Thisara Aravinda Rathuwithana, a millionaire black money investor and the son of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s advisor, astrologer Piyasena Rathuwithana, was recruited as a journalist by the BBC, Colombo Telegraph can reveal today.
“The person who goes by the name Thisara Rathuwithana and who is currently an employee of BBC Sinhala Service is none other than the son of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s advisor, astrologer Piyasena Rathiwithana,” a source close to BBC Sinhala Service told Colombo Telegraph.
Thisara Aravinda Rathuwithana
In a shocking revelation, our source told us that the suspended BBC’s Sinhala Service chief, Priyath Liyanage, has recruited Rathuvithana without disclosing the obvious conflict of interest to the BBC authorities.
Liyanage himself joined the BBC while a deportation order had been served on him by the UK home Office; he later married the daughter of a Secretary in the Sri Lankan High Commission in London.
Black money investor, Thisara Rathuvithana at the time he was recruited to the BBC, had no journalistic experience whatsoever just like his boss Priyath Liyange . While working in BBC he invested millions of his black money in Lalith Kotelawala’s now disgraced company, Golden Key, which collapsed in December 2008.
To avoid google search the BBC misspelled his name as “Aravinda Thisara Rathuwithane” the source further told Colombo Telegraph.
Following the suspension of BBC Sinhala Service Editor Priyath Liyange. the BBC has launched a probe into all aspects of the Sinhala Service’s activities, Colombo Telegraph learns. BBC Sinhala Service journalists are being asked by the BBC to cooperate in the ongoing investigation accompanied by lawyers or trade union representatives if they wish.
Early this year the BBC Sinhala head was sent to follow a BBC course on Journalistic ethics after Liyange was caught giving letters of recommendation to Sri Lanka government to approve interest free loans to his deputy Chandana Keerthi Bandara and to the Colombo reporter Elmo Fernando.
Colombo Telegraph has been unable to reach Rathuwithane for comment since BBC declined to give his contact details.
Related posts;
BBC Sinhala Investigations Against Its Head Continues; Disgraced Fernando Is Back
Interest Free Loan Scandal: BBC’s £41,000 Annual Salary Employee Was Favored By Sri Lankan Govt
Expose: BBC Sinhala Head ‘Knowingly Mislead’ The Public
BBC Editor Uses BBC Resources To Cover Up Personal Misconduct
No More Dr. Vickramabahu’s Columns
Left-Right Collusion: Socialist Bahu Called Capitalist Ranil And Urged Not To Expose BBC Misconduct
BBC Pussyfooting On “Takes” From SL Govt’
Nandana / December 6, 2013
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Javi / December 6, 2013
(=>益益<=) Kattadiy's "never odd or even".
all squid at the dog's palace..
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Maveeran / December 6, 2013
Scamming bastards of the Nation. Why on earth these dumb Srilankans vote for these corrupted figures to lead the country. This idiot [Edited out] whose about to steal banana’s from the fruit seller.
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Banda / December 6, 2013
Maveeran, you ask ‘Why on earth these dumb Srilankans vote for these corrupted figures to lead the country. I’ll tell you why. First I’ll tell you why proxy LTTE, the TNA got over 80% in NP in spite of the alleged army interferences. TNA won because it presented jingoistic policies and a demagogic clique as candidates for NP elections. And that is the exact policy people in the nort want. // Now the answer to your question. Sinhala Buddhist villages are the majority in this country by far. They want peace and stability and improved life and above all a full stop to Eelam. And MR provides that in abundance. So, get it right, like the people in the NP, Sinhala villagers keep voting MR for he gives them exactly what they want.
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Javi / December 6, 2013
“gives them exactly what they want.” stop fuckshitting the world!(@_@)
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Oi, uncivilized, know Bahrain where,you imbecile tupaiy, send your sinhala buddhist women to spread theirs. Minority, with the sense of liberal policy rule the land ably backed by its big-brother saudis IC and world.
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Palmsquirrell / December 6, 2013
TNA won because Tamils know that the GOSL is Sinhala Supremacist and doing everything it can to slowly wipe Tamils away.–Army did interfere and there is ample evidence of that, but they couldn’t actually stop the elections or engage in fraud because International monitors were watching over you lot .–Sinhala villagers if they genuinely vote for MR, only proves that most Sinhalese want a nation where minorities are 2nd class citizens at best.
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James Ingham / December 6, 2013
Banda, Yes MR gives everyone in the arse and may be you in the mouth.
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Banda / December 6, 2013
Ingham, I am not a member of the club ManGala. I don’t think MR is in it either.
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Lanka Liar / December 8, 2013
So Sin hala villagers want peace with hunger improved lifestyle with kidnapping. Have they got any thing. Only Rajapakse got those things.
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aratai / December 6, 2013
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If Lankans can do that to BBC, just imagine SLBC?
:-)
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Bahu Chootiya / December 6, 2013
Exactly, bloody corrupt idiots pretend like journos.
