Frederica reconfirms Fonseka's allegation
His clarification no retraction :
Editor Frederica Jansz in an article titled Her Story
... published yesterday in the Sunday Leader reconfirmed the
authenticity of the interview given by former Army Commander and Chief
of Defence Staff General Sarath Fonseka to the newspaper alleging that
the Defence Secretary had ordered the killing of surrendering LTTE
leaders.
Excerpts from the article:
"The interview proceeded as a series of questions and
answers on major topics and issues and a transcript of the interview ...
appeared in the Sunday Leader of December 13, 2009.
"..I asked the General what really happened....
Fonseka made the allegation that would later appear in the newspapers.
"He claimed he had heard that Gotabhya Rajapaksa
ordered any surrendering LTTE cadres to be shot, and related the story
of Pulidevan and Nadesan's surrender... It seemed obvious that an
allegation of this magnitude deserves special attention...
"Realising the impact such striking allegations would
have, at 9.45 a.m. before the paper went to print on Saturday I once
again contacted Sarath Fonseka.
"During a 20 minute phone conversation the General
reiterated that he stood by the allegation....
"Fonseka then said he was willing to go on record with
his claim and he assured me that he would not back down. Only with that
assurance did we go to print. Despite ... pressure it is notable that
after its publication the General stood by the story. In a press
conference he gave on Sunday afternoon at the JAIC Hilton, documented by
the BBC, he made no effort to deny the story....
"At a meeting with the Chairman of the Sunday Leader,
Lal Wickremetunga on Monday, December 14, senior UNP leaders together
with Samaraweera and the JVP insisted that a retraction was necessary as
the story had damaged Fonseka's reputation as a patriot...
"However, as a journalist and as someone who committed
to the truth I refused to publish a fraudulent retraction....
"Later that same day, December 14, I met the General
at approximately 2.45 p.m. whereupon he reiterated that he could not
deny what he had said...
"Mangala Samaraweera and Vijitha Herath however
remained adamant demanding that the Leader publish a partial
retraction.....
"Finally, we agreed on a compromise whereby a
clarification written by Sarath Fonseka would appear in the Sunday
Leader of December 20, 2009 issue.
This clarification emphasizes a technical point and is
in no way a retraction. "Under immense pressure...and unable to flatly
deny what he knew to be the truth the General waffled and issued what
was neither a clarification nor a retraction.
"However over the following days his advisors and
supporters would insist that Fonseka had denied the story. The move from
clarification to retraction and denial proved to be a disaster...
"Finally, the JVP threatened to sue the Sunday Leader
for defaming Fonseka.
"However, the UNP side of the Opposition Alliance
assured us that no Letter of Demand would be forthcoming."
Courtesy : Daily News |
