“Defense Secretary Rajapaksa reportedly threatened Daily Mirror Editor Champika Liyanarachchi following the publication of a series of articles on the activities of the LTTE-breakaway Karuna group in the East. After the call from Gothabaya, Liyanarachchi contacted Karuna directly. Karuna assured her that his cadres would not harm her and added that he would complain to Gothabaya in writing about the incident. Gothabaya has since publicly admitted he called Liyanarachchi but denied that he threatened the editor and expressed his concern at the media’s intolerance of constructive criticism. Presidsent Rajapaksa reassured her that the GSL wishes her no harm and expressed regret at the Defense Secretary’s conduct. This most recent example of Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) attempts to suppress unflattering media reports confirms other accounts of the Defense Secretary personally issuing threats” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.
Champika
The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable is classified as “SECRET” and discuses Sri Lanka’s media suppression situation. The cable was written by the Ambassador Robert O. Blake on April 19, 2007.
The ambassador wrote; “A less detailed version of this story was made public on April 18 when it appeared in other local newspapers and on the ‘BBC Sinhala’ website, as well as on the LTTE website Tamilnet. The Morning Leader reported that Rajapaksa called Liyanarachchi, criticized ‘anti-government stories’ published in the Daily Mirror, and added that Karuna was “not very happy” with the newspaper’s reporting. A separate Embassy contact told us that in late February Gothabaya made a similar call to Mr. Ranjith Wijewardene, Chairman of the Wijeya Group, the company that owns the Daily Mirror. Gothabaya threatened Wijewardane and complained about the disloyalty of the newspaper. In this case as well, the President later called Wijewardane to downplay the incident and explain that Gothabaya’s bark was worse than his bite. Our contact said that this is actually a common practice for the brothers and described it as their ‘good cop, bad cop strategy.'”
Placing a comment Blake wrote; “The GSL has already compiled an unenviable record of media intimidation. These reports of threats delivered personally by the Defense Secretary are two of the most detailed and credible of several accounts that have reached us about such inappropriate outbursts from the Defense Secretary. The latest is disturbing in that it tends to confirm the relationship between Gothabaya and the renegade Karuna group. In view of Liyanarachchi’s specific appeal to the Ambassador that high-level U.S. intervention not be undertaken, we recommend against the Department raising the Defense Secretary’s alleged threats with the Sri Lankan Ambassador or other GSL officials.”
Related posts;
Radhika Coomaraswamy Goes Silent After ‘Outburst’
burt / June 6, 2015
Its a known fact that the govt used Karuna group and EPDP to terrorize the Tamil population while giving cover for the military. On the other hand MR used Gota and thugs to suppress the media while playing good cop, bad cop.
As head of state he had a responsibility to protect the population and all establishments that served the population which includes the media.
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I.C.E.S. Sumanapala / June 6, 2015
Would like to know whether the US ambassador called present DM editor regarding the threats made to him by Dr Radhika Coomaraswamy!
https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/radhika-coomaraswamy-goes-silent-after-outburst/
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Aia / June 7, 2015
What a brilliant comparison; yes, the Editor’s life is in the balance by a Tamil Diaspora lady, where is US ambassador at this hour of need?. Hypocrite as always.
The patriotism has created a wider disjoint, hard to mend.
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Piranha / June 6, 2015
This is one of many examples of the dirty and devious roles played by the brothers Mahinda and Gota coming to light now. This again illustrates that Mahinda and Gota were partners in all the government sponsored criminal activities under Mahinda’s rule.
People trying to protect Mahinda by blaming Gota and Basil are ignorant of the fact that the Rajapaksa brothers acted together in conducting all the criminal activities including the murders, abductions, disappearances, plundering of the nation’s coffers and other corrupt activities.
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Amarasiri / June 6, 2015
RE: WikiLeaks: Gota Publicly Admitted He Called Daily Mirror Editor
“Defense Secretary Rajapaksa reportedly threatened Daily Mirror Editor Champika Liyanarachchi :
Well, this is Gota’s normal Operating Procedure.
Threaten, and if the person does not stop the activity send the White vans or the assassins. Example Lasantha Wickramatunga.
The infamous Gotabaya Rajapaksa ridicules and laughs at Lasantha Wickrematunge being killed off
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoqPyuE0gpk
Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his Lasantha Wickrematunge rants
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ek-BN6vo0U
Confirmed Gotabaya Rajapaksa Killed Lasantha Wickrematunge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aNRB5XjDLo
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Burt / June 6, 2015
Now the thug wants protection from the court but while his brother was in power he was a law onto himself. This guy has more blood on his hands that any thug or drug dealer in Sri Lanka.