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PalmSquirrell / December 6, 2013
So while Sinhala Nationalists crow on about imagined bribing of Western institutions by Tamil Diaspora, the reality is that Sinhalese affiliated with the Lankan establishment have infiltrated the BBC Sinhala service and no doubt skewed the programing to reflect a Sinhala Nationalist bias.
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jayasingha / December 6, 2013
British can be bought by any one, Sinhalese, Tamil, Arabs, Chinese, Americans, Europeans, Jews, South Americans etc: and for that matter by anyone and they screw everybody.
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Javi / December 6, 2013
There is a level of cowardice lower than that of the conformist: the fashionable non-conformist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfMTlpR-ajA yaman bando
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Kumar R / December 7, 2013
Yes jayasingha – continue to keep your head buried deep in the sand and you will be entertained by starry, starry nights. Chant jaya wewa along with Ben Hurling, if it gets too boring
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Benyamin / December 6, 2013
Well BBC is to be held responsible , is this the way a world famous media recruits its staff? what a joke. You are suppose to do a thorough background check of a person without favor or prejudice and also an interview ,this is what happens when the very media which is the eye opener of public is blind with prejudiced , they end up sleeping with the devil.
mean while it is also interesting to note the slow but steady prejudice against a minority in Sri Lanka creeping into a certain very popular Sri lankan TV privately owned ,two of its very talented staffs were awarded with a worthy award of conservation of environment by an International body ,the coverage was not given on its TV while a Local Volunteer service was given huge coverage and we the viewers were told if we want to ( hee,hee,very encouraging)we can visit their http://www.DOT….DOT LK online and check it out..
There are quiet a number of excellent staff of the same minority in this TV station ,and I strongly recommend them to look for greener pasture overseas,Al-Jazeera would be the best choice , they better do it while still they are in their youth.
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Michael / December 6, 2013
There are some comments which are made without knowing facts. BBC gives independent management if it’s service to individual countries who broadcast the service. However this is subject to individual country service heads upholding the values and ethics of journalism. Sadly in this country nothing is independent. I am sure the head of BBC will either discontinue the Sinhalese service or get rid of these stooges of this corrupt regime.
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Hade Sheriff / December 6, 2013
If they can infiltrate in to a foreign service imagine how they would have infiltrated with their uneducated stooges in to state sector, Now Presidents son Namal is demanding & intimidating the private sector too for their cronies.
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Kumar R / December 6, 2013
Ben Hurling,
You are indeed a notable absentee in this column, given that you rushed to comment “Tamil Language Services connected with National boradcasters in the West are tools of LTTE’s racist,” just a couple of days ago on this same BBC Sinhala Service scandal. Does this revelation help you see some sunlight from the rather deep well you are in?
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Javi / December 7, 2013
Ben-hen is imagining how his “in my bosom china” has eloped!o-o ◕‿◕ ha ha.
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Dhaksha / December 6, 2013
So it seems channel 4 is not the only one corrupted and biased. The Sri Lankan government is doing it too.
What a bunch of hypocrites. When you have too much to hide, you have to resort to such devious acts.
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kalum bandara / December 7, 2013
Dear editor. now rail eics top henchman and divaina reporter gyruka perusinhga was planted to lakehouse chairman by dullas alhap peruma in lake house journalist were veryb angry. this gyruka try to sell itn land at yatyantota to sirasa all the crooks no in maharajas group now
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so;omon / December 7, 2013
not only Priyath or Thisara All BBC journalist are of same calibare.
Leader of the pack Jimmy Savaile the rapist and peodapile
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Lanka Liar / December 8, 2013
Why cant they employ Karuna or Doglas even Merwin they can do a better job.
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cyril / December 8, 2013
[Edited out]
We are sorry, the comment language is English – Ct
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Chandra P / December 10, 2013
BBC seems to be as corrupt as any media outlet in Sri Lanka. Suspension of Liyanage is just an eyewash to please a high profile friend of Frances Harrison. Liyanage is still calling the shots when it comes to Sandeshaya. This appointment is just an example only.
Bringing in Fernando with huge expenses to the corporation doesn’t make sense except that he worships Liyanage for his past help outs.
Also it is note worthy that, despite Liyanage defaming Frances H (a friend of LTTE), visibly taking more and more GOSL line and inserting a son of a Rajapakshe stooge to World Service – influential diaspora elements still seem to be sided with Liyanage. One has to be lucky to be friendly with these two parties at the same time.
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truth / December 10, 2013
One thing good is that only Sinhalese would have been listening these programs. In any case the average Sinhalese are already “brain washed” by the politicians and the local mass media. Their minds are set with the Sinhala Budhist supremacy, which they are not prepared to let go!! They have lost their capacity to think on their own. They can be bought for a bottle of arrack or lunch parcel!!
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truth / December 10, 2013
Best thing is to scrap the Sinhala BBC service altogether!!
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Andare / September 30, 2014
There are many so called “white people” even big politicians with black charred brains who take black money/bribes from international terrorist groups. Look at channel 4 and this BBC shit woman. Journalist appear to be saints but take bribes and also [Edited out]
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