A Sri Lankan minister takes a dramatic stand against online slander, filing a formal complaint with the CID over what he calls a coordinated character assassination plot stemming from a controversial rice container story.
Industries Minister Sunil Handunnetthi expressed his strong views today after submitting an official complaint to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) regarding a vicious smear campaign and character assassination against him on social media. The Minister stated that political elements who were rejected by the public vote are now bypassing Parliament and turning to YouTube instead. He claimed they have started to assassinate the character of public officials by creating several of their own YouTube channels, and this has now become a dangerous and systematic problem in the political landscape.
The Minister further stated that this is a planned act, orchestrated just like a plot from South Indian films or political dramas. However, he pointed out that the fabricated stories they are creating are so flimsy they do not last even 24 hours before being debunked. The Minister explained that this specific smear campaign began based on the false accusation that he was “involved in a 323 container matter.” He provided context, revealing that the reason for this was his involvement in providing information regarding an individual who was unable to release five containers of rice that had been brought to the Colombo Port. The person had subsequently requested that the containers of rice be taken into the custody of the government and distributed to the public free of charge since they could not be legally released.
The Minister said that he had confirmed the information and provided a clear explanation to the Director General of the Customs Department. He had explained to the individual that since the containers were not brought without the necessary import permits, they would have to be confiscated by the state according to customs regulations. It was further explained that even if the rice was distributed free of charge to the public, the government would still have to pay 8.4 million rupees in port demurrage damages and customs fees, making the proposal financially unviable. The Minister questioned whether this person, unable to release the rice, intentionally leaked a distorted version of events to YouTube channels. He also added to his formal complaint that since the person had used a letterhead with the name of a United Nations organization, it should be investigated for potential forgery and to check whether its usage was legal.
The Minister alleges that he has been brutally character assassinated as both a Minister and a public representative through the forging of information and the distortion of his voice recordings before their release on social media platforms. The Minister assured the public that this complaint regarding the person who brought the rice, those who distorted the information, and those who posted it online will not stop at the CID. He vowed that it will go all the way to a criminal defamation case in court. He hopes that the relevant persons will be summoned soon and that comprehensive investigations will be carried out to bring them to justice.
The Minister points out that it is deeply regrettable that he has to come to the CID to complain and provide information during the crucial budget period, a time when he should be actively in Parliament and working in his ministry. He emphasized that this smear campaign is a deliberate “trampling” of his political journey and a malicious attempt to assassinate his character. However, he also stated with confidence that history is evidence that he cannot be brought down by slander or defamation. The minister concluded by telling opposition parties to engage in politics in a better and fairer way. He said that it is not a problem to find out and criticize their real shortcomings, as they will work to fix them. However, he firmly requested them to refrain from such deliberately planned, distorted, and malicious smear campaigns that damage the integrity of public service.
