Prasanna’s media secretary’s Email used to issue Udayanga’s purpoted press releases

From Daily News 

By Chamikara Weerasinghe

Expressing concern that former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga has not only failed to hand over his diplomatic passport to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but is also using a letter head as a former Sri Lankan ambassador, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ajith P Perera yesterday. He said they are seriously looking at the situation now that press releases are being issued under this former diplomat’ s letterhead to the national media without his signature.

The Minister pointed out, they have found that two press releases that were issued to the media last Sunday (July 5) and on June 5 with Weeratunga’s letterhead, did not contain his signature and they have come from an email address belonging to Western Province Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga’s Media Secretary. The deputy minister was speaking at a press conference held at the Foreign Ministry.

“This is the same email through which former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is in the habit of releasing his statements to media,” he said.

“There is no barrier to Mahinda Rajapaksa or Udayanga Weeratunga to issue press statements through an email address maintained by anyone, be they Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga or his Media Secretary. The problem is who is going to take responsibility for them,” he said.

“Who can authenticate whether or not it was the former Ambassador Udayanga Weeratunga’s press statement since it did not contain his signature. Can one depend on it? Will Chief Minister Ranatunga or his Media Secretary accepts responsibility for it? Or else, will their head Mahinda Rajapaksa accept responsibility,” asked Perera.

He said ; “Udayayanga Weeratunga’s conduct directly reflects on Mahinda Rajapaksa, for the former is a son of latter’s mother’s younger sister,” said Perera,

“If Udayanga’s conduct befits a Sri Lankan ambassador to Russia, Mahinda Rajapaksa can have all the praise and honor for appointing him and having him in Russia for over nine years. By the same token if Udayanga Weeratunga’s conduct had been evil and he had supplied weapons to Ukrainian rebels or he had brokered the controversial multimillion-rupee Mikoyan *MiG*-27 *deal **as per the allegations leveled against him, Rajapaksa must accept responsibility for matters assigned to Udayanga through nepotism.

“If Udayanga Weeratunga wanted to convey an original statement he can do so through many ways using modern facilities. To say the least he can send a statement signed by him using a scanner via email,” he explained.