Abduction of Swiss embassy employee had not happened: President

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said today it was evident that the incident in which a local employee of the Switzerland Embassy in Colombo was allegedly abducted and threatened had not happened.

Speaking to newspaper editors and electronic media heads at the Presidential Secretariat, the President said he discussed the matter with the Swiss Ambassador this morning.

“The investigations had revealed that no incident like this had happened. The investigation had been done using accounts of witnesses and technical evidence such as CCTV footage and Uber records,” he said.

The President said they did not know as to why the employee made such an allegation and had been unable to find it out as she was not co-operating with investigators.

However, he said the government did not have any suspicion and doubt about the conduct of the Swiss Embassy in Colombo over the matter.

“They acted according to their duties and responsibilities. When one of their employees levelled an allegation, they complained about it to the government. That is their responsibility. Also, I told the ambassador that the employee should co-operate to have a full investigation.

“Actually, I have become the victim of it. Just a few days after I assumed duties, there emerged this allegation that an embassy employee had been abducted in a white van. The New York Times and other websites carried this story. Former ministers commented on it. It was quite sad to see even Sajith Premadasa making a statement about it,” he said.

In the meantime, when asked about his stance on the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement, President Rajapaksa said they would appoint a committee to study the matter.

“The committee will scrutinise what this document is; whether there is any benefit or not. First, we need to study it, even for me to know what it is. We will appoint a committee shortly,” he said.

When asked whether he intended to change the 19th Amendment to the Constitution as there was a debate about it, the President said it had to be changed ‘definitely.’

He said it had brought about a lot of confusion and there were problems between the President and the government during the previous administration due to the 19th Amendment.

He said though it was drafted by those who claimed to be experts in law, it had ended up in a conflict between the executive and the judiciary over the dissolution of Parliament and change of government.

When asked whether he would dissolve Parliament in March with the completion of four and a half years, the President said he would do so since he needed the necessary parliamentary majority to govern.

On the much delayed Provincial Council elections, the President said it had to be held following the general elections. “Our stance is that all elections that were not held should be conducted. But Parliament has to first approve the laws to hold the Provincial Council elections,” he said.

When asked about the allegations levelled by MP Rajitha Senaratne, President Rajapaksa said MP Senaratne belonged to a different political culture from him and was thriving on lies. “The people have rejected that political culture, which is why I won with a majority. I don’t think people will accept that political culture in the future,” he said.