Intimidators call halt to Mathata Thitha:

Death threats to NATA officials

Another threatening telephone call has been made to a top official of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) currently spearheading the Mathata Thitha program. This follows threatening telephone calls made to NATA Chairman Prof Carlo Fonseka which has already been highlighted in the media.

The latest to receive such a threatening call is Dr Prasanna Cooray Coordinator of the project (SL -3- 02).

The call was made at around 5.30 pm on Sunday and was similar in content to the two calls made to Prof Carlo Fonseka. They contained a single message “Stop your activities under the President’s Mathata Thitha program”.

Following Sunday’s threatening call NATA Chairman Prof Carlo Fonseka has written to IGP Mahinda Balasuriya urging action to provide protection to Dr Cooray and his family members.

The NATA Chairman in his letter to the IGP states:

“I write in my capacity as Chairman of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) to report a matter of criminal nature and to earnestly seek your active intervention to stop the nuisance.

On two previous occasions I myself received threatening anonymous phone calls. In a decisive tone of voice the caller warned me to stop our activities under HE the President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s “Mathata Thitha” program. The caller added that if I did not do so I will certainly not be allowed to spend my retirement peacefully and that I may even see an early grave. I made a formal complaint about it to the CID late last year.

The matter came to the attention of HE the President and also became front page news in some papers. However, I regret to have to inform you that nothing tangible has been done about the matter up to date.

The present incident I am reporting to you took place on 14.03.2010. (Sunday) at about 5.30 p.m. The coordinator of a project (SL-3-02) conducted by NATA has been Dr. Prasanna Cooray from April 2009. On that day at that time, Dr. Cooray received an anonymous phone call which was very similar in content to the ones I received. However, in addition the caller had told. Dr. Cooray that his family too would have to suffer if he did not stop his activities under the “Mathata Thitha” program. The caller’s telephone number automatically recorded on Dr. Cooray’s mobile phone is as follows: 0339976249.

Dr. Cooray reported the matter to me and on my advice he made an entry about the threatening anonymous phone call to the police station nearest his home, Dehiwala”.