at the time of the events and subsequent Chief of Defence Staff (now retired) General Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka, in an interview to the newspaper The Sunday Leader. The accounts of journalists embedded with the SLA 58th Brigade confirm some of the alleged circumstances of the death of Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh and their families".
The letter also said: "On 17 May 2009, the day before your Excellency’s Government announced that its forces had completely defeated the LTTE, Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh were trapped with other senior cadres of the LTTE in a small area north of Vellamullivaikkal. Through intermediaries that sought to establish contact with your Excellency’s Government to inquire how they could surrender to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). The reply, coming from the Secretary of Defence in your Excellency’s Government and from a Member of Parliament who is at the same time a senior advisor to the President, and conveyed through the intermediaries, was that they should walk towards the positions of the SLA in a way that made their intentions clear and holding a white cloth. The Commander of the SLA 58th Brigade, the unit on the front line with the last LTTE position, however, received a telephone call from the Secretary of Defence instructing him to order his forces to shoot those surrendering. When Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan, and Ramesh walked towards the SLA positions carrying white cloths in the first hours of 18 May 2009, soldiers opened fire on them and killed them. An unspecified number of family members of the three men were killed as well."
"It is my responsibility under the mandate provided to me by the Human Rights Council to seek to clarify all cases brought to my attention. Since I am expected to report on the death of Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh, as well as of the members of their families, I would be grateful for the cooperation and observations of your Excellency’s Government in particular in relation to the following questions.
1. Are the allegations summarized above accurate? If not so, please share the information and documents proving their inaccuracy.
2. What information does your Excellency’s Government have on the family members of Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh allegedly killed on 18 May 2009?
3. Please refer to the results of any military, police, judiciary or other inquiry or investigation carried out in relation to the allegations summarized above. "
The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN, Geneva had sent the letter to Prof Rajiva Wijesinha, Secretary Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights and copied to Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Secretary Defence, Mohan Peiris PC, Attorney General, Romesh Jaysainghe Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
UN calls for explanation on Fonseka’s war crimes charges against Gota, Shavendra
http://www.island.lk/2009/12/22/news1.html
The United Nations has, following allegations made by General (Retd) Sarath Fonseka of war crimes committed by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Major General Shavindra de Silva, called for an explanation from Sri Lanka on the death of leading LTTE cadres during the end stages of Eelam war IV in May this year.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Phillip Alston, has asked the government to provide explanations with regard to the circumstances leading to the deaths of three senior LTTE cadres and their families during the final stages of military operations against the LTTE.
The demand for the explanations follows the recent statement made by Gen (Rtd) Sarath Fonseka, an opposition candidate at the forthcoming Presidential election, alleging that such killings had taken place, during an interview reported by The Sunday Leader of December 13, 2009.
A letter, by the UN Special Rapporteur Alston, addressed to Mrs. Kshenuka Senewiratna, the Permanent representative of Sri Lanka at the UN Office in Geneva, states:
"These allegations were made by the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army at the time of the events and subsequent Chief of Defence Staff (now retired) General Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka, in an interview to the newspaper The Sunday Leader. The accounts of journalists embedded with the SLA 58th Brigade confirm some of the alleged circumstances of the death of Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh and their families".
The letter also said: "On 17 May 2009, the day before your Excellency’s Government announced that its forces had completely defeated the LTTE, Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh were trapped with other senior cadres of the LTTE in a small area north of Vellamullivaikkal. Through intermediaries that sought to establish contact with your Excellency’s Government to inquire how they could surrender to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). The reply, coming from the Secretary of Defence in your Excellency’s Government and from a Member of Parliament who is at the same time a senior advisor to the President, and conveyed through the intermediaries, was that they should walk towards the positions of the SLA in a way that made their intentions clear and holding a white cloth. The Commander of the SLA 58th Brigade, the unit on the front line with the last LTTE position, however, received a telephone call from the Secretary of Defence instructing him to order his forces to shoot those surrendering. When Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan, and Ramesh walked towards the SLA positions carrying white cloths in the first hours of 18 May 2009, soldiers opened fire on them and killed them. An unspecified number of family members of the three men were killed as well."
