Navy Commander Gets Mervyn-type Relief

COLOMBO TELEGRAPH

1 year ago

The Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravi Wijegunaratne is set to get relief of the kind that former minister Mervin Silva got after engaging in acts of thuggery when the victim of the verbal and physical abuse perpetrated by Wijegunaratne pleaded that investigations be stopped.

Ranga Kalansooriya, Director General, Department of Government Information told Colombo Telegraph that Roshan Gunasekera, the victim, had intimated to officials of the department who had sought to record a statement by him that he was not interested in pressing charges or having an investigation carried out.

Mervin Silva, likewise, got off scot-free on numerous occasions after assaulting people, including journalists. On one occasion Silva even invited the media to watch him tie an official to a tree for not toeing the line. The entire incident was recorded, but in the end the victim pleaded that it was something he had wanted done.

Similarly, Wijegunaratne has been caught on video abusing the victim verbally while assaulting him. Kalansooriya, at the time, offered that the journalist had violated professional ethics, essentially justifying the action of the Navy Commander.

The assault drew the ire of rights groups and led to protests in Colombo as well as prompted statements from media rights groups abroad condemning the Navy Commander and demanding appropriate action from the Government.