In an Unprecedented Development Danuna Admits Selling Weapons While Fonseka Rejects

The foregoing are facts and intended only for the factual revelation of events and in no way attempt to add or modify factual content of the news items from popular sources. Culprits must be identified and punished only by a competant court. Our task is to bring to you a factual digest of events from credible and demonstratable sources.

Son-in-law against father-in-law! In an unprecedented move Danuna Tillakaratne has accepted allegations that companies owned by him sold weapons and other goods to Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force. Danuna Tillakaratne is the President of the two companies that sold weapons, etc. to Sri Lanka - HiCorp International and British Borneo Defense. In a statement published in the HiCorp’s website he also admits that General Sarath Fonseka was fully aware of these transactions. Further, he hints at Fonseka’s ownership of the company as well!

However Fonseka continues to decline it. It is still unclear how he will react to these revelations that came at a time least expected.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrmTLL6O9F4

This is likely to turn tables on Fonseka who is screaming about transparency and corruption.

The following appeared in the HiCorp website.

Quote:

OUR ATTENTION HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO CERTAIN ALLEGATIONS MADE IN THE PARLIAMENT OF SRILANKA REGARDING NUMBER OF TRANSACTIONS WITH THE SRILANKA ARMY. AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE COMPANY I WISH TO CLARIFY THE ISSUES RELATING TO THE TRANSACTION IN THE FOLLOWING MANNER, FOR THE BENIFIT OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC

Our company, Hicorp International, has followed the proper procedures when bidding for tenders with the Sri Lankan Army, Navy and Air Force. As President of HiCorp International, I take full responsibility for all tenders bid for by us, and our partner companies British Borneo Defense, Satpro Communications and Hitrone LC. We believe that these tenders were granted due to the lower bids we consistently offered to the Sri Lankan forces.

Further, I would like to confirm that although General Fonseka was aware of these bids as Chairman of the Tender Board, his decision to award the tenders to us, were not affected due to my relationship with him or his ownership in the company.

Thank you,

Danuna Tilakaratne
President, HiCorp International & British Borneo Defense
Oklahoma, USA

End quote.

This is the link to the website. http://hicorp.us/index.htm

Apart from proving Fonseka wrong the above revelation has another important thing. It says, “his ownership in the company”. This means not only Danuna but Fonseka too owns HiCorp and/or its sister companies. In other words Fonseka has sold weapons, etc. to Fonseka but paid by taxpayers’ money.

In a desperate bid Fonseka is trying hard to show that the HiCorp website was hacked! The level of his ‘understanding’ can be seen from this. How does he know the HiCorp website has been hacked? If he has nothing to do with HiCorp, how on earth does Sarath Fonseka know that it has been hacked? The former soldier from the Lion (Sinha) Regiment is said to have crossed over to the Tiger Regiment. To his dismay, the President of HiCorp, Danuna, has not said anything more so far!

Readers are advised to do their own research along these proven, reported facts.

Investigate Possible Corruption and Collusion - Part 3 - Al Khalid Massive Fraud

An Al Khalid tank and a T55.

What is the Main Battle Tank (MBT) of Sri Lanka? It is the mighty T-55. Although it is an old tank, given its enormous ability to take on the enemy - the LTTE - in our terrain, its cost advantage and durability won it the admiration and love of the soldiers. It is a Russian war tank but due to its outstanding success, many variants are manufactured in a number of countries including India. Among its competitors is the AL Khalid tank which is a later day tank. Its Pakistani made. It’s a good tank but less used than the T-55 tank around the world. It’s a carbon copy of Chinese NORINCO Company’s Type 90 tank. In fact the Al Khalid tank was the result of collaboration between NORINCO and Pakistan.

How many Al Khalid tanks were in Sri Lanka? None. But none other than General Sarath Fonseka purchased 22 AL Khalid tanks at a cost of US$100 million a few years ago! Where are the tanks?

That’s not all, he bypass all the anti-corruption mechanisms in place and entered into the purchase transaction himself. He himself finalized the deal!

