Mohan Samaranayake subjected to undue pressure: Weerawansa
Mohan
Samaranayake
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COLOMBO: JVP Parliamentarian and Publicity Secretary Wimal Weerawansa
making a special statement in Parliament yesterday said it is common
knowledge that the press officer attached to the UN Office in Colombo
Mohan Samaranayake who is a senior and renowned journalist has been
subjected to undue pressure today.
Since the fate that has befallen Samaranayake clearly divulged the
role played in Sri Lanka by the bigwigs of the UN office in Colombo, it
should draw the attention of this august assembly, he said.
An interview with Samaranayake was published in the Divaina of
January 14. It was headlined ‘Saddam was hanged for killing 146,
Prabhakaran who killed thousands protected.’
A translation of this interview was published in the Daily News of
January 17 with the same headline.
Following the interview the heads of the Colombo UN Office made it an
issue to get activated against Samaranayake. Accordingly, the
spokesperson for the Colombo UN office Orla Clinton had lodged a
complaint against Samaranayake to the UN Headquarters.
As a result, the UN Headquarters has taken steps to issue a show
cause notice on Samaranayake. According to media reports the end result
may be the dismissal of Samaranayake from his job, Weerawansa said.
“Samaranayake has not made such a serious statement for heads of the
Colombo UN office to get rattled. We don’t know whether they are aware
of Section 19 of the universal declaration of Human Rights adopted by UN
on December 10, 1948.
It states that everyone has the right to adopt or publish his opinion
or ideas and views without obstruction. It also includes the right to
elicit, gather and publish information without any restriction or
limitations. Why isn’t this right applicable to Samaranayake?”
Weerawansa asked.
It is not to settle a personal score that heads of the Colombo UN
Office are trying to hunt down Samaranayake. They have understood that
there is a world of difference between their intentions in Sri Lanka and
the stands taken by Samaranayake. Therefore, they waited for an
opportunity to strike at him. Why is it so, the JVP Parliamentarian
asked.
Samaranayake is an intelligent journalist who openly criticised
Western imperialism. He clearly analyses the close link between
separatism and Western imperialism. He also vehemently opposed Tiger
terrorism. Unlike certain officer Sri Lankans working in international
institutions, he has not severed from his roots and aimlessly flown in
the open skies, Weerawansa said.
“That is why the heads of the Colombo UN office want to victimise
him,” he said. “It is these very same heads of the Colombo UN office who
made former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to issue a condolence
message on the death of LTTE terrorist Kaushalyan. They also made a
desperate attempt to arrange a meeting between Annan and LTTE terrorists
in Mullaitivu when he made a post-tsunami visit to Sri Lanka.”
Weerawansa said: “It is also these heads of the Colombo UN Office who
brought down Alan Rock to Sri Lanka as a representative of the UN
Rapporteur on war and recruitment of child soldiers and got him to level
false charges against Security Forces saying they are aiding and
abetting the recruitment of child soldiers. Radhika Coomaraswamy has
been appointed as UN Rapporteur on war and child recruitment as part of
this conspiracy.
The person named as successor to the former head of the UN mission in
Colombo Miguel Burmeo has been engaged in humanitarian activities in the
recently divided states of East Timor and Bosnia.
We feel that it is just not by accident that the UN hierarchy is
sending down people who have shown their colours in separated states to
Sri Lanka.
The Colombo UN office is infested with Tiger sympathizers. If people
are displaced in a certain area they try to keep them indefinitely in
IDP camps. This is part of a conspiracy against the Sri Lanka state.
Many former UN employees have later joined the TRO.
All these facts prove that the UN office in Colombo is engaged in
politics against the state and they are sympathising with separatists.
They get provoked whenever any statements are made against Prabhakaran.
Why do the heads of the UN office in Colombo sympathise with a
criminal terrorist organisation striving to curve out a separate state
in their member state after enjoying all diplomatic privileges including
free land and premises, tax concessions and obtaining UN membership
fees. They will certainly provide a more clear answer to this question
in the near future.
We should take action against the fate that has befallen Samaranayake
because it clearly portrayed the fate that had befallen Sri Lanka at the
hands of the heads of the Colombo UN office. I hope the government and
the people would clearly understand this.”
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