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"No threat, only a frank exchange of ideas"

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has been accused of threatening the Editor of an English paper, Daily Mirror, over its coverage of the situation in the east and the activities of the Karuna faction.

While admitting that he had a telephone conversation with the Editor, the Defence Secretary said it was "just a frank exchange of ideas on two controversial articles" published in the daily. He said he did not threaten the Editor other than "openly expressing his views" and was surprised how certain media had exaggerated it.

Defence spokesperson and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters on Wednesday that he would not like to comment as there was no complaint from the Editor, Champika Liyanarachchi.

President Rajapaksa earlier reportedly called up Ms. Liyanarachchi and broached the subject after a section of the local media reported the news. It was not clear what transpired during the telephone conversation.

Free Media Movement (FMM), a Sri Lanka-based NGO pursuing issues related to media, expressed outrage the Defence Secretary's move. The organisation said it is an "open secret" that government leaders and close allies are pressuring independent media to toe its line on war and peace. "We see this latest development as a calculated process of coercion by the Government that forces media to abandon its role watch-dog of democracy, and instead adopt the supine role of a lap dog to those in power".

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