“It was exactly a year ago, in the first week of May 2008, that Sri Lankan Army Chief Lt Gen Fonseka visited Pakistan and held detailed talks with his Pakistani counterpart Chief of Army Staff General Asfaq Parvez Kayani to finalise the purchase of high-tech arms for the Lankan armed forces, which were embroiled in an intense battle with the LTTE forces even at that time.

According to the report, during the talks with Pakistani military authorities, Lt Gen Fonseka had finalised a deal under which Pakistan supplied 22 Al-Khalid main battle tanks to Sri Lanka worth USD 100 million.”

Here is third party indisputable evidence of it.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/pakistan-played-major-role-in-ltte-defeat-sources/16/54/63044/on

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary subsequently cancelled this order due to the wrongful nature of the purchase procedure, violating the gazette notification of the 30 July 2007 (http://www.lltl.lk/pdf/annexa_government_gazzette.pdf - violates number 16 of the prohibited list) and Sri Lanka didn’t purchase or operate the Al-Khalid tank.

Unfortunately for him it didn’t end there. As usual he contradicted himself.

QUESTION:

There are allegations that the Army commander was involved in a fraud when procuring arms for the Army

ANSWER BY FONSEKA:

All arms were procured for the Army through the Company Lanka Logistics. The Chairman of that Co. is Gatabaya Rajapakse, the Defense Secretary. All money dealings and transactions were done by them. We only do the technical analysis on them. Payments for them are all authorized by them.

http://www.lankaenews.com/English/news.php?id=8724

The how can he explain this money dealing in addition to the Al Khalid deal?

“The newly-appointed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Sarath Fonseka, said on Wednesday that the island nation had cancelled the import of ammunition valued at $200 million from China and Pakistan following the end Eelam War IV. He also announced that India was sending 500 personnel to clear mines in the north.”

http://www.thehindu.com/2009/07/16/stories/2009071653321200.htm

Investigate Possible Corruption and Collusion - Part 2 - Senehasa Special School Irregularity

We have seen those who promised to end corruption end up as corrupt. It is up to a competent court to convict a wrongdoer and it is not the intention of this series of articles to call anyone corrupt and make decisions. Instead what is intended is to shed some light based on third party generated, non-political evidence, widely available to readers, on possible corruption and collusion in military purchases. This evidence is not the creation of any interested party trying to defame anyone. In fact it has been created in most instances by the actors themselves! That means the accuracy, objectivity and relevance of these pieces of evidence remain very high. Same goes for third party evidence. Readers are free to do their own investigations into these independent sources. Newspapers may be burnt, media men may be killed, they can be assaulted and intimidated, they can be silenced, they can be given false news; but internet based evidence cannot be so easily erased.

Soliciting donations from suppliers is not considered good practice even for a customer of that supplier. In the case of suppliers of the Ministry of Defence or the Sri Lanka Army, the customer is either the Ministry of Defence or the Sri Lanka Army. Officers of the Army are not even customers and soliciting donations from the suppliers of the Ministry of Defence or the Sri Lanka Army is a corrupt act in itself. That’s not all. If they beg for donations for their own projects not directly owned by either the Ministry of Defence or the Sri Lanka Army, from suppliers of the Ministry of Defence or the Sri Lanka Army, it is an even lower act of corruption.

The Army Commander has a say in direct purchasing up to a limit. In addition he also holds a high position in Lanka Logistics and Technologies (Pvt) Ltd. Unfortunately Sarath Fonseka had both these privileges and he exploited it for unscrupulous ends.

Senehasa Special School

Senehasa Special School for special needs children is a project pioneered by Sarath Fonseka and Anoma Fonseka while the former was the army commander and when the latter was holding high office in the Army Seva Vanitha Unit (SVU). They approached a Pakistani supplier to the Sri Lanka Army for donations. And they succeeded in getting a donation of a million rupees. Obviously a supplier to Sri Lanka Army would make a donation if he is pre-selected for future business. Otherwise there is absolutely no reason why a Pakistani defence supplier would donate for a charitable project in Sri Lanka.

