Frederica reconfirms Fonseka's allegation
His clarification no retraction :
Editor Frederica Jansz in an article titled Her Story ... published yesterday in the Sunday Leader reconfirmed the authenticity of the interview given by former Army Commander and Chief of Defence Staff General Sarath Fonseka to the newspaper alleging that the Defence Secretary had ordered the killing of surrendering LTTE leaders.
Excerpts from the article:
"The interview proceeded as a series of questions and answers on major topics and issues and a transcript of the interview ... appeared in the Sunday Leader of December 13, 2009.
"..I asked the General what really happened.... Fonseka made the allegation that would later appear in the newspapers.
"He claimed he had heard that Gotabhya Rajapaksa ordered any surrendering LTTE cadres to be shot, and related the story of Pulidevan and Nadesan's surrender... It seemed obvious that an allegation of this magnitude deserves special attention...
"Realising the impact such striking allegations would have, at 9.45 a.m. before the paper went to print on Saturday I once again contacted Sarath Fonseka.
"During a 20 minute phone conversation the General reiterated that he stood by the allegation....
"Fonseka then said he was willing to go on record with his claim and he assured me that he would not back down. Only with that assurance did we go to print. Despite ... pressure it is notable that after its publication the General stood by the story. In a press conference he gave on Sunday afternoon at the JAIC Hilton, documented by the BBC, he made no effort to deny the story....
"At a meeting with the Chairman of the Sunday Leader, Lal Wickremetunga on Monday, December 14, senior UNP leaders together with Samaraweera and the JVP insisted that a retraction was necessary as the story had damaged Fonseka's reputation as a patriot...
"However, as a journalist and as someone who committed to the truth I refused to publish a fraudulent retraction....
"Later that same day, December 14, I met the General at approximately 2.45 p.m. whereupon he reiterated that he could not deny what he had said...
"Mangala Samaraweera and Vijitha Herath however remained adamant demanding that the Leader publish a partial retraction.....
"Finally, we agreed on a compromise whereby a clarification written by Sarath Fonseka would appear in the Sunday Leader of December 20, 2009 issue.
This clarification emphasizes a technical point and is in no way a retraction. "Under immense pressure...and unable to flatly deny what he knew to be the truth the General waffled and issued what was neither a clarification nor a retraction.
"However over the following days his advisors and supporters would insist that Fonseka had denied the story. The move from clarification to retraction and denial proved to be a disaster...
"Finally, the JVP threatened to sue the Sunday Leader for defaming Fonseka.
"However, the UNP side of the Opposition Alliance assured us that no Letter of Demand would be forthcoming."
Courtesy : Daily News
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