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Sri Lanka's former foreign minister questioned by police over coup attempt

Xinhua, January 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Sri Lanka's former foreign minister was taken in for questioning by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) on Thursday over an alleged coup attempt by the former government.

The former minister, Professor G.L. Peiris said that former president Rajapakse and those present at the President's office in the early morning hours of Jan. 9, a day after the presidential polls, had not held any discussion involving a coup.

"The basis of the interrogation to which I was subjected, it appeared, was that I was present at Temple Trees (President's Office) early in the morning of Jan. 9," he said, "I considered it only right and proper for me to be with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, whom I had loyally served for seven years as a senior member of his cabinet, at a time when support and solidarity were called for. According to my scale of values, this is a basic human obligation."

"I made it clear that not one word was uttered in my presence by anyone about a coup d'etat or any other criminal initiative," Peiris added in a statement.

The newly-elected government led by President Maithripala Sirisena said that it has launched an investigation into an alleged coup attempt by Rajapakse on Jan. 9, after results revealed that he had been defeated.

However Rajapakse has denied these allegations, calling them baseless. Endi