The Hon. D.V. Chanaka

¶ 01 Thank you very much for this opportunity, Hon. Presiding Member. Generally, I do not speak about personal matters in Parliament. This is a sensitive issue for me. A Deputy Minister from our district—Hambantota—spoke. We in Hambantota are straightforward people; if something must be said, we say it plainly. If he had something to say, he should have said directly that D.V. Chanaka’s aunt’s father was killed, there is some underworld connection, or there are allegations regarding the underworld. But he did not say it plainly. He implied something underworld-related. I must state clearly that there is not a single allegation linking my uncle to the underworld in any police report or complaint anywhere. A media outlet made such a claim; I have filed legal action against that outlet in the Colombo District Court. I did not merely send a letter of demand and let it go; I have not just done media shows.

¶ 02 If you want to do something, do not hide behind parliamentary privilege. Hambantota people have spines. If you can, come outside and say it. Then you will receive a Letter of Demand. I will give two weeks. I will file a case against you in the Hambantota District Court. That will certainly be done by D.V. Chanaka.

¶ 03 When a family member is murdered and it is repeatedly mentioned in Parliament, it hurts our family. Our father is gone, and then you make false allegations—it hurts. Go and ask the leaders of Matara and Galle districts about whom my uncle did politics. Ask Mr. Ananda Wijepala about whom my uncle did politics. When my uncle passed away, I was newly married—he died within two months of my wedding. Ask Sunil Handunnetti and Nalin Hewage; I can give you the recording. You speak in Parliament without knowing facts, then at night you apologize to my aunt. Shall I play the recording now? Do you want to hear those apologies? Shall I show the videos? Do you want to see who came to our shop to seek help and for whom politics was done? I can show if needed. Go and ask Sunil Handunnetti and Nalin Hewage.

¶ 04 We do not usually speak about private matters in politics. But when you come here, having taken help across all parties, and speak against a person with no allegations, it pains us. If you are from Hambantota, have a spine; say it outside. With all your tsunamis, you could not throw me out of Parliament. With all your labour, you could not throw me out. With your JCBs, you could not throw me out. When you had 159 and we had under three, I was still in Parliament. Remember that.

¶ 05 Hon. Ananda Wijepala, you keep talking about Mideniya and the containers. But why don’t you speak about how those two containers were released? The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), one of the world’s foremost intelligence agencies, gave you a report—which you acknowledged in Parliament—stating plainly that the container had ICE. If the Mideniya-seized container was said to contain ICE, why did you let them go? The police checked them. The IGP was informed. Ministers knew. If the U.S. said it, how can you escape by calling it a technical fault? If the U.S. flagged it, you should have checked not once but ten times and seized them.

¶ 06 Now, we have requested information—like who Manamperi’s lawyer is. We will obtain it under the law. I already know who the lawyer is; the name has reached us. But we do not speak without evidence. A senior Cabinet Minister is acting as the lawyer; he helped. Our question is whether that lawyer helped to release those two containers. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the U.S. DEA flagged this. So how did those containers get released? Did Manamperi’s lawyer help? Or did ministers help? Find that out too. Why has it taken six months without arresting the officers involved? It does not take six months to identify which Sri Lanka Customs officers were involved, or which police personnel were involved, or to identify ESD links, or to arrest them.

¶ 07 Everyone knows he is a member of the Puchchakkadanawa Sanaa Maalimai; that is not something to hide—everyone in Hambantota knows. But why was there no detention order for him? He is the owner of the largest ICE haul seized in Sri Lanka by the security forces. Others arrested were remanded with three-month detention orders, yet he was remanded in one day. Because the power lies with the Defence Minister; he can issue detention orders—one day by the police, and the Defence Minister up to three months, extendable to nine months. Why was he placed inside in one day? This government protects its allied underworld and eliminates opponents. Today the people suspect even the SJB Chairman gave underworld elements to the government to carry out murder.

¶ 08 Thank you.