“Karuna Defection, Wickremasinghe's Ploy” - UNP Stalwart

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 November 2005, 10:04 GMT]
A United National Party (UNP) stalwart in Nuwara Eliya district, Mr. Naveen Dissanayake, has said that it would not be necessary for Sri Lanka’s Military to fight the Tigers. "American and Indian forces will fight the LTTE if Liberation Tigers' leader Pirapaharan opts to wage a war," Naveen Dissanayake told the audience at an Election propaganda meeting, Thursday, at Ginigathena in the upcountry district of Nuwara Eliya, a Tamil daily, Uthayan, quoted in its headline story, Monday. Mr. Dissanayake has also claimed that a situation was created to make the renegade LTTE commander Karuna to get dissatisfied with his leadership during the period covering his trips to Europe, the paper said.

According to the paper report, Dissanayake, the former Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries, has claimed that Karuna had the full backing of Wickremasinghe before he set out on his diversion. "This is why Mr. Pirapaharan was unable to wage another war," the UNP stalwart told the audience.

Dissanayake also referred to Mr. Wickremasinghe's meetings with the US President, George W. Bush, and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party), and said that Wickremasinghe has made the necessary groundwork to conduct the war with the LTTE, if the latter opts for one.

"There will be no need for Sri Lankan forces to do the fighting," he further said.

The meeting was organised by the Nuwara Eliya district organiser of the UNP, Mr. K. K. Piyadasa. Mrs. Hema Premadasa, the wife of the late Sri Lankan president and former UNP leader Mr. R. Premadasa , UNP parliamentarian Bandula Gunawardene, and Mr. Vijeyakumar, the General Secretary of the Upcountry People’s Front were present at the meeting, the paper said.

The UNP parliamentarian Naveen Dissanayake is the son of late Gamini Dissanayake.