Malicious concoction, says JVP

In an interview with The Sunday Times he said there was no account for any individual in the party. 

Excerpts:

Q:What were your complaints to the police?

A: One related to the breaking of banking norms in releasing details of our account. The other was against a newspaper for defaming Mr. Weerawansa. We don't know the outcome of the complaints 

Q: Did the party ask for an inquiry by the People's Bank ?

A: We informed the Bank to give us all details pertaining to this account and for it to carry out an inquiry. They will do it within the next few days. The manager has assured me that there will be an internal inquiry.

Q: What's the connection between the person who was getting the Bank statement in Malwana and the JVP ?

A: The party does not have any connection with the relevant person. He was a member of the Sri Lanka Progressive Front . The JVP had political differences, and we moved away. We feel that he used this to go against us. When the party first started in 1994 we did not have an address at Panchikawatte, and we gave the Malwana address. But after we got the Panchikawatte address we got the Bank statements to this address, but we did not know that after we informed about the Panchikawatte address the bank statements were still going to the Malwana address also. The person who is residing at the Malwana address at no stage informed us that the statements were still going there. If he had done so we would have told the bank to stop it.

Q: But why did this person claim that he has been receiving the statements and also passing them to the JVP ?

A: He would have kept these statements with him. We are made to believe that he wanted to gain political advantage from this. He may have given them out. But we never knew that the statements were being sent to that address. We were getting the statements so the party did not see anything unusual.

Q: So are you saying that two statements were sent by the Bank to two different addresses ?

A: That's how it was done, and the Bank is at fault.

Q: The other statement was sent to Ruwan Ferdinandes who is now Minister Mangala Samaraweera's co-ordinating secretary. Didn't the JVP feel that it could bring some disrepute to the party ?

A: Ruwan Ferdinandes resigned from the JVP in 1996 and we informed the Bank about his resignation and also gave the name of the new treasurer. So that ended his connections with the JVP and there was no issue. After that the JVP in any case did not bother to keep a tab on what he was doing. There are a lot of members who leave the party and we don't bother to find out whether they are with Mangala or S.B. But we legally removed him from the account and appointed a new treasurer. It is the Bank that did not change the name.

Q: You said that the media fabricated the issue and the party was filling legal action ?

A: We will be filing a criminal defamation case against the newspaper and a private TV station. We will also take legal action against Dr. Rajitha Senaratne.

Q: The JVP earlier called for the removal of criminal defamation , so why has the party changed its stance now?

A: We said that the media should not be harassed through a criminal defamation act using a parliamentary privilege issue. But if a media group acts maliciously to defame the character of an individual or a party then we have a right to take action against this criminal defamation. The truth is there is an account at the Nugegoda branch under the party. It is handled by me, Wimal Weerawansa and Nandana Gunethilake. There is no account for an individual. The JVP is not interested to see from where this controversy surfaced. It is the bank that has to find out and it is proved in courts that the Bank is at fault, the bank will have to pay us damages. 

Also if the bank states that someone had manipulated the whole matter that person will have to face the consequences.

For the past two weeks, interested parties have taken up the JVP account. What is unusual is why these people are not interested in finding out the workings of other parties. Each political party has its own account. The members and families have business . But why are they behind the JVP only ? 

Bank letters enveloped in mystery

By M.Ismeth and Chris Kamalendran

The statements to Mr. Ferdinandaz, whose name appears in the statement as T.G.R.P. Pradinandis has been posted to an address at Malwana. This address had been used by JVP's Propaganda Secretary Wimal Weerawansa as well .The statement even for August this year had been posted to Mr. Ferdinandaz name with a copy to Mr. Weerawansa inside the same envelope, leading to questions as to how such statements were being sent to both of them. The Malwana address is that of a JP and physician Niyaz who was an unsuccessful candidate at the parliamentary elections in 1994 and October last year on the Sri Lanka Progressive Front (SLPF) ticket..

Mr. Niyaz told The Sunday Times his address had received bank statements and letters of the JVP till 1995, but since then he claimed that letters were not being received there.

But the area postman Upul said he remembered delivering letters to the name of 'Pradinandis'and some of them were bank statements while some letters were addressed to Mr. Weerawansa also. The Sunday Times learns that the copy of the same statement sent to Mr. Ferdinandaz was also being sent to Mr. Weerawansa. But the statement to Mr. Weerawansa did not contain an address as they were posted together.

