by Saman Indrajith
The JVP yesterday warned Presidential Advisor MP Basil Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa that they would not be able to avoid being prosecuted by the United States unless they gave up US citizenship.

JVP Kurunegala MP Bimal Ratnayake yesterday told Parliament that the United States could not prosecute any Sri Lankan official or Statesman or any citizen. He said that the Rajapaksa brothers would be vulnerable to US action as long as they held on to their US citizenship.

`There is no point in President Mahinda Rajapaksa claiming that he was being targeted by the US for liberating the country while his brothers remained US citizens,` MP Ratnayake said, participating in an adjournment debate which sought to move a resolution against the US move to frame Sri Lankan officials.

MP Ratnayake said:

`The President goes all over the country telling public that US is trying to nab him for liberating this country from the clutches of terrorism. If his own brother is under threat from the US, we ask why Basil and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa remain US citizens. They should give up the US citizenship so that they would be safe from the threat of being prosecuted,` he said.


MP Ratnayake said that Chief of Defence General Sarath Fonseka had been asked to present himself for an interview by the Department of Homeland Security in Oklahoma, as he, a Green Card holder, was seeking US citizenship. `The US tried to make use of that and gather information from the General to frame the Defence Secretary.

Finally, General Fonseka chose to forego his US citizenship without betraying his superiors . So why cannot his seniors follow the example?`

He said that the JVP was to announce its stand on the US move to frame Sri Lanka military officials and political leaders and asked other political forces to unite, shedding their petty partisan politics and to defend those who had liberated the country from the menace of terrorism.