"It is my responsibility under the mandate provided to me by the Human Rights Council to seek to clarify all cases brought to my attention. Since I am expected to report on the death of Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh, as well as of the members of their families, I would be grateful for the cooperation and observations of your Excellency’s Government in particular in relation to the following questions.
1. Are the allegations summarized above accurate? If not so, please share the information and documents proving their inaccuracy.
2. What information does your Excellency’s Government have on the family members of Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh allegedly killed on 18 May 2009?
3. Please refer to the results of any military, police, judiciary or other inquiry or investigation carried out in relation to the allegations summarized above. "
The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN, Geneva had sent the letter to Prof Rajiva Wijesinha, Secretary Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights and copied to Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Secretary Defence, Mohan Peiris PC, Attorney General, Romesh Jaysainghe Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
mada gahana gahana tharamata SF ge votes vadivenava ban... bola paw..Looks like Shavendra Silva is going to get in trouble too !
UN calls for explanation on Fonseka’s war crimes charges against Gota, Shavendra
http://www.island.lk/2009/12/22/news1.html
The United Nations has, following allegations made by General (Retd) Sarath Fonseka of war crimes committed by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Major General Shavindra de Silva, called for an explanation from Sri Lanka on the death of leading LTTE cadres during the end stages of Eelam war IV in May this year.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Phillip Alston, has asked the government to provide explanations with regard to the circumstances leading to the deaths of three senior LTTE cadres and their families during the final stages of military operations against the LTTE.
The demand for the explanations follows the recent statement made by Gen (Rtd) Sarath Fonseka, an opposition candidate at the forthcoming Presidential election, alleging that such killings had taken place, during an interview reported by The Sunday Leader of December 13, 2009.
A letter, by the UN Special Rapporteur Alston, addressed to Mrs. Kshenuka Senewiratna, the Permanent representative of Sri Lanka at the UN Office in Geneva, states:
"These allegations were made by the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army at the time of the events and subsequent Chief of Defence Staff (now retired) General Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka, in an interview to the newspaper The Sunday Leader. The accounts of journalists embedded with the SLA 58th Brigade confirm some of the alleged circumstances of the death of Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh and their families".
The letter also said: "On 17 May 2009, the day before your Excellency’s Government announced that its forces had completely defeated the LTTE, Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh were trapped with other senior cadres of the LTTE in a small area north of Vellamullivaikkal. Through intermediaries that sought to establish contact with your Excellency’s Government to inquire how they could surrender to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). The reply, coming from the Secretary of Defence in your Excellency’s Government and from a Member of Parliament who is at the same time a senior advisor to the President, and conveyed through the intermediaries, was that they should walk towards the positions of the SLA in a way that made their intentions clear and holding a white cloth. The Commander of the SLA 58th Brigade, the unit on the front line with the last LTTE position, however, received a telephone call from the Secretary of Defence instructing him to order his forces to shoot those surrendering. When Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan, and Ramesh walked towards the SLA positions carrying white cloths in the first hours of 18 May 2009, soldiers opened fire on them and killed them. An unspecified number of family members of the three men were killed as well."
"It is my responsibility under the mandate provided to me by the Human Rights Council to seek to clarify all cases brought to my attention. Since I am expected to report on the death of Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh, as well as of the members of their families, I would be grateful for the cooperation and observations of your Excellency’s Government in particular in relation to the following questions.
1. Are the allegations summarized above accurate? If not so, please share the information and documents proving their inaccuracy.
2. What information does your Excellency’s Government have on the family members of Messers Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh allegedly killed on 18 May 2009?
3. Please refer to the results of any military, police, judiciary or other inquiry or investigation carried out in relation to the allegations summarized above. "
The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN, Geneva had sent the letter to Prof Rajiva Wijesinha, Secretary Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights and copied to Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Secretary Defence, Mohan Peiris PC, Attorney General, Romesh Jaysainghe Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
kauruth gal gahanne pala athi rukatane..
