Translated by : A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA

A seminar had been organzed by the Joint Opposition at the Sambuddha Jayanthi Mandiraya in Combo under the caption On whose shoulders will be the Treasury Bond Scam?” Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, the President of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Prof. G.L.Peiris, leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya MP Udaya Gammanpila, leader of the Democratic Leftist Front MP Wasudeva Nanayakkara, leader of the National Freedom Front MP Wimal Weerawansa, the convenor of the Economic Research Unit of the joint opposition MP Bandula Gunawardene and the leader of the parliamentary group of the Joint Opposition MP Dinesh Gunawardene addressed this Seminar.

Given below is the speech made by the   leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya MP Udaya Gammanpila at this seminar.

We are now fed up with hearing about the Treasury Bond Scam regarding which we have been hearing for the last two years. Now Mr. Ravi Karunanayake has lost his Ministry portfolio as well. Then what we have now is to find out what we should do now and how we should take this struggle forward? That is the challenge lying before us.

It has become more than 2 ½ years now.  Up to now a case has not been filed even in a magistrate’s court.  Bank Accounts are being suspended by filing cases even on minor matters.  Persons are being prevented from visiting overseas and people are being put under remand custody. But no step has been taken against this Treasury Bond Scam.  The so-called Presidential Commission is not a mechanism of meting out punishments.  It is merely a Comission to make enquiries and report. Therefore what is the step we should take to divulge to the country at least through this Commission what happened under the Treasury Bond Scam..

The first step is that the President of the country should be brought before this Commission. Someone may ask whether the President is salvation or the pot. It was said that through the 19^th amendment that the Executy Presidncy will be abolished it has not been abolished as such.  Even today it is possible only to file a basic rights violation case against him.  However, we can get him summoned to any court as a witness.  In the forged document case  filed against Mr. Tissa Attanayake the President was the 1^st witness and the 2^nd witness was the Prime Minister.  If the President can be a witness to send an ordinary person to prison, we should bring him before this Commission which enquires on Treasury Bond Scam that caused the national economy to a deep abyss as a witness to find out the truth.

By bringing him as a witness what should we ask? As Rajitha Senaratne said that despite their strong opposition he has appointed Arjun Mahendran as the Governor of the Central Bank.  Then

Question No,1

What caused to appoint Arjun Mahendran as the Governor of the Central Bank despite objections by the Cabinet of Ministers?

Question No,2

Arjun Mahendran is a foreigner. He is a person who cannot swear that he will be obliged to uphold  the constitution of Sri Lanka.Why such a foreigner was appointed as the Governor of the Central Bank?

Question No,3

After the cheating of 27^th February 2015 we launched massive protest demonstrations, handed over petitions and mammoth protest demonstrations took place throught the country demanding for the removal of the Governor of the Central Bank.  A protest opinion was created.  But the President did not remove him.  As a result of that in March 2016 a massive Treasury Bonds robbery took place.  An atmosphere was created for Arjun Mahendran to have a self confidence that no damage would befall on him even if he makes further robberies.  Proceed without any fear. Our 3^rd question is why he was not removed even after much pressure exerted to remove him after the 1^st robbery?

Question No,4

While the Presidential Commission is a process of time extension more and more thefts are taking place.  We have received reliable information that Arjun Mahendran is making arrangements to flee the counry suddenly.  It is a Singapoe passport he holds. If he left so it will be the end of it as he is not a one of our persons. It is more than 2 ½ years for this robbery now.  Up to now no action has been taken to obtain a Court Order restricting his foreign visits.  The 4^th question we should ask the President is why such action was not taken?

Question No,5

While investigations are being carried for the last 2 ½ years the billions earned through these robberies are being expended by them. To build new breweries, secure foreign wealth and have started newspapers such as Janayugaya” to sling mud at politicians who speak aginst the Treasurt Bonds Scam. Media is being employed to bloat the images of Treasurt Bonds thieves.  While the money collected through the Treasuyt Bonds Scam are being spent in this manner and ultimately when they were made guilty through Court cases there will not remain a single cent to be confiscated by the government.  Therefore the 5^th question we should ask the President is why no step was taken so far to seal bank accounts opened with robbed money and confiscate the money in such accounts?

Question No,6

The 6^th question we should ask the President is that on the dissolution of Parliament on 26^th June 2015. He said that he hd to dissolve the Parliament to safeguard the Treasury Bond robbers.  If the COPE Committee report coming to Parliament should be prevented by the time the report becomes ready Parliament should not function.   If that is so we should ask the President about the dissolution of the Parliament to safeguard the ‘treasury Bond thieves.

