The leaders of a extremist Sinhala Buddhist organisation claimed that the chairman of telecommunications company Lycamobile funded the LTTE and is now looking to take over Sri Lankan media channels, at a press conference in Colombo this weekend.
The national organiser of Sinha Le, an organisation linked to hate speech and racist attacks, claimed that Allirajah Subaskaran, the Tamil founder of Lycamobile, funded the LTTE during the armed conflict. Pradeep Sanjeewa went on to claim that Subaskaran has been channelling money to the island through Alex Lovell, the Chairman of Ben Holdings, in order to take over Sri Lankan media channels.
General Secretary of Sinha Le Madille Pagnaloka claimed that the Tamil diaspora was attempting to corrupt local Sri Lankan media, and even claimed the former UNP parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera had been collaborating with them.
See more from Hiru News here.
Lycamobile was previously reported to have links to the ruling Rajapaksa family.
According to Corporate Watch, Hastings Trading e Serviços Lda, a company owned by the Lyca Group, bought a 95% share in a dormant firm registered with Rajapaksa's nephew, Himal Lalindra Hettiarachchi as reported by the Sunday Leader in 2009. The company went on to receive a key license to operate cutting-edge wireless broadband frequencies in Sri Lanka, forcing the state-owned telecoms company to merge.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
