Ranil Hits Sixers Off Full-Tosses Bowled By Fraudster
August 4, 2015
UNP Leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe played Master Blaster in the softest of interviews on the State-owned television Rupavahini.
The interviewer, Chairman and the former Editor of Ravaya, Victor Ivan who at the outset said that he was representing Rupavahini sent down dollies to Wickremesinghe who duly dispatched them to the fence.
*Ivan interviewing Ranil
Ivan, a senior journalist who celebrated 25 years in the profession just the other day, was either totally unprepared or was complicit in a puerile exercise deliberately designed to help Wickremesinghe shake off serious charges levelled against him.
To begin with Ivan, read out a prepared question about the controversial Central Bank Bond Issue from a piece of paper, much like a cub reporter. Ranil proceeds to bat for a full eight minutes.
This is quite uncharacteristic of Wickremesinghe who is known to respond to tough questions with questions of his own. For example, he could easily have questioned Ivan’s moral authority to level corruption charges at him, Ranil.
Ranil could have asked Ivan about tax evasion, for example. In 2008 during a meeting with the slain Editor of the Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge, then Convener of the Free Media Movement Uvindu Kurukulasuriya and then Chairman of the UNP Malik Samarawickrama, Ranil said he had all the information about this issue.
Until the Presidential Election of 2005, i.e. during the reign of Chandrika Kumaratunga, every month without fail the Ravaya would get a notice from the Department of Inland Revenue, requesting payment of an outstanding amount of Rs 14 million.
*Lasantha interviewing Chandrika