Mr. Niyaz, now a director of the MPCS Wholesale Depot at Biyagama , said that letters received in the name of Ferdinandaz and Weerawansa were either sent back to the JVP office at Nugegoda or somebody from the JVP office would call over to collect them.

"I knew Mr. Ferdinandaz and Mr. Weerawansa, though I am not linked to them now. Whatever letters came in their names were sent to them. Since I knew both of them, I allowed them to use my address. But at no point did I tell them not to use my address," he said. The postman said he was from the same area and knew Mr. Niyaz as a social worker and politician.

He said he had wondered how JVP letters came to Mr. Niyaz's address but never questioned as all the letters were accepted by Mr. Niyaz or any family member. The Sunday Times learns that the statements of the JVP's bank account bearing No. 0174 165 0068569 copies were simultaneously being sent to the JVP's office at Kotte while two copies were being sent to the Malwana address. One of them was addressed to Mr. Ferdinandaz and the other to Mr. Weerawansa. 

A senior People's Bank official who did not want to be named since the controversy broke out over Mr. Weerawansa having a joint statement with Mr. Ferdinandaz, said inquiries have been conducted within the bank.

He said they have found that it was a mistake by the bank that the names had not been changed, despite the party informing the bank that the signatories of the account should be changed.

JVP's General Secretary Tilvin Silva strongly denied that they were aware that statements were still being issued in the name of Mr. Ferdinandaz, a former Finance Secretary of the JVP and claimed it was a conspiracy against the JVP (See separate story). Meanwhile a former SLFP member who is backing the UNP has called on the Bribery Commission to probe the matter before the elections.

Ravindra Lal Perera in his complaint to the Commission claimed that Mr. Weerawansa and Mr. Ferdinandaz had a joint bank account and had not declared it.

The JVP earlier reacting to the allegations, claimed that Mr. Weerawansa need not declare the particular account as it was the JVP's official account . Mr. Perera has filed five bank statements issued by the People's Bank branch at Nugegoda in the name of Mr. Pradinandis (Ferdinandaz).

Meanwhile Mr. Niyaz has been receiving death threats through anonymous calls and has lodged six complaints in different police stations. Mr. Niyaz said he was also consulting his lawyers.

The things they say

UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in a subsequent call to Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar :"I'm sorry for the mis-understanding."

Minister Mangala Samaraweera on TV interview, "There are two Maligawas in the Uda-rata . The Dalada Maligawa and SB's Maligawa."

S.B.Dissanayake in response:"My father was a teacher. He gets a pension. My sister is a doctor. My friends helped me. I made little money by selling my duty free vehicle and built my house at a cost of Rs. 15 million. Why don't they take pictures of the palace built by Anuruddha Ratwatte at Anniewatte ,Kandy and show it to the people.His house is ten times bigger than mine."

Minister S.B.Dissanayake on TV interview : .I'm a rural boy who went to the university in this country and got a degree. I don't have a questionable degree from a foreign university, nor did I study dress designing abroad."

Mahinda Samarasinghe (UNP) on Rupavahini chat show: "These questions you ask me about Mr. S.B.Dissanayake are distracting us from discussing bigger issues like..."

Wimal Weerawansa (JVP) on Swarnavahini chat show: "These questions about my alleged joint account are distracting us from discussing bigger issues like..."

S.B.Dissanayake on TV interview "The President says she works 20 hours each day. Can you believe it-I mean doesn't she attend to ablutions even."

S.B. again: The tragedy of the PA is that they don't know who will crossover next

Alavi Moulana on the PA rebels: "They left the PA due to pressure and treasure, and henceforth there will be no friction, fraction or division within the PA."

JVP spokesman Wimal Weerawansa at a public meeting: "Ranil mahattaya, forget about the gold bracelets and computers. This is a nation suffering from starvation. Chandrika nona, don't you dare come with your bag of lies, for only a programme for development would succeed this time around."

Gamini Athukorale during at a Nivithigala meeting: "These political nincompoops kept on bothering us to show our numbers in the House. The PA seniors pestered us so much and claimed that there were 20 UNPers ready to defect. Just to please their curiosity, we just showed some of the numbers. And you know the results."

Mahinda Rajapakse on the pre polls pay hike: "The government is glad to finally reward the long suffering public sector employees with a well-deserved salary increase, albeit the illegality of the action."