Within days of his latest report, Athas found his security removed, suspicious vehicles outside his house and demonstrators at his door calling him a traitor to the nation.
As Athas says, he is the darling of parties when they are in opposition and enemy of the state when they are in power and find it difficult to palate his exposes on corrupt deals within the defence establishment.

The Athas saga, as it continues to unfold, is a chilling reminder that as long as this government is adamant that it will not brook dissent nor deal harshly with corruption, none of us are safe, least of all the scribes.

Q: What are your personal thoughts on the removal of your security by the government?

A: I can’t challenge the removal of my security and I can’t go and demand that I be given exceptional treatment. But on the other hand, the danger is that they have increased the threat level when the government parties stage a demonstration outside my house. The most common bogey that they use when a government becomes uncomfortable, is that you are a LTTE sympathiser. When governments are in opposition I am their darling and then when they come into power they feel uncomfortable when I report certain things. If it is wrong, if there were factual errors, they could have easily have approached me and pointed them out. On the other hand if they felt that more exposure is going to be damaging and if someone responsible asked to meet me sort of privately, and told me, ‘look don’t say this’ – I would still have gone out of the way to listen to their viewpoint and then place both sets of facts before the public. But there was no such attempt made.

Q: Can you explain the events that led to the removal of your security last week?

A: On the MiG deal, two things happened. On December 4 last year, we ran a front page report in which we brought out certain alleged irregularities to do with the procurement of the MiGs. It also brought considerable pressure on me, even at that time when I was enjoying security. There was pressure saying that if I were to continue with this, the consequences could be fatal.

So as you will notice, we left it and I began to dig further into it. And from December until August 12, we never published anything. In the meantime, to our surprise, the opposition, United National Party had done a study on the procurement of the MiGs and they put out a 14 page report. Some newspapers carried it in its entirety but we left out some of it, we edited some of the provisions because we felt that they were not relevant and they were just accusations against someone, which we believe was not what we had said at the beginning. When this came out, I thought that, well most of the material with regard to this has now come into the public domain. And they had also made it clear in the UNP report that some of the facts were misrepresented in the official procedures undertaken by the government of Sri Lanka.

In light of that, there was only one singular difference on the report of August 12. All I said was that the government of Ukraine had begun an investigation. Secondly, that the proceeds of the deal had not gone to Ukraine. Then the middle man who came in as the ‘designated party’ turned out to be someone who is living in London, by the name of M.I. Kuldirkaev. He had gone missing after the Ukraine government began the investigation. I take full responsibility for the fact I presented in my column and until this date, the Ukrainian government has not contradicted what I said. They have conducted investigations and I reported further that Kuldirkaev has gone missing and is believed to be somewhere in Latin America. Apart from those two details, all I wrote in my column were the facts that were presented in our front page report of December 4 last year. This was published on August 12 and on August 14, it was translated for the Lankadeepa and on August 15 my personal security detail was removed and thereafter, on the 18th the static guard outside my house was removed.

Again, I must make this clear. It is not for me to demand that I be given security. The static guard has remained outside my house for the last nine years consequent to an incident when two armed men walked into my bedroom and put a pistol to my head while my wife and seven year old daughter were watching in trepidation. It later transpired that there were two air force officers involved.

We fought a case for four years and they were sentenced to 11 years in jail. A few months after they were convicted, they got bail and the case was in appeal and since the case was in appeal, I was provided with the static guard. As for the personal security – there again I was unaware of it. I was abroad and when I came back the former IGP, Chandra Fernando rang me and said he had been trying to get through to me and that there was a serious threat to my life. Then the former Army Chief Lt. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda telephoned me and said that he had already discussed matters with the Defence Secretary and the President of the time, Chandrika Kumaratunga had decided that I should have a team of commandos.

So they were living here with me and they were responsible for my personal protection. This was done on the basis that there was intelligence of a threat against me. Now it has been withdrawn ostensibly on the government argument that there is no threat to me. I cannot challenge the government – I am only one individual and only one of the media practitioners in this country. It is up to the government if it deems fit to provide me security on the basis that there is a threat against me. If it deems that there is no threat, I cannot complain. But there is one point I have to make. Having withdrawn my security, creating situations which become a major threat to me and my family is deplorable.

The best example I could point out is the demonstration outside my house. When people are told that I am a terrorist sympathiser, then there are placards to say I am making money. No doubt I am making money. That is the legitimate income I earn from my reporting. They are creating conditions where new threats emerge – it is worse than the threats from which the government gave me security, because I can’t get out of my house, my family can’t leave the house. Because in the neighbourhood, when a highly publicised campaign is carried out and it has come to be known that the people who carried out the campaign were from the government. So this has created bigger problems.

Q: Why this treatment of you now?

A: I don’t know. This is not the first deal I have exposed. During the tenures of other governments too I have exposed corrupt deals. If you recall after President Mahinda Rajapaksa was voted into power, I exposed how Vice Admiral Daya ordered guns that were 25 years old and said that they were brand new. Then President Rajapaksa took the unprecedented step of asking the Chief Justice to appoint Supreme Court judges to look into the matter. So that was the direct result of my exposures. I can’t understand why this time there has not been a similar response, because I have not anywhere in my reports accused any individuals of robbing. I have only placed the facts that I have gathered. In the light of that there are two things that have happened. One is the personal security that was withdrawn. But at the same time, I am happy that the government has announced that they would appoint a parliamentary select committee and to go into this matter and the fact that they have agreed to do so and the fact the Prime Minister has made a statement to this effect in parliament is very clear proof that the facts I have disclosed merit investigation.

