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by Rodney Martinesz

Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena yesterday telephoned the Inspector General of Police in the presence of the media inviting his arrest based on government claims that he had links with the LTTE.

Dr.Jayawardene told the mediamen gathered at the UNP media centre at Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha that he was making this request himself from the IGP in the absence of any official complaint to the police about his purported links with the tigers.

He said, Minister Mangala Samaraweera had only produced a tape and handed it over to the Mahanayakes. The proper course of action would have been to alert the CID and arrest him under the PTA or emergency regulations.

However, all attempts by Dr. Jayawardena to reach the IGP through his mobile phone during yesterday's media briefing were unsuccessful.

Dr. Jayawardena categorically denying that the voice contained in the tape was his challenged Minister Mangala Samaraweera to produce the date, time, place of the purported telephone conversation, the identity of the individual who did the recording and the telephone number.

He said the onus was on the Minister to prove the authenticity of the tape as the person who made the statement and not on him (Jayawardena).

Meanwhile, UNP media spokesman Dr. Karunasena Kodithuwakku observed that the PA which was concocting stories about a UNP-LTTE link would do well to recall the meetings its leader, the President had with the LTTE leaders in Jaffna and Madras in the company of her husband Vijaya.

He also jogged the memories of Anura Bandaranaike and Anuruddha Ratwatte to their meeting with Dilip Yogi in the jungles of Wanni in the company of Kumar Ponnambalam in 1989.

Dr. Kodithuwakku also produced a copy of a letter sent by Mangala Samaraweera to Anton Balasingham dated 20th August 1997 where he thanked the latter "for having accepted our invitation to meet our delegation."

The former MP also told journalists of an instance where the President met with Lawrance Thilakar in Copanhagen in 1995 and also of an interview given to the Frontline Magazine by Anton Balasingham that she (the President) was willing to talk to the LTTE even without consulting the people and the Sri Lankan Army.

He said he did not see anything wrong in having such links for the purpose of talks with the LTTE even then as he did not see anything amiss of any political party opening such links for talks even now.

S.B. Dissanayake alleged that an individual sacked from the Navy has been employed today as a bodyguard to Sripathy Suriyaarachchi. This man could be a threat to the lives of the leaders of the UNF," he said.

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