No confidence on Police inquiry - SL Minister

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 February 2007, 10:49 GMT]
Anura Bandaranaike, the Sri Lankan Minister of National Heritage, in a Question of Privilege, raised in the Sri Lankan Parliament Thursday, charged that there were "forces within the government," surrounding the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, conspiring against Bandaranaike family. Mr. Bandaranaike, who did not directly point the finger at the Sri Lankan President, said some persons close to Mr. Rajapakse, with "American passports" were behind the death threats issued against him and Mangala Samaraweera, the minister of ports and aviation. He further told the Lankan parliament that he had no confidence that the police would hold proper inquiry into his complaint.

"This kind of threats will not silence us. They will make us even tougher," Mr. Bandaranaike said.

Ruling out the direct involvement of the Sri Lankan president, the main opposition UNP, the extreme nationalist JVP or the Liberation Tigers behind the death threats, he said there was a conspiracy to get rid of his sister Chandrika Kumaratunga and him from the Sri Lanka Freedom party (SLFP).

The brother of Mahinda Rajapakse, Lt. Col (retd.) Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had served under the incumbent Sri Lanka Army Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka when Fonseka served as a Colonel, had expatriated to USA and later appointed Defence Secretary by Mahinda Rajapakse when he was elected Sri Lankan President in November 2005.

In the privilege question raised in parliament Banddranaike declared that no one could chase away members of Bandaranaike family from politics.

He reminded that his father, late S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike was the founder of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and was shot dead while holding the Prime Minister post. His mother Ms. Srimavo Bandaranaike was Prime Minister and was disfranchised by the then UNP government when she was out of power. His sister Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge had lost one of her eyes in a bomb attack when she was the executive president, he told the house.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Inspector General of Police (IGP) has named to teams to investigate into the death threat on Anura Bandaranaike on the instruction of Mahinda Rajapakse.

Chronology: