"Wickremesinghe might be let off," Sri Lankan journalist says

New Delhi [India], August 23 : Sri Lankan Journalist S Venkat Narayan said that former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was not engaged in any corruption.

Narayan said that Wickremesinghe was arrested as a means for Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to show that he was a powerful person who was capable of doing it.

"I don't really think it is a conspiracy as such. But Anura Kumara Dissanayake who thinks that people in Sri Lanka have been fed up by the kind of corruption ruling families were indulging in, he wanted to show to the people that he is different and he does not tolerate corruption and all that. He is taking a lot of actions. And arresting Ranil Wickremesinghe is one of those things. But on Friday when the case comes up, I am sure Ranil Wickremesinghe's lawyers will defend him and he might be let off," he said.

Narayan said that he was surprised by the arrest of Wickremesinghe.

"I'm surprised, really, by his arrest. Actually, there is no corruption involved in what he did. He went to Cuba to attend the G77 summit. Then from Havana, he went to New York to attend the UN General Assembly. Then on the way back to Colombo, he stopped by in London," he said.

Narayan said that the former President's wife, Maitri, was invited to a festival, and she was accompanied by the former President with security. The expenses were paid for, but they were accused of corruption regardless.

"His wife, who is a professor of English, Maitri, normally comes to Jaipur for the Jaipur Literary Festival and all that. A local university, Wolverhampton University, invited both of them to attend a ceremony in honour of Maitri. So, from London, he stopped by and they drove 200 kilometres to Wolverhampton. And the head of that institution was Swaraj Pal, who passed away on Thursday, unfortunately. He invited them. So, they went there and the expenses involved in Maitri's travel were taken care of by herself," he said.

Narayan said that this was not corruption, but the Sri Lankan government calls it so.

"But the Sri Lankan government is saying that from London, the president, namely Ranil, his wife, and 10 other people went to Wolverhampton. What that means is that these people were government employees. So, you use them for a private trip. And they arrested him. But this is not a corruption at all," he said.

He further toldthat earlier in 2009, former US President Barack Obama had also gone to see a private event, where they were obviously provided with security in a similar incident.

"In 2009, when President Obama wanted to take his wife Michelle to show a play in New York. So, they flew by Air Force One. And, you know, security, the president, even if he is a private individual, you still have to provide security. I mean, this is very silly," he said.

Narayan said that it was obvious that in a situation like Wickremesinghe's, he could not have left the security behind.

"And with the president of Sri Lanka, you cannot keep the security back and then drive to Wolverhampton and come back and all that. I think, you know, something is not right. I appreciate the fact that Anura Kumara, the President, who is a left-leaning person, this is the first time he has come to office," he said.

He added that Dissanayake has zero tolerance for corruption, and that Wickremesinghe's case will also be ironed out.

"And, you know, he thinks that a lot of corruption has happened in that country. And he reopened 400 cases of corruption. Mahindra Rajapaksa's two sons have also been arrested and all that. I think the case will come up on Friday. And I am sure things will be sorted out," he said.

When asked if he feels that the entire thing is a witch hunt, he said, "Well, if you want to say that [it is a witch hunt], you could say that."

Narayan said that Sri Lanka's former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's nephews were also arrested.

"But it is not just confined to only Ranil Wickremesinghe, but also Mahinda Rajapaksa. This morning, Mahinda Rajapaksa, they all went to see him. And Ranil's health is unstable right now. He was shifted. As soon as he was arrested, he was taken to the prison. And the prison hospital he was kept in," he said.

Narayan said that Wickremesinghe was unwell and hence he was shifted to a national hospital after the prison hospital could not treat him.

"But he has high blood pressure and high sugar level. And that particular prison hospital did not have the facilities to treat him. So he was shifted to the national hospital which has got a lot of facilities," he said.

Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested on Friday on allegations of state funds' misuse, as reported by Newswire Lanka.

Citing officials familiar with the matter, Newswire reported that the former Sri Lankan president was arrested after appearing before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Colombo.

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