The following has been quoted from the website.
http://www.senehasa.org/projects.php
"As an initiative taken by Brigadier N.U.M.M.W. Senanayake, the Gulf Maritime Services Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd of Karachchi, donated Rs one million to the Seva Vanitha Army Branch to be utilised for the Senehasa Special School.

The cheque was handed over to Mrs Anoma Fonseka at the presence of the Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka by the special representative of the company Mr. Nisal Yousuf Ahmed 20th February 2009at the Army Headquarter. Brigadier N.U.M.M.W. Senanayake and Colonel A.K. Suraweera were also present on the occasion. The representative of the company pledged further support for the project in the future."

Gulf Maritime Services Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd

Established in 1984 as shipping agents and then gradually developed into trade, chartering and transportation projects and defense cargoes. Also logistics and freight forwarding business carried out through sister company."

http://www.tradeboss.com/default.cgi/action/viewcompanies/companyid/301787/

Along with Ceylon Shipping Corporation, Gulf Maritime Services Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd was involved in shipping weapons Sri Lanka army purchased from Pakistan. Canvassing for donations from this defence supplier is hence wrong and must be investigated.

Soldiers wail while VIPs cruise

From The Sunday Leader 13 April 2008.





http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20080413/spotlight.htm





By Ranjith Jayasundera



While the frontline soldiers in the army are off "crusading to preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the motherland" in the deadly battles of the Wanni, some lucky souls associated to the army have the privilege of cruising no crusading for them in a brand spanking new Merdeces Benz W221 (2006) S350L.

Any vehicle enthusiast will tell you that the “S-Class” series is Mercedes Benz’s most vaunted line of super-luxury vehicles, just one notch down from their legendary ultra-luxury Maybach Benz series. The vehicle was purchased as a "staff car" by the army’s Ordinance Directorate on March 14 at a price of Rs. 44 million.

Cost of variation

What’s more, the “L” suffix after the S350 indicates one minute variation at a cost of Rs. 3 million. A sales manager at Dimo, Sri Lanka’s sole agent for Mercedes Benz, told The Sunday Leader that the difference between the L (meaning long wheelbase) and the standard version was that the long wheelbase version has an extra 15 cm of legroom in the back seat.

For some of us shaken by the skyrocketing cost of living, if we required more legroom in the back seat we would politely ask the driver and front seat passenger to pull their seats forward by about 15 cm. Others with the privilege of spending public money to stretch their legs, it appears, can have the army shell out an extra 30 lakhs - the price of a couple of cars - for a long wheelbase Benz.

After shelling out Rs. 200,000 per centimetre of extra legroom, we hope at the least that the vehicle’s intended occupant is comfortable. This begs the question of who the super-luxury vehicle is intended for. We called and asked Military Spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nannayakara if he could confirm the purchase, to which he said he would check with the army and revert the next day.

However when we called the next day to follow up the question with Brigadier Nanayakara he stonewalled. "I have no information. You will have to check with Dimo," he said.

When The Sunday Leader contacted army Major M.A.V. Gunarathna who signed the purchase order for the Rs. 44 million vehicle "for the Commander of the Army," and asked him who the vehicle was for, he replied that it was for the use of senior army staff.

Starving masses

We pressed the Major on the question of how a senior army officer could travel in a normal, unarmoured vehicle given the current security situation. He had no response. We finally asked him why the army spent Rs. 44 million on a luxury vehicle when it could not be used by the Army Commander or any senior officer at risk from the LTTE due to the fact that it was not armoured.

"What is your problem (gattaluma) with the price of the vehicle?" he retorted. It is not us who have a problem, we thought to ourselves, but the starving masses. Sources have revealed to The Sunday Leader that the vehicle is intended not for Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, but allegedly for the use of his wife. The decision to go the extra Rs. 3 million and get a long wheelbase version means there will be no problem fitting all the groceries in the back seat. Major M.A.V. Gunarathna however vehemently denied the vehicle was for the