By Walter Jayawardhana

Anura Priyadarshana Yapa , Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Minister of mass Media and Information said yesterday sinister international forces want to destabilize the whole of South Asia using terrorism and if not for a leader like President Mahinda Rajapaksa no other leader would have withstood the havoc of such wicked conspiracy.

Speaking at an interview by television journalist Sudharman Radaliyagoda of the state owned ITN Yapa said, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Even an opposition leader like Rukman Senanayaka is of the opinion that any other leader would have succumbed to such forces.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

He said certain journalists who have fled Sri Lanka are being used by such sinister forces to tell the world that the government is crushing the free media but Sri Lanka is a country which have no laws to control the media and many electronic and print media are constantly and daily published against the government . He said No journalist has been jailed on any restrictions on journalism and Thisanayagam has been convicted on terrorism charges by the countryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s judiciary and not by the executive.

Anura Priyadarshana Yapa pointed out that when there was a terrorist threat Britain legislated new laws against it limiting certain civil liberties and the under similar strains the US started keeping terrorism suspects under arrest at Guantanamo detention camps without any trials. He said under circumstances of terrorism countries are compelled to legislate new laws to meet the challenge of terrorism. Thisanayagam was jailed under such laws and under no media law he said. Two journalists of the Lanka newspaper were arrested by the police for criminal trespass and produced before a magistrate and released on bail. They have been arrested under no media law but under the countryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s regular criminal law. If a man is a journalist he cannot remain above the law as all men are equal before the law the media minister said.

He said still there is an emergency situation in the country since during the Uva provincial council election there had been an attempt to assassinate President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The man hired for the purpose is a Sinhalese police officer. Still tons of weapons are unearthed by the army and the police from where they were hidden by the LTTE. He said unfortunately, knowingly or unknowingly the JVP is fulfilling the intentions of the conspirators by refusing to vote for the emergency regulations.

He said UNP supporters were openly insulting our army who accomplished a heroic feat by calling its Commander, General Sarath Fonseka as a man not even fit to command the Salvation Army.

Now traitorous writers who fled the country are used to commit treason. The UNP is speaking with hatred. He said to kneel before conspiratorial foreign forces and betray the country is traitorous act.

He said sinister foreign forces are at work to destabilize South Asian countries like India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Janata Party leader Subramaniayan Swamy has charged that twenty seven South Indian politicians were receiving money from the LTTE. Jayalalitha who was vehemently opposed to the LTTE suddenly started supporting them before the last Indian elections. He said terrorism is making havoc in Pakistan. All these were definitely supported by the international sinister forces , Yapa argued.

Yapa said UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe has started speaking about a confederal government (or Samuhanduwa in Sinhalese). The people of Sri Lanka has never given a mandate for a confederal government, he said. Sri Lanka is one unitary state, he reminded.

He said the ruling party is a democratic party. It does not want to shut up the voice of the people. He said Sri Lanka Freedom Party holds it annual conferences and holds party elections regularly and democratically. At the same time it goes to elections so often to know the pulse of the people. He asked whether any undemocratic party would hold so many elections.

He said the United National PartyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Katharagama sessions stealthily amended the party constitution that allowed party working committee to expel the party leader by two thirds majority. They realized they had done this amendment only when they went home after the sessions. Today, the UNP members have no avenue to resort to change their leadership. Ranil Wickramasinghe has become the leader of the party for life. Such a dictatorial party is accusing the ruling party as totalitarian, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said.