Bathiudeen called Army Commander on the advice of State Defence Minister

BY GAGANI WEERAKOON-MAY 26 2019

 The Attorney General has directed acting IGP C.D. Wickremaratne to immediately launch a comprehensive criminal investigation against Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara, former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and three other officials.

This decision was based on two interim reports and recommendations of the board of inquiry, appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena, on the series of incidents connected to the Easter Sunday attacks.

According to AG’s Department sources, in two separate letters, dated 7 May 2019 and 14 May 2019, the Attorney General has directed the acting IGP to order the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to conduct comprehensive criminal investigations against IGP Jayasundara, Defence Secretary Fernando, the Commanding Officer of the Special Task Force, State Intelligence Chief and the Senior DIG of Western Province.

The Attorney General has also directed the acting IGP to refer this matter to the National Police Commission, in order that disciplinary action be taken against the Senior DIG of Western Province, State Intelligence Chief and Commanding Officer of the Special Task Force, for their lapses in duty.

Group meeting heats up

Minister of Industry and Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Co-operative Development and Vocational Training and Skills Development Rishad Bathiudeen offered to resign from all positions along with his Party MPs and also noted that UNP MP Mujibur Rahman too would join him.
He said this during last week’s Government Parliamentary Group Meeting which took place in Committee Room 1 in the Parliament Complex, as his UNF colleagues started exerting pressure on him to resign.

He said, he will do so only if he was found guilty in any investigation and if President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe asked him to do so.

Several UNP MPs, including Harin Fernando, Niroshan Perera, Hector Appuhami and Kavinda Jayawardena asked Bathiudeen to resign from his post pending investigations into allegations.

On the other hand, there were several others who did not want Bathiudeen to budge on the demands of the Opposition or anyone else.

The United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has handed over a No-Confidence Motion against the Minister alleging that he gave political patronage to those behind Easter Sunday’s bomb attacks.  The Motion has placed the ruling United National Party (UNP) in a quandary with some of its Catholic MPs vowing to support it.

State Minister Niroshan Perera asked Minister Bathiudeen to step down warning him that if he did not do so, he would support the Motion.  The Minister of Industry and Commerce is also accused of asking Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake to release a terrorist suspect, supplying scrap copper to the factory owned by suicide bomber Imsham Ahamed Ibrahim and influencing the Police to charge some of the workers of this factory under a different law other than the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) so that they could be granted bail.

In the meantime, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Vanni Parliamentarian Charles Nirmalanadan said that he would be in favour of the No-Faith Motion whatever decision is taken by the Tamil National Alliance. He said that in spite of the fact that Ravi Karunanayake and Wijayakala Maheshwaran were removed from their portfolios when holding investigations, Bathiudeen is not removed from his post in the same way because of some leaders’ greed for his money.

Denial

Meanwhile, Minister Bathiudeen denied an array of allegations levelled against him, including employing an Islamic cleric as an adviser to the Ministry and exerting pressure on the Commander of the Army to release an arrested person.

“There are no Moulavis functioning in an advisory capacity to me as the Minister. Therefore, none of the Moulavis arrested to date were my advisors. My two official advisers have been Roy Jayasinghe and Dr. Azeez,” said the Minister in Parliament on 22 May.

Using his right to reply in the House, Minister Bathiudeen was making his statement to clear various allegations levelled against him by local politicians.
“It has been also reported earlier that a Coordinating Secretary of mine was arrested. That too was a lie and a totally false statement. There was also the accusation that my brother was arrested, which was false. I have now obtained a letter from the IGP, attesting my brother was never arrested.  I never pressured the Army Commander either. An Adviser to the Muslim Affairs Ministry named Jainudeen called me and complained to me that an unidentified group of people visited his home, and nabbed his son. For two days I was visiting Police Stations, even Dehiwala Police Station, without any success,” he said.
 
According to Bathiudeen, the Police had repeatedly denied arresting such a person, and he was advised to speak to the Military Forces.

“Then I contacted the State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene, who advised me to contact the Army Commander to see if the missing person was with the Army. I was doing this search on humanitarian grounds. I then contacted the Commander, and only asked him if this person was with the Army.
I did not pressure the Commander, and never asked the Commander to release any individual either. Therefore, the accusation that I tried to influence the Commander is utterly false. I wish to ask this House and the people of Sri Lanka, is it wrong to inquire about another politician’s missing family member, if the family contacts you and asks you to help them?”

Even though, he said so, Army Commander Lt. General Mahesh Senanayake when queried as to whether he was under pressure from Minister Rishad Bathiudeen to release a suspect arrested in connection to the Easter Sunday attack, as mentioned in the No-Confidence Motion against the Minister, he said that in his view it was more of a ‘request’ than a demand.

