How Gothabaya reprimanded Poddala Jayantha

At the time Mahinda Rajapaksa was ruling the country, the Defence Secretary at the time, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had summoned the Secretary of the Journalists Association Poddala Jayantha to his office and threatened him, a weekend newspaper had revealed.

Poddala Jayantha had revealed that Sanath Balasooriya and himself were taken to meet Gotabhaya by the Chairman of Lake House at the time Bandula Padmakumara in his vehicle.

He had said that the then Chief of the Media Centre for National Security Lakshman Hulugalle was also present at Gotabhaya’s office.

“It is the two of you who organises these things and that dog Sunanda sends these abroad,” Gotabhaya had said, threatening them that he would take care of them, if they did not stop their activities.

“Then we asked him what he would do if we did not stop? And he said he would see about it at that time.

He scolded us in filth, but I responded to everything he said and Sanath answered some questions.

He could not stomach our responses. Even the most affluent in the country call him Sir. But we did not do that and we spoke back to him and he was unable to bear it. He turned to Hulugalla and said ‘I don’t know who has given birth to these fellows’.

Then I got up and told him my parents were farming and plucking tea leaves and that we were poor. But, I said we don’t wash the dirty dishes of the Medamulana bungalow. Then I told Sanath, let’s go, we have no talk with this man. We walked out and weren’t to the Fort Police and lodged a complaint. But the police did not accept our complaint and several months later I was abducted,” Poddala had said.

Poddala had been abducted in a white van, assaulted and released in a dark road in Angoda.

Thereafter, he left the country and had not returned to the country until the end of the Rajapaksa regime.

He is still said to be suffering the trauma of his assault as his leg was broken in two places due to the attack. He has metal screws attached to his leg due to the extensive fractures.