{"id":182016,"date":"2017-09-13T03:41:47","date_gmt":"2017-09-12T22:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=182016"},"modified":"2017-09-17T12:35:51","modified_gmt":"2017-09-17T07:05:51","slug":"bond-scam-clarification-from-rosy-senanayake-harsha-de-silva-awaited","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bond-scam-clarification-from-rosy-senanayake-harsha-de-silva-awaited\/","title":{"rendered":"Bond Scam \u2013 Clarification From Rosy Senanayake & Harsha De Silva Awaited"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0<\/b><\/span>Amrit Muttukumaru<\/a> –<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Amrit Muttukumaru<\/p><\/div>\n

The alleged Treasury Bond scams<\/a> under the ‘Yahapalanaya’ government are arguably one of the largest financial scams to take place in the post-independence history of Sri Lanka.\u00a0 <\/span>For sheer impunity and involvement of a wide spectrum of politicians in collusion with a section of the corporate sector and regulatory authorities it is hard to beat. The muted response of the opposition exemplifies the rot in the governance of this country.<\/span><\/p>\n

This article is written in the Public Interest from information available in the public domain. Both Ms. Rosy Senanayake and Dr. Harsha de Silva hold influential positions directly under Prime Minister Ranil\u00a0Wickremesinghe<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Ms. Senanayake is \u2018Deputy Chief of Staff\u2019 in the Prime Minister\u2019s \u2018core team\u2019 at \u2018Temple Trees\u2019, Dr. de Silva is Deputy Minister, Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs where the Prime Minister is the Minister in charge. <\/span><\/p>\n

Clarification from both parties is in the Public Interest. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ms. Rosy Senanayake<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Rosy Senanayake<\/p><\/div>\n

Media reports of proceedings in the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the alleged Treasury Bond Scams have given prominent coverage to the clarification by Nuwan Salgado – Chief Dealer of Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL) relating to the purported phone recording of a call originating in the UK on 8 August 2016<\/b> from Kasun Palisena CEO of PTL requesting Nuwan Salgado to obtain from \u2018PTL owner\u2019 Arjun Aloysius documents on his (Palisena) testimony given to COPE for onward transmission to former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran. The recording has Palisena purportedly telling Salgado that Arjun Aloysius had received the documents from \u201cRosy\u2019s son<\/a>\u201d<\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

The media has Salgado clarifying to the Commissioners under oath that:<\/span><\/p>\n

i) \u201cRosy\u201d referred to by Palisena is <\/b>\u201cRosy Senanayake (Former member of D.E.W. Gunasekara\u2019s COPE in the seventh Parliament)\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ii) \u201cRosy\u2019s son\u201d was identified as <\/span>\u201cKanishka Senanayake\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(Ref. \u2018Daily Mirror<\/em>\u2019 7 September 2017)<\/span><\/p>\n

Ms. Senanayake has strongly denied this allegation stating she was not a COPE member after the August 2015<\/b> parliamentary elections. <\/span><\/p>\n

The question then arises as to what made PTL CEO Kasun Palisena in August 2016<\/b> to refer to Ms. Senanayake\u2019s son in regard to COPE documents? Media reports do not enlighten the public whether the documents referred to were from the D.E.W. Gunasekara led COPE report prior to the August 2015 parliamentary elections when she was a member or from the Sunil Handunnetti led COPE report after the August 2015 parliamentary elections when she was no longer a member.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the reference was to the D.E.W. Gunasekara led COPE report, Ms. Senanayake would presumably have a copy. This would not be so if the reference was to the Sunil Handunnetti led COPE report. In the public interest and in the interest of Ms. Rosy Senanayake herself should not the PCoI Commissioners and the media clarify the same?<\/span><\/p>\n

Be that as it may, would not Ms. Rosy Senanayake in her capacity as \u2018Deputy Chief of Staff<\/a>\u2019 in Prime Minister Ranil\u00a0Wickremesinghe\u2019s \u2018core team\u2019 have access to both COPE reports<\/b>? The question arises whether this was the context in which Kasun Palisena made reference to \u201cRosy\u2019s son\u201d<\/b>?<\/span><\/p>\n

Clarification from Ms. Rosy Senanayake is awaited.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Harsha de Silva<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Reference is made to the following excerpts from \u2018The Sunday Times<\/em><\/a>\u2019 of 30 October 2016 on the controversial \u2018footnotes\u2019 in the <\/span>Sunil Handunetti<\/span> led COPE Report on the alleged Bond Scams signed by UNP members of COPE which included Dr. Harsha de Silva: (emphasis added)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Dr. Harsha de Silva<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAt no time before has the United National Party (UNP) used its might so strongly in Parliament to try and block what it perceived was a report not to its liking.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Handunetti revealed that the following 16 members accepted the report without the footnotes. Sunil Handunnetti (Chairman), Rauff Hakeem, Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Lakshman Senewiratne, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Anura Dissanayake, Chandrasiri Gajadeera, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Bimal Rathnayake, Weerakumara Dissanayake, S. Shritharan, Gnanamuthu Srineshan, M.A. Sumanthiran, Nalinda Jayathissa, Mavai S. Senathirajah \u2013 from the SLFP, JO, JVP, TNA and the SLMC.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Those who accepted it subject to the inclusion of the footnotes,<\/i><\/b> he said, were: Ravindra Samaraweera, Wasantha Aluvihare, <\/i>Harsha De Silva<\/i><\/b>, Ajith P. Perera, Ashok Abeysinghe, Hector Appuhamy, Sujeewa Senasinghe, Harshana Rajakaruna, and Abdullah Mahroof \u2013 all of the UNP.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

As is clear, the thrust of these footnotes is to make clear that Mahendran has not been responsible of any impropriety.<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The UNP is confident that it can, through the documentation Deputy Minister Harsha de Silva has received, prove its case that its man Arjuna Mahendran is not to blame.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Response to Journalist on \u2018Footnotes<\/b><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMinister do you at any point now regret the footnotes on that COPE report? Going by what is being revealed now, do you regret it or was there a lack of information at that point?\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n