“He inquired about the suspect arrested in Dehiwala. There were three calls in this regard. The first time, he asked about a particular individual and I said that I will check. When he called for the second time, I confirmed that he was in our custody. The third call was about inquiring into the condition of the suspect.
After describing the suspect’s family background, he asked me whether there is a possibility for me to extend any help. I asked him to call me after one-and-a-half years,” he said while noting that he has powers to detain suspects arrested under extremist terrorism charges for such a period.

Foot in mouth

Plantation Minister Navin Dissanayake last week told journalists that it was unfair to find fault with someone like Minister Bathiudeen, who has not been found guilty and made it a point to note that Minister Bathiudeen in fact turned emotional when he spoke at the Cabinet meeting about the false allegations levelled against him.

Responding to questions raised by journalists, Dissanayake said it seemed that many including the Media were attempting to blacklist Minister Bathiudeen which only amounted to an act of racialism.

“All the UNP MPs will give their support to Bathiudeen when the NCM is taken up for debate,” Dissanayake said.

When pointed it was pointed out that State Minister Niroshan Perera had said he would vote in favour of the NCM, Dissanayake said the State Minister had mistakenly said so.

“Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe discussed the matter with the State Minister yesterday,” he added.

However, Minister Dissanayake was in for a shocker when State Minister Niroshan Perera, in Parliament, refuted claims made by Minister Dissanayake and said he had expressed his views on the No-Confidence Motion against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen with responsibility and there was no change in his stance on the NCM.

He said this in the House responding to Opposition MPs who said that Minister Dissanayake had claimed that State Minister Perera had vowed to support the NCM against Bathiudeen by mistake.

“Minister Dissanayake had said that I spoke of the NCM by mistake. It was not a mistake. I said it when I was completely sober and in a right state of mind,” he said.

He also said, serious allegations had been levelled against Minister Bathiudeen and that an impartial investigation should be conducted before taking appropriate action.

“I request that justice should be meted out to all. More than 250 people have died. Justice should be meted out to them. Steps should be taken to prevent extremist elements raising their heads again,” he said.

Opposition boycotts PSC

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) had decided not to participate in the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), appointed to probe the Easter Sunday terror attacks.

The United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) said it would not be part of the PSC appointed to investigate allegations levelled at Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen as it feels the PSC will only divert attention from recent political developments and seek to whitewash the minister.

 UPFA General Secretary MP Mahinda Amaraweera said UPFA and SLFP members have taken a collective decision not to be part of PSC, but UPFA will join the No-Confidence Motion debate against Bathiudeen.

“We don’t think the PSC was appointed to find a solution over the allegations mentioned in the No-Confidence Motion against Bathiudeen,” he added.

He noted UPFA will not accept the decision to appoint the PSC and therefore, will not be part of its membership. Amaraweera sent a letter to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on Wednesday stating seven points why the UPFA refused to be part of PSC.  In the letter, Amaraweera noted the PSC was appointed to look into Easter Sunday attacks, which does not have any connection to the No-Confidence Motion against Bathiudeen.

“The majority of UPFA MPs and the public believe the purpose of the PSC was to whitewash Bathiudeen and prevent the No-Confidence Motion taking for a vote in the House,” he said in the letter.

Amaraweera argued that if PSC clears Bathiudeen, parliamentarians who signed for the No-Confidence Motion will lose the opportunity to present their evidence during the No-Confidence Motion debate.

Amaraweera also said, Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa had also agreed to not to be part of PSC. He said the UPFA decision to not to be part of PSC was not an attempt to protect Bathiudeen.

However, SLFP National Organiser MP Duminda Dissanayake said on 16 May, the party had not taken any decision whether to support the No-Confidence Motion.
Rajapaksa also said on Wednesday, that he will ‘examine his conscience’ on whether or not to be part of PSC, as the Government can defeat any effort by the JO. Rajapaksa pointed out, the majority of the PSC will consist of Government MPs, and therefore, he was not confident the Committee would be transparent or effective.

Meanwhile, UNP Parliamentarian Dr. Kavinda Jayawardena on Friday (24), resigned from the PSC and Minister of Health Dr. Rajitha Senaratne was appointed to fill the vacant slot.

Dr. Jayawardena informed the Speaker since he was attending to those affected by the terror attack in his electorate he might not be able to carry out duties in the PSC and that was why he resigned.

 “There are many people in my electorate, who have been killed and many more who are injured. I am trying to help them to overcome this tragedy. Therefore, I might not be able to fulfil PSC duties,” Jayawardena said and requested another MP to be appointed.

Meanwhile, JVP MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa will represent the JVP, the Speaker informed Parliament.