Ministry nails BBC canard

The External Affairs Ministry in a press release issued yesterday refuted a false news report carried by the BBC Sinhala Sandeshaya website on December 24, 2010.

The report titled “Sri Lanka war panel ‘pro-LTTE’” said.

“The attention of the Ministry of External Affairs has been drawn to the report under the caption “Sri Lanka War Panel ‘pro-LTTE’ carried by the website’ BBC Sinhala Sandeshaya’ with the date line of 24th December 2010. “Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister has accused some members of the Presidential Panel investigating the war, of being pro-Tamil Tigers, a Sinhala nationalist organization affiliated to the Government claims”.

The report continues, “Chairman of the Patriotic National Movement (PNM), Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera said External Affairs Minister Prof. GL Peiris advised him not to appear before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC)”.

Subsequently, Patriotic National Movement Chairman Movement Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera issued a statement that very same day, confirming that there was no such conversation between himself and External Affairs Minister Prof. GL Peiris, as claimed to have taken place by the news report, said the Ministry release.

“Minister GL Peiris categorically asserts that there was no such conversation between himself and Dr. Amarasekera.

Indeed, Prof. Peiris has not had any conversation with Dr. Amarasekera within the last year,” the release added.