Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga has alleged that a senior minister who defected to the opposition had a plan to assassinate newspaper editors critical of the government, a state-run daily reported. Kumaratunga told a meeting of her ruling People's Alliance (PA) on Sunday that S B Dissanayake had suggested killing editors to save the government from collapse, the Daily News said.
Madam, the government is very weak and it could collapse at any time, Kumaratunga quoted the minister as saying. If necessary I will kill an editor or two who is critical of the government.
The Daily News said the President had told the Minister it was not necessary to think that the government was weak when it had the support of 24 additional members. Kumaratunga also accused Dissanayake and a businessmen of trying to assassinate her with the help of an underworld gangster.
Dissanayake, who held the powerful post of Parliamentary Affairs and was general secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent of the ruling PA, defected to the opposition last month.
The Daily News report did not say when Dissanayake had proposed eliminating anti-government newspaper editors, but the paper said the Minister wanted the President to gag the independent media.
Bureau Report