Next we should call the man who was called in the past as Mr. Been and now being called as Mr. Dirty and who has got excretia applied all over him the Prime Minister of ours.There is an allegation that the officials of the Attorney General’s Department do not talk politely and they talk very rudely.   Therefore we should bend our head slightly and ask these questions from the Prime Minister, addressing him as the Hon’ble Priminister.    .

Question No,7

Is it true that when Mr. Rajitha Senaratne objected on the appointment of Mr. Arjun Mahendran as the Governor of the Central Bank you told him that don’t be scared that I will take full responsibility for his appointment? If that is so what is the idea of taking that responsibility? We saw that in India two trains came on the same railway track and got collided with each other.  It was not an action planned by the Indian Minister of Railways. But the Minister of Railways resigned over this incident.  But what happened here is similar to Prime Minister saying ‘travel in the rail track without any fear if an accident happens I will take the full responsibility’. Then, Isn’t it that the Prime Minister should take the responsibility ow and resign?

Question No,8

On 17^th March 2015 the Prime Minister made a special statement in the Parliament on the Treasury Bonds theft.  In which he said that all governments appoint people who are trustworthy to them.  I also appointed gentlemen who were trustworthy for me.  These gentlemen have become big thieves. If that is so he should accept the responsibility now – Isn’t it?

Question No,9

As there is a saying tht cats are witness for the milk the Primr Minister appointed a committee nominating three United National Party Lawyers loyal to him to enquire into this fraud.  They were Gamini Pitipana, Mahesh Kalugampitiya, and Chandimal Mendis.  These people also submitted a report but that report was given by hiding the facts.  But even in that report there were some recommendations. We must ask from the Prime Minister before this Commission why as the Minister in charge of the subject he did not take action to implement any of those recommendations.

Next we should bring before this Commission the ‘footnote gang’.  That Ministers –  Ajith Perera, Sujeewa Senasinghe etc are these people. Mr. Senasinghe even wrote a book justifying `this robbery.I extensively but unsuccessively raked the libraries to lay my hands on a copy of this book. Normally when a Member of Parliament writes a booik a copy of it is kept in the Parliament Library.  But this book is not available there too.  To see how far Mr. Sujeewa Senasinghe has justified the Prime Minister realized if he remains in the COPE Committee he would beautifully cover up robberies.  Therefore he removed MP Velukumar from the COPE Committee and substituted Mr. Sujeewa Senasinghe for that place.

These people remained in the COPE Committee and threatened the Audior General to change his report.  But the Auditor General remained like a lion with a solid backbone.  We can remember that President J.R.Jayawardene got one of his good friends appointed as the Chief Justice.  That was Mr. Neville Samarakoon.  But after coming to that post he functioned independently.  The current Auditor General also functioned in that way independemtly.

It is the same ‘footnote gang’ that threatened the Auditor General then are now threatening the officials of the Attorney General’s Department.  There this ‘footnote gang’s’ assets and liabilities should soon be verified.  Should find out how they have got benefited from Arjun Aloysius.

The former Minister Ravi Karunanayake made a small blunder.  He took the gift in his wife’s name.  In our Assets and Liabilities statements the wealth of the spouse and unmarried children should also be declared as our wealth. We understand that some of the members of this footnote gang have got the luxury houses they obtained in the names of their Mothers in Law and some others have obtained such houses in the names of their sisters.  The reason is that they need not be declared as their assets. Therefore the properties of the whole generations of this footnote gang should be verified and steps should be taken to confiscate them.

There is one or two honest people also in this gang.  All are not rogues.  It is they who spoke stammering in front of the media with drooped faces.

Similrly the Bank of Ceylon should also be brought before this Commission.  If you go to Bank of Ceylon to obtain a 100,000 rupee loan it is given after verifying various things.  But they provide Millions of Rupees of loans to Perpetual Treasuries Company without any sort of documentary verifications and simply over a telephone call.  There is even no Director Board approval. In order to find out about this culture the top officials of the Bank should also be brought before the Commission,

The high officials of the Employees Provdent Fund who purchased the shares bought by the Perpetual Treasuries Company and thereby made a great loss to our poor workers should also be brought before the Commission. Then only we can get a right picture of the length and breth of this robbery.  But what thi government is attempting to do today is as it is said that ‘all trash to Bere Lake’ to put the whole blame on Ravi Karunanayake and get all the others scot free.  We cannot allow this to happen.  They say today that Rav Karunanayake gave an exemplary way.  Because of this great robbery our interest rates got increased. The whole nation got impacted by this great robbery. The whole economy of the country got crashed by this robbery.  Therefore this struggle cannot be ceased until all those involved with this great robbery is punished appropriately.

We give our firm pledge to you that we will not cease this struggle untl we send Ravi Karunanayake and his cronies who went to Pamankada by saying that they were going to Alimankada to their destined rendezvous of Welikada. (niz)