Q: There are allegations being made now that governments in the past as well as this one have attempted to threaten your independence by gifting you state property. Is this true?

A: Nobody has ever gifted me any state property. I have no state property – all I have is a house that I have taken on lease 22 years ago. We had some land in the Kandy District and I sought something on lease. Other than that I have no assets except this house which I have with my wife. For the purposes of argument though, if I am able to get state property and state patronage and assistance then the quality of life I enjoy would be very much better and then I wouldn’t need to keep exposing these things. The only asset I have is my credibility.

Q: You have had problems with the air force in the past and this time around also, the person who has threatened the translator of your column for Lankadeepa posed as an officer of the air force. Is there a link in this?

A: It is wrong to say that I have had problems only with the air force. Firstly I have been exposing corrupt activities in the armed forces. Please bear in mind that this information about corruption doesn’t fall from the sky. I get it from people inside the forces who want the truth to come out into the open. The majority of the people inside the security forces about which I am writing want the truth to be told because they know that they are putting their lives on the firing line and they want to be sure that corrupt activity and other irregularities are rectified. At that time I was reporting on corruption in the air force and I became the target of their attacks.

This time it so happened that this particular activity where I am alleging certain irregularities have taken place. The fact that I have come out with it and that the government has acknowledged that it merits investigation is clear proof of the situation. If the government feels that I don’t require any more security that is perfectly their responsibility. What is significant here is that while I respect their decision why are they trying to create newer threats for me by branding me an LTTE acolyte and making all kinds of allegations? Who organised the protest? Didn’t an official write all those slogans that were displayed there? So if this is the course of action that is being taken then the question that must be asked is, why? To intimidate me, to put fear into my mind, to force me to stop exposing corruption. If in the previous deals it has been investigated, why this course of action now?

Q: Why do you think the MiG deal is such big scandal for the government?

A: For reasons best known to them, I suppose. I really couldn’t say what it is.

Q: Is this the worst hostility you have ever faced from the establishment or have there been worse times in your career?

A: This is the worst I have ever faced. I have been subjected to harassment every now and again. But the fact that there is a state backed campaign is unprecedented. This was never present earlier. What used to happen earlier was that caucuses that were affected by my exposures that reacted towards me. But the fact that there was a demonstration outside my house at Wijerama junction and the fact that persons involved with the government were part of that makes me feel that it was state backed. I am very disturbed why a state should do that.

Q: Do you know how many people were at the demonstration outside your house?

A: I am told about 25 but I was not here. I was out. I have been spending most of the time outside because of the LTTE threats and the problems my family is compelled to face as a result of all this.

Q: What has been the course of action you adopted after your security was removed?

A: The static guard was withdrawn on Saturday (18) night. I was also warned by my sources who were fearing for my safety. They warned me that this might even be a prelude to a search of my premises. About four or five days before that, there was some propaganda about an incident in the Nugegoda area. My sources told me then that they were trying to find an excuse to search houses and they will reach my place eventually. Then they told me to be careful, I may even get abducted. You see, my speciality in my career has always been security and defence matters. And some people are trying to bring out sensitive matters – which I believe is not the case, they only say things like that to cover themselves.

This again shows the degree of access I have into the security establishment and therefore when the forces warn me of a possible attempt to kidnap me, this again was to identify the sources who were giving me information and under duress that could be extracted. So this is why one source said, leave the house. Then I had to check on a hotel that would allow me to check in discreetly. When I found that in Colombo all the hotels were booked, I had to go to a hotel 50 km from the city and check into a hotel at 1 a.m. with my wife and daughter to avoid this.

The next day, in the afternoon, I looked for personal security and come back home. So therefore, for the last few nights, including the night of the demonstration, I was not at home because I was feeling so insecure about. I feel even worse in the aftermath of the demonstration. The demonstration was to provoke people in the neighbourhood. And there are elements in the neighbourhood who are armed. I am not challenging the government’s right to remove my security. But they also have a right to protect every citizen of Sri Lanka and I am a citizen of Sri Lanka. They can paint me black all the time, but the reality is this.

Q: You mentioned suspicious movements outside your house. Can you explain what they were?

A: There was a green double cab parked just beyond the guard point down this road. I don’t know how long it had been there for. All the windows were tinted. When we were approaching they started the engines and fled. It was only thereafter that I made inquiries and I must say that I am privy to some more details of some of the plans that were afoot to harass me and cause me harm. But for reasons of protecting my sources, I cannot reveal this.

Q: In your opinion, given all that has happened, what remedial action can the government take to fix things?

A: The only thing that the government could do is to allow me to practice my profession and live in this country like any other citizen does. Without encouraging any unruly elements to continue to pose threats to me.

Q: Will you continue writing about the MiG deal despite the threats?

A: I will certainly continue to write, because that is my profession. I am certainly not going to give up. And that is exactly what this struggle is all about. There are elements who are trying to stop me and I am trying to write.

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