Is Maithri the target of the armed gang?

FRIDAY, 01 MARCH 2013 

It is reported that a conspiracy to assassinate the Secretary General of the SLFP and Minister of Health Maithripala Sirisena has been launched. According to reports the conspiracy would be carried out by an armed gang in the Eastern Province.

An armed gang fleeing after seizing a vehicle from Valachchena was apprehended by Dimbulagala Police. One person was arrested and two others in the gang were shot dead in the exchange of fire. Several others had fled. Intelligence sections suspect that the gang had come to assassinate Minister Maithripala Sirisena.

Minister Sirisena at a media conference held at his private residence at Wijerama Mawatha had said he had death threats and he was aware that a conspiracy was being hatched to assassinate him.

The members of the armed gang that was apprehended had been staying in Polonnaruwa District and they were apprehended on the 26th states the police.

The intelligence sections point out there is a serious suspicion regarding the gang that seized a vehicle and fled to Valachchena. It is also reported that several other armed gangs are hanging around in the Eastern and North Central Provinces.

I don’t approve that unwarranted acts of ministerial sons – Mervyn

Friday, 01 March 2013

Minister Mervyn Silva says that he does not condone the recent unwarranted actions of SLFP General Secretary and Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena’s son.

Mervyn Silva has made this comment to a journalist from the state media upon being questioned about the incident where the Health Minister’s son and a group of his friends had assaulted Batticaloa DIG Ravi Waidyalankara’s son.

However, Mervyn Silva’s news item was removed from the publication before it was sent to print. When the journalist has inquired, Silva had said, “The Health Minister and Ravi Waidyalankara are my friends. But I don’t condone the actions of Maithripala’s son. I even spoke to Ravi about it. I said I was there if he needed me. I said I was ready to pay the bill of the Central Hospital, but Ravi declined. Now look at how the media behaved when my son was involved in a small incident? The media behaved as if an LTTE suicide bomber had jumped on someone. Maithripala and Dullas spoke of taking disciplinary action against me. Today, the media and Dullas are silent.”

Boys will be boys, says Keheliya

FRIDAY, 01 MARCH 2013 

“Even the politicians’ sons will behave like boys; if someone hits them they will hit back,”  said Minister Keheliya Rambukwella at the Cabinet news conference yesterday.

In reply to a question by the media, the minister said that boys quarreled and fought among themselves, He said this happened everywhere and not only in Pasikudah. He said the one who is injured goes to hospital and the one who assaulted goes to the police. However this incident had received much publicity which he regretted, he said.

The following are some of the replies the minister gave when questioned by several media persons:

Q. Minister Maithripala Sirisena had stated at a news conference that he had received death threats, what is your opinion?
A. The children of Minister Maithripala had been told that their father would be shot, and an investigation is now in progress

Q. In an incident of this nature, when the victim is in the accident ward, a suspect cannot be enlarged on bail. But bail had been granted to the son of Maithripala.
A. The point you have raised is about the granting of bail. Why cannot bail be allowed? There have been instances where bail has been allowed. Another point is that if someone wants to send another to the remand, he seeks resident treatment at the accident ward. The decision to grant bail or not depends on the decision as to whether a suspect can be produced before a court. If a judge decides to recall him before the law and, depending on legal arguments, he may be allowed bail.

Q. But in this case he had been allowed police bail.
A. So what?

Q. If the children of politicians behave decently and in a law abiding manner this type of situation would not have arisen.
A. A very good point, and in reply will ask you, if someone assaults a person while walking on the road can he ignore it because he is the son of a politician. Do you want him to look the other way and go? Boys are boys whether they are the children of politicians or not. Have you forgotten your boyhood?

Q. It seems that Minister Maithripala is pointing an accusing finger at the government; he had said that if you remove one brick the government would fall.
A. Will those in the government remove their own bricks? Extraction of teeth and removal of bricks are the work of outsiders -- because they are the ones who want the government to fall. He would have pointed at them. (Ranjan Kasthuri)