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| Saturday, 24 July 2004 |
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| Anura denies Karuna link Industry, Tourism and Investment Promotion Minister Anura Bandaranaike yesterday totally rejected press reports that he had accompanied LTTE breakaway faction leader Karuna Amman to Singapore. This sensational story is utterly and absolutely false and deserves contemptuous disregard, Minister Bandaranaike said in a statement issued from Beijing, where he is on an official visit. "I have been informed this morning by our Embassy in Beijing, whilst on an official tour of China, that the Sri Lankan Press has carried banner headline "LTTE rebel leader Karuna had been taken to Singapore" by me. This has been revealed by some member of the Tamil National Alliance named K. Sivajilingam, MP. Minister Bandaranaike said he had never met, seen or spoken to this so-called Karuna. "I have never had any contact with him before his defection or after his defection from the LTTE. I have never indulged in the part time of accompanying unknown persons to any destination in the world. I was in Singapore on transit for less than one hour and I was accompanied from the aircraft and back by our High Commissioner in Singapore, H.E. Ajith Jayaratne and his staff." The Minister stressed that names of all those who accompanied him on an official tour of China can be easily obtained if necessary from the Airport Authority. He alleged that this highly explosive and sensational story has been planted by the UNP's media gurus hibernating at Sirikotha. "It is curious that such a story has been planted in a newspaper that is very closely associated with Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. It becomes more curious that this story has been planted after I launched a massive verbal attack on Wickremesinghe's leadership in Parliament only three days ago." He asked Wickremesinghe whether it is the State media that needs to be reformed, or the private media which indulges in massive character assassination. "Finally, let me inform all my detractors that their campaign of character assassinating me is futile because the final decision lies in the hands of the people who have given the United People's Freedom Alliance two overwhelming mandates within the past three months," he added. |
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