Hope the people keep these criminals out of power so media, students, unions don’t have to worry about white vans or street thugs.
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Sinhala_Man / June 7, 2015
Thanks, Amarasiri, for the links.
Fewer than 10,000 have seen these videos as yet.
A million voters ought to study all this!
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Dailymirror.elkea / June 6, 2015
Dailymirror, Lankadeepa all racist media. We saw many evidence during now and previous mahinda time.
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Ansar / June 6, 2015
THE BARK IS WORSE THAN THE BITE.
Yes, BIG BROTHER. We know that you idiots are a dog family. Thanks for re – asserting the obvious. But the unfortunate thing is there are still some fools who want to bring the dogs to rule over us.
But rest assured that the kennels will be confined to the MEDAMULANA CAGE for the rest of your life or will find a better cage in Welikada.
BTW, DID WE HEAR THAT THE DOG IS NOW TREMBLING UNDER INTERROGATION AND LEAVING THRU THE BACK DOOR UNABLE TO FACE THE MEDIA. REMEMBER BIG BRO THE PEOPLE’S POWER IS WORSE THAN ANY DOG’S BARKS OR BITES.
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fouzi / June 6, 2015
Well said Mr Ansar.
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Gemunu Weeraya / June 6, 2015
[Edited out] GOTA BARKS AND HE USED KARUNA AND DOUGLAS(EPDP) TO BITE THOSE WENT AGAINST HIM.
NOW GOTA THE [Edited out] IS TREMBLING DURING INTEROGATION AND KARUNA AND DOUGLAS LOST THEIR TEETH AND IN HIDING AWAITING THEIR INTEROGATION FOR THEIR KILLINGS
DOUGLAS DEVANANDA ALREADY SUMMOND TO INDIA FOR HIS KILLING AT SULAIMADU TAMILNADU.
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Plato. / June 6, 2015
So Karuna reads the Daily Mirror eh?
Native.
could you Pl.send him your collection of Hugh Nevill?
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Native Vedda / June 6, 2015
Plato
“could you Pl.send him your collection of Hugh Nevill?”
I could however the original literary works are in old Sinhala and Tamil.
He might find them absolute gibberish. The plus point is he might also find Hugh Nevill’s translation and commentary in English interesting.
On the other hand he could ask Bandu de Silva (the only person ever to have access to the collection) for some help.
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Joseph De Vazz-Mahanuwara / June 8, 2015
Gota Barks and Karuna Bites and his bite is FATAL.
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Pot Shot / June 6, 2015
When cowards assume power they just don’t know how to handle it. They dont know how to mange it but they wield it with frenzy like a boy carrying a toy gun. Gota is one case in point. I have stated this before that his colleagues in the army say so – a coward No 1. He used his brother’s position to get out of the army and then used his brothers powers to get the plum job when he was elected President-an opportunist!!!
I am surprised how people in Colombo measure Gota’s success by the clean pavements and beautiful restaurants he has built-all of it with our money too but he gets the credit. Why don’t they measure him by his White Van incidents, the deaths he caused of journalist Lasantha, Pradeep the grievous injuries he caused in so many others, the Rathupaswella incident, the killing of many innocent tamil civilians , the killing of muslim civilians and in some cases some Sinhala civilians too who opposed him. Why cant they measure this coward by the blanket approval he gave the BBS to spread racial hatred in the country. Why cant they measure this man for distorting true Buddhist values through the BBS. Is it that the pavements of Colombo are more sacred than Buddhism???
The people who approve of this man and MR ‘s style of governance must be equally warped in their thinking.
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Snowden Edward Asange / June 7, 2015
“Boy carrying a toy gun” did u mean Eraj. the Hambantota Mayor who was raising his sarong and chasing the team of UNP MP’s who had visited Mattala Airport on a study tour? That goon shouldnt have been granted bail but nailed…
Gota the coward too MUST be nailed and jailed…
Cowards die so many times before their death….
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punchinilame / June 7, 2015
His work he boasts of are the visible ones – the Colombo pavements, which fools the
SB Voters and Dayan + Mahindapala !!
