KP arrest: UNP

KP arrest: Govt. missed great chance, says UNP

By Gihan de Chickera & Kelum Bandara

The UNP yesterday told Parliament that the government had made a mess of the plan to get LTTE arms procurement chief Kumaran Padmanathan alias KP arrested in Thailand recently and deported to Sri Lanka.
UNP Parliamentarian John Amaratunga said by trying to capitalize on the arrest for the sake of cheap publicity the government lost a ‘wonderful opportunity’ of getting vital information regarding LTTE financial sources and arms dealings.
“The arrest was given undue publicity. The government tried to capitalize on it but made a mess of things. The Thai government was upset that Sri Lanka did not maintain confidentiality on the move,” he said.
Mr. Amaratunga said a high level government team that visited India recently had also caused much embarrassment to the country by wrongfully saying that India and Sri Lanka had entered into a defence agreement.
“The government was forced to make an apology. The Indian External Affairs Ministry was furious that the statement implied that India backed a military solution by the Rajapaksa regime”, he said.
“What is our image in the eyes of these countries? The Defence Ministry is trying to make false statements to mislead the people and the international community,” he said.
The parliamentarian also said the US senate had turned against the government and refused to provide the country with any defence equipment, services or training.