KAHAWATTE INCIDENT & MINISTER JOHN’S POLITICAL CAREER

Media reports on kahawatte incident have tarnished my political career which was cherished by me for so long:
What Dharmasiri had done at home does not concern me :
I had seen the “heroine” drug only once in my life: Minister John Seneviratne:

The double murder at Kahawatte no wonder shocked the entire country and there was a huge uproar to get the suspects arrested as soon as possible. It finally had revealed that one of the main suspects was the Co-ordinating secretary to the Minister John Seneviratne who was also a Member of Gorakawela Pradeshita Sabha.
The Minister has had a meeting with the press a few days back and had blamed the media as a whole for making this issue a main topic in several newspapers where the Ministers name had been spoken about, probably with the intention of tarnishing his good image he had maintained and built over a period for about 40 years in the political arena. He had told that he has had 5 co-ordinating secretaries.
One of the main suspects is only the brother of just one Co-ordinating secretary. The Minister had said he is not responsible for any offences made by his co-ordinating secretary. He also had told that he has no business to monitor what they perform at home. The Minister had said that he had not interfered with the investigations the Police had conducted. He also confessed that he was not at all involved with the drug business that had been carried out. What was discussed at the meeting is appended below:
After the Kahawatta murder case a conspiracy is taking behind my back to ruin my political career which I build up gradually along a period of 40 years. I have never done anything wrong neither have I supported anyone to do anything wrong. Even in my normal life I have never done anything illegal and I will never lend any support for those wrong doings.
In the current political arena I have political enemies. The media is publishing wrong news due to their encouragement. All the wrong stories about me are fictious. Murders had taken place at Kahawatta since 2011. During ‘88 and ‘89 too there were murders in that area. Even we supported to find the murderers of these crimes and thus they were caught and taken before the courts.
The recent double murder case at Kahawatta was a crucial murder and the police took one to one and half months to find the murderers and to bring them to book. Unfortunately no one could give any tip, clue or any information regarding this case. He had made inquiries from the Police officers. Every time they told me that they haven’t been able to find any substantial evidence regarding the murders and that it remains a mystery. He had done so as that he thought that it is a responsibility of the government to do so.
He had got to know on the 06th that one man and his wife had been were arrested. The police have been able to reveal in inquiries that there was sufficient evidence to prove them wrong. 
 He is supposed to have had 5 coordinating secretaries in my office. The elder brother of suspect was Dharmasiri was one of my secretaries. He is a member of the Pradeshiya Sabha, Gorakawela and the moment I knew this he had asked him to come to his home on the following day (07). He was asked to tender his resignation letter. He had taken possession of his official motor vehicle He had given him. That was all he could do at that time, he had claimed.
Dharmasiri was a dedicated person while handling my work in my political activities. He was an active member of our party at Kahawatta. However when he knew that he was the brother of the suspect he didn’t wanted to disclose that that he was one of my co-ordinating secretaries.
After he was arrested a rumour spread saying that his arrest was delayed since he is a supporter of a Minister.
The day before the suspect was arrested there was a political meeting in the town of one party, a woman from an anti government party showing their displeasure towards the government had stated there that the murderers are not arrested due to political influence. The very next day three houses were burnt down. They were the houses of my secretary a relatives of his and the suspect his brother were burnt.
After that the newspapers tried to spoil his name by citing him to that case. Then a story of illegal drug too was connected to the same story. The publicity was given to a story of a drug parcel in a school girl’s bag but the police said that two parcels were illegal drugs were found from their homes. He didn’t know whether there was a drug business dealing at Kahawatta or not and the other thing is he had said that he cannot be searching the houses to find whether my secretary was dealing with drugs or not. He had no interest to find out as to what his brother was doing or where he is going?
One newspaper brought forward the point of view as to how the politician is not aware of what was taking place at his secretary’s house. He said he didn’t think that it is a justifiable complaint. Last Sunday Divaina published that it is difficult to carry out proper investigations due to political influence. The Minister had never tried to poke my fingers into any of them and the police have accepted that they don’t have any political influence. The Police Commissioner stated that the investigations were delayed since they took some time to find correct evidence.
Media person: have they mentioned your name?
Minister: No, yet you don’t have to bring the name itself. They have used words to indicate that it’s about me they are talking about.
“I have done a lot of service to this area. There isn’t a politician anywhere who had worked for Ratnapura the way I have done. I build up many training colleges, hospitals, National schools. I developed the irrigation. When I came into power, only 52% had electricity and now 95% have electricity. I have given more than 8000 employment opportunities. I am such a politician. It is very wrong when the media publishes rumours against me. How unfair is this? A responsible media person won’t write like this even of a normal person.  What else can I do?
When that man tells that one is the culprit am I to hang him? What I can do is only to fire him from his job. The police will arrest him. If it likes the old justice system of Sri Lanka we can impale him.
It is very wrong to make comments like this. I have been in the parliament over last 23 years. People in Ratnapura love me. I became the first from the election with the maximum number of preferential votes, more than 125,000. These gentlemen in media have done something wrong to my image. Did they ever thought before they penned down false stories about me. I am asking only for one thing, and that is to help me to regain my position among the people and to erase the scars in my image, that was tarnished to a great extent.
I have no connection with the illegal drug dealers. I have seen ‘heroin’ drug only once in my whole life time. That was when I was the Minister of Justice through the Government Analysts department personnel. I was shocked to hear that drug dealing has been carried out in Kahawatta. When I inquired about this from the police they told me that there isn’t any evidence as such. Under such a circumstance these gentlemen wrote that a politician of that area has connections to drug dealing. I feel very sad since I am not related to such work and I have in no way supported and indulged in any of these.”
Divaina: The son of your co-ordinating Secretary who was working at the prison as a Welfare officer was caught with drugs, and is serving a jail sentence. Why didn’t you take any action at that time?
“At that time he told me that his son has had no connection to that and somebody else had done it purposely by inserting drugs into his table drawer forcibly, so that his son will be accused of it.”
Divaina: Didn’t you think that it was a problem at that time?
“I didn’t think that far at that time.”
Divaina: Didn’t you try to find any of your secretary’s background before recruiting him for work?
“I didn’t actually do that. I have only heard of Raju before but since any of them didn’t affect me I didn’t search for more information”.
Divaina: Do you think that your co-ordinating secretary is connected to this murder?
“I don’t know that but he has some personal weaknesses. He has used political power in the village and now only I am hearing them. He has helped me immensely in my political work. Since he was an active member I didn’t go to search about him in detail. I was very pleased about his work.”
Divaina: The police had released the suspects twice after they were arrested. Isn’t that itself enough to show that there was political influence behind them?
“Police said that they were released since there wasn’t enough evidence to prove them wrong to be accused”
Article by Wasantha Liyanage (Divaina)