The MS Govt will deal with the invisibale ones – a long and tortuous way ahead which
will be reacched at any cost. The alternative spells the life of a President himself !
MS has caught the tiger by the tail……….
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Jay Jay / June 6, 2015
All the Wiki leaks information comes from the former US Ambassador to SL. How is it that he has access to lots of information regarding Sri Lanka? I am all for cleaning up politics is Sri Lanka. It is long overdue due. But we also have to look at how the US is getting all their information. And also if that information is 100% accurate. Makes one wonder what exactly the US, UK, EU embassy staff are actually doing in SL.
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Saliya / January 8, 2016
Jay Jay, Do you need a crash course in International relations? The depths and lengths the US and their allies go to ensure they are well aware of what’s happening around them is amazing. It’s not necessarily a cause for alarm.
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shankar / June 6, 2015
because of gota srilanka is ranked 161st for media freedom.
There should be some permanent solution to his such as a law which will enable police to arrest anyone threatening the media with minimum 5 years imprisonment.If that law was there gota can be sent to jail now for 5 years.Any chance of bringing in such a law retrospectively.
If someone is jailed now anyone in future will think twice to carry out those bullying stunts in future.Press freedom is very important and western countries have mainly got ahead because of that.
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Jim softy / June 6, 2015
This shows how free the sri lankan journalists are to report in sri lanka.
I don’t think female journalist visited east to get these stories. Instead based on others’ rumours she had written stories and some of those stories may been countries homeland security related. I haven’t read any such western journalists who are that destructive or traitors to their country.
My question is why it is wrong if Gota phoned her.
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shankar / June 7, 2015
jim softly softly
“My question is why it is wrong if Gota phoned her.”
nothing wrong,but when he says that karuna and his men could take it out on her everything is wrong.He likes to intimidate women,like frederika janz and this woman.From the tapes of that screaming to frederika you can imagine what he would have said to champika.
the frederika tapes should be used to bring charges against this goat for intimidating and threatening them with death and jailed.
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Jim softy / June 8, 2015
Fredrica Janz wanted to be Lasantha and she forgot that she was a woman.
That is what happened.
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shankar / June 8, 2015
Jim
she only asked him whether the airline was going to redirect the plane and off load the passengers because his missus wanted a puppy from switzerland,not srilanka because she was jealous of his pet shark and the attention he was giving it.
For that he told frederika that the people will kill her.He always says someone else wants to kill you as he said to champika that karuna’s men might deal with her.
He must have been treated quite shabbily by women in the US.
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Aia / June 7, 2015
In reminiscent, even Gota would be thinking that what he did were not right but you, not so softies, but the hard cores have been thinking that maintaining media freedom and safeguarding Sinhala Buddhists interests are something diagonally opposite, should not be allowed. You have a lot of shady deals and hidden agenda, if a free media allowed to take hold, connive would expose sooner or later, and that for your kind of softies, is treason.
If it comes down that the Country President has to give assurance to a citizen his/her safety, what it says about the country’s governance?. This is not the first time Gota rang an Editor and had exchanged some pleasantries, if I am correct. There is an other Editor Fredricka. Was he a Defense Secretary or mafia bull head?.
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Plato. / June 6, 2015
Thanks native.
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Plato. / June 6, 2015
Thanks Native.
As an after thought, Hugh Nevill may not be of any help now.Perhaps Dial M for Murder,but if there is difficulty in comprehension he could be advised to lay his HANDS on the DVD version A Perfect Murder starring Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow. But who on earth can advise him? MaRa?
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salmajunaideen / June 7, 2015
Editor did not cover the Alutgama June 14 incidents properly. Was she supporting GOTA and BBS at that time. Even prior to it DM supported BBS. Was she scared of GOTA
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Tamil from the north / June 8, 2015
Champika, why don’t you call Gota now and maybe pick him up in a white van.
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Human Rights Activist / June 12, 2015
BY THE WAY, WHEN IS THIS BEAST GOING TO BE CAGED???
FOR ALL HIS SINS. This animal must be locked up for ever not to be
executed. It has to live and suffer for a long time.
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Nazeem Mohamed - Kotte / June 12, 2015
The Beast is trembling during interrogation. the Beast doesn’t know how many persons been taken by the white van and killed.
Champika was lucky or she would have faced the same fate of Lasantha.
This Beast should be sent to jail and to rot for life including his golayas Karuna & Douglas who are tortured the Muslims and the Tamil civilians.
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