An end to Sunday Leader slander!

Mt. Lavinia District Judge Priyantha de Silva on Friday issued an enjoining order on a plaint filed by Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa against Lasantha Wickramathunga, the Editor of Leader Publications (Pvt) Ltd, preventing further publications carrying references defamatory of him. The enjoining order was sought regarding an article published on 9th November 2008 edition of the Sunday Leader, which was considered on the face of it defamatory.

M.U.M. Ali Sabry, Counsel for plaintiff Rajapaksa mentioned in court inter alia that the Secretary Defence had joined the Sri Lanka Army in 1971 as a Second Lieutenant and after 20 years of active service in the Army, retired.

During his tenure, Rajapaksa was among the elite who received much praise for his service to the national cause, thereby becoming a recipient of a presidential commendation from the then President J. R. Jayawardena in addition to being bestowed the Rana Wikrama and Rana Soora (on two occasions) medals for bravery in combat from incumbent presidents Ranasinghe Premadasa and D. B. Wijethunga.

It was also mentioned in court that he had played a significant role in the Vadamarachchi Operation together with General Denzil Kobbekaduwa and Maj. General Wijaya Wimalaratne.

Counsel also filed an Island newspaper dated 17th June 1987, with a front page photograph, showing the plaintiff with the then Brig. Denzil Kobbekaduwa and Col. Wijaya Wimalaratne, captioned 'The national flag and army flag were flown high by soldiers who wrested the Vadamarachchi area from the control of terrorists' which went on to prove that the plaintiff had played a crucial role during some decisive operations against terrorists while in active service.

The counsel Sabry explaining this, further mentioned that the Sunday Leader Publication has carried a series of articles prior to this, with the willful intention of defaming the image of the Secretary of Defence and demoralizing the morale of the Forces. Among such previous articles were "MIG deal crashlands on Govt." published on 15 July 2007; "Lid blown on ghost company that did the MIG deal" published on 29 July 2007;"Who profited from the MIG deal" published on 5 August 2007; and "MIG deal

crashlands on Defence Ministry" published on 2 September 2007. Defence Secratery Gotabhaya Rajapakse has already filed action against defamation arising from these articles on 22 February 2008 at the Mount Lavinia Courts, demanding Rs.1 billion against the same respondents as this case.

It was further revealed that when the earlier case was to be heard, due to the possible security threat on the Secretary of Defence and the other witnesses, such as the three Armed Forces Commanders, Mr.Rajapaksa's counsel requested to transfer the case to Colombo District Court in order to facilitate leading of evidence via Video Conferencing which is available in Colombo District Courts. It was brought to courts' attention that the Sunday Leader Editor has objected to this measure. It is during this period that the 9 November 2008 Sunday Leader has carried the front page headline "NIC Tender Bender and the security factor" in its "Spotlight" column with a prominent photograph of the Defence Secretary, which however has no relevance, involvement nor mention of Mr. Rajapaksa in the body of the article. The court considered this to be defamatory and thus issued the above enjoining order.

Speaking to the media, Secretary Rajapakse's Counsel, Ali Sabry mentioned "Due to the behaviour of the respondent, my client had no option other than to go in for an enjoining order preventing any further articles of this nature."

Mr. Rajapaksa had to be personally present in courts today as an average citizen despite threats to his life, as he believed the defamation had an effect on the morale of the Sri Lankan armed forced who are engaged in pitched battles against the Tiger terrorists, with a view to bringing to an end two and half decades of bloody war.

Counsel for the plaintiff M.U.M. Ali Sabry appeared for Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse along with Attorneys-at-Law Irusha Kalidasa, Sanjeeva Dassanayake, Lakshitha Jayawardane, Rasika Dissanayake and instructed by Attorney-at-Law Sanath Wijewardane.

(Courtesy: defence.lk)