24 July 2016 12:22 pm
Speaking at a United National Party (UNP) membership drive in Kandy, the Premier said these media personnel had no issue with those who robbed the nation as they were wined and dined by those in the previous government.
"Last Monday's Daily Mirror called for the removal of Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera. I know the editor of the Daily Mirror. He once wrote saying I too should be removed from UNP leadership. We will have to see what we should do if he does not resign from his post. He is possessed by Mahinda Rajapaksa. Daily Mirror carried anti Tamil, anti Muslim articles. We should teach them a lesson before they call for the resignation of our ministers," he said.
The Premier also said the Financial Times had also carried such adverse news items throughout a month attempting to sabotage the economy of the country.
“We asked for a loan of 1.5 billion USD but we were offered 6.7 USD billion instead. However, we got only 1.5 billion USD since we didn’t want more than that. We would like to tell these journalists not to play the fool with this government. We will run for five years. I will be criticized for saying this but that's okay. Media can criticize but if they try to appoint thieves by acting against the government elected by the people, they have to be put in with the thieves," he said.
The Prime Minister said he has been fighting for media freedom always. “If necessary, I can even reveal the names of those who I will be summoning in the near future. Media can criticize the government, I have nothing against it. But they shouldn’t try to destroy the government led by President Maithripala Sirisena. We know they were dining with the Rajapaksas but now it’s me who is in Temple Trees and I won’t give away free food or send invitations,” he said.(Yohan Perera and J. A. L. Jayasinghe )
Pix by Nadeeka Daya Bandara