Mystery man behind unauthorized media release

President Maithripala Sirisena has ordered an investigation to identify who was responsible for the issuing of a Foreign Ministry media release which condemned the firing of a ballistic missile of intercontinental range by North Korea after it was learnt that neither the Prime Minister nor the Foreign Minister had approved the communiqué.

Co-Cabinet Spokesperson Minster Dayasiri Jayasekera said yesterday at the Cabinet media briefing, “This press release was discussed at the Cabinet Meeting on Tuesday and it was discovered that neither the Prime Minister nor the Foreign Minister had any knowledge of it.

So, the question is whose idea was it and how was it released to the media.”

Sri Lanka condemned the firing of a ballistic missile of intercontinental range by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)on 28 July and the series of recent similar hostile acts by DPRK in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions during the weekend.

“In the interest of peace and security of all concerned, we urge the DPRK to refrain from such hostile actions and programmes, in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, which impact adversely on the stability in the region and beyond,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in the media release.