Official statement from Thilanga Sumathipala

Over the past four months certain parties with vested interests had been carrying out a vicious, malicious and utterly false and fabricated media campaign against me.

The aim of this media campaign has been to defame me, prejudice the general public against me and have me removed as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom, Mobitel (Pvt) Ltd and as the President of Sri Lanka Cricket, and cause prejudice / jeopardy with the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Firstly, I was accused of planning to murder the Editor of the Sunday Leader Newspaper, Next, I was accused of having involvements with certain underworld criminals. The simple fact that all these allegations are false meant that even the persons who fabricated such fantasies became aware that such allegations will never withstand the scrutiny of justice.

However this media campaign has had the effect of tainting me as a criminal in the eyes of the public.

Halfway through this media campaign the story was changed and I was accused of aiding and abetting an underworld figure to allegedly travel abroad on a forged passport. Once again I wish to state that this allegation too is utterly false, malicious and totally without foundation.

One might wonder why I am no longer being called a murderer, but being accused of what might seem a much lesser offence? The reason is simple!

Those pursuing this campaign to tarnish my image are quite aware that the only way in which my reputation can be seriously damaged would be by my incarceration before trial, without any charge having to be proved against me.

That is how the provisions of the Immigrants and Emigrants Act come into play.

Under those provisions an accused person would have to be remanded until the conclusion of the case against him, even though the allegation is one fabricated without any evidence.

Hence the present accusation against me under the provisions of the Immigrants and Emigrants Act!

Whilst I have no doubt, whatsoever, that truth will eventually prevail and my name would be cleared once and for all, the mere fact that there is now an accusation under the provisions of the Immigrants and Emigrants made against me, would mean that I will have to be taken into remand custody.

Thus, even though I will be found innocent at the end of the trial, those carrying on this vicious campaign against me, would have the satisfaction of seeing me remanded, since the provisions of our legal system are such that a Magistrate has no power to grant bail to a person accused of an offence under the Immigrants and Emigrants Act and I would therefore, ironically have to wait until I am in fact remanded to go before an Appellate Court to seek bail.

Thus even in a system of law, which presumes a person to be innocent until proven guilty, I and my family would therefore have to bear the shame and indignity of me being remanded until such time I am granted bail by a higher Court. Even my Counsel and Lawyers had been targeted with threat and intimidation with the intent to inhibit them, thereby, denying me the fundamental right to the due process of Justice.

At present, I am warded at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka with a recurrent renal colic and other related complications and a backache.

In this regard many accusations have been levelled against me and even the Senior Medical Practitioners treating me to the effect that I am using my illness to avoid making an appearance in Court.

Nothing could be further from the truth. All my life I have believed in the sanctity and integrity of the Sri Lankan Judiciary and the fact that justice will always be done.

Many times in the past I have sought and obtained relief from the Sri Lankan Courts and as a law abiding citizen, who has never previously been charged, for any offence I am confident that I would be able to obtain justice.

Having done nothing wrong, I have nothing to hide and I am confident that truth and justice will prevail.

Several written representations had been made from as far back as September 2003, including by my Lawyers, denying the allegations and setting out the truth and the facts. These however have not been published and have been suppressed from the public.