I have not taken a cent of public money for personal use.- Sunanda

| by Sunanda Deshapriya

Editor,

Sri Lanka Guardian,

Dear Editor,

( December 12,Geneva, Sri Lanka Guardian) One of your writers has published an article on your web site which says ‘’ Sunanda Deshapriya who is believed to embezzled funds from the Free Media Movement is in Exile’

The Free Media Movement (FMM) has not made any such statement and I am still an active member of the FMM.

Such allegations have been levelled by Rajapaksha loyalists and I have challenged them to prove those charges and to file a case if they have any evidence. I have not taken a cent of public money for personal use.

I have responded in detail to those charges in writing and given the details of how I contributed to the FMM activities financially instead of taking money form FMM.

It is not a secret that I am in exile like the many other journalists and human rights defenders. I am under attack continuously by the present regime and its loyalists since 2009 for my human rights work. Although I live in exile my family continue to live in Sri Lanka.

It is unfair to drag names of number of other journalists who had to leave the country to save their lives without any clear reason for such an article. Some of them are very active in exile journalism and contributing to the struggle for greater freedoms in Sri Lanka. At a time when we need a common front to defend human rights in Sri Lanka this kind of unwarranted attacks on fellow journalists will not do any good.

Finally Sir, in opinion with this kind of friends, Sri Lanka Guardian does not need enemies.

Sincerely yours,

Sunanda Deshapriya