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Right of reply- 1
TULF General Secretary R.Sampanthan responding to the column by "Roving Correspondent" last week in The Sunday Times states,
I write in regard to references made to me in the article under the heading "India has spoken. What next" by your Roving Correspondent on the editorial page of The Sunday Times of 26th October 2003.

The references are as follows:
(i) that I was a "one time" fiery critic "of the LTTE."
While I and my party the TULF have at all times been critical of violence by both the Sri Lanka state and the LTTE, you cannot justify either on the basis of what I have stated in Parliament or outside, your 'roving' statement that I was a 'fiery critic' of the LTTE. I have spoken many times in Parliament during the debates on the extension of the emergency and the Committee Stage of the defence vote, when particular reference was made by me to the Sri Lanka state the LTTE and the conflict. Can you by reference to any such speech, or to any other statement made by me prove that I have been 'a fiery critic' of the LTTE.

(II) "Who sought protection from the Police Special Task Force (STF) Commandos for fear of his life from them."
All members of Parliament and Leaders of political parties are provided with some security by the State. While I must frankly express my sincere appreciation to the few Police Officers attached to my Security for the conscientious service rendered by them, I wish to categorically deny that I have ever sought protection from Police Special Task Force Commandos. It is true that at certain times, in the context of certain events, the State has made special security arrangements, even in regard to me, but I state without fear of contradiction, that such arrangements were never made at my request. Such arrangements have never deterred me from speaking the truth in regard to any matter and never will.

(III) " It was also not so long ago at another closed door meeting he wept like a child before senior Indian High Commission officials in Colombo. That was to plead his case over switching allegiance. 'What can I do. I have to save my life, I have no choice ' he lamented whilst wiping tears cascading down his chubby cheeks".

This statement is diabolically false and is deliberately and maliciously made to defame me, cause me anguish, and bring me into public ridicule. I assert that not one of the senior Indian High Commission officials present at a meeting with TULF Members of Parliament will support what has been stated in the above article. I challenge the writer to prove what he has stated with evidence, to support thereof. If he cannot, he should withdraw his fabricated story..

Our relationship with India …My allegiance has been and will always be only to the legitimate rights of the Tamil people, and it is primarily to serve the interests of the much beleaguered Tamil people that I am in politics. By doing so, I think I am serving a much larger cause of being of service to the whole country.

Please have the above published in the next issue of "The Sunday Times". I have to request you to give my statement the same measure of publicity that the aforesaid article was given.

Our Roving Correspondent comments: (1) Mr. Sampanthan did speak to a former Minister of the PA Cabinet to obtain security from the Government against LTTE threats and in fact the President delivered a squad of PSD (sorry, not STF) men to guard him.

Guard him from whom? The LTTE. This security was provided to him not when he was an MP, but at a time he was persona-non-grata with the LTTE. (2) I have to only remind Mr. Sampanthan about the date of the closed door meeting. It was at the Indian High Commission on June 20.

The High Commissioner for India, Nirupam Sen, other High Commission officials and even Mr. Sampanthan's own colleagues were present when he made that painful lament over switching allegiance. If he says he did not cry like a child, I will accept it. But what did he do and what did he say? Well, well. They are not things that will please the LTTE.

Right of reply -2
Former Member of the National Police Commission Mrs. S.N. Ebert states that she tendered her resignation from the Police Commission under protest as the Constitutional Council sought in writing her resignation even though a full inquiry was not conducted thereby denying her the basic protection of due process of law. In a letter to The Sunday Times Mrs. Ebert states that Dr. Wijeweera the member who resigned from the NPC consequent to lodging a complaint against her, presented an appeal made by 25 police SPs regarding the antedating of their promotions.

"However, he did not furnish the members with copies of the said appeal and its annexure nor were they duly briefed on the subjects, save for a short verbal introduction made by him.

He did not circulate before hand or submit at the meeting a memo on the matter. As a result, the other members of the NPC including myself were unaware of the identities of the appellants, contents of their appeal and the observations of the IGP on the said appeal" the letter states.

Right of reply- 3
In reference to the article "Businessman's brother claims road-death probe manipulated", which appeared in "The Sunday Times" of October 12, 2003, regarding an accident involving Deputy Minister Sajith Premadasa's backup vehicle, Mr. Suranga Yatagampitiya, the brother of the deceased, states,

"The following extracts mentioned of the said article were not stated by me in the said interview; "Suranga Yatagampitiya, the younger brother of the businessman, claimed that soon after the accident at Rosmead Place - Wijerama Junction some unidentified persons had allegedly manipulated with the brakes of the backup jeep" and "But a VIP police personnel who was at the vicinity of the accident claimed that some people had actually tried to alter the brakes, the victim's brother said"
Our Reporter's note:The statement attributed to Mr. Suranga Yatagampitiya, regarding the manipulation of brakes was indeed stated by Mr. Yatagampitiya as mentioned in the article.

However Mr. Yatagampitiya has been inadvertently attributed the statement regarding the VIP security personnel stating that some people had actually tried to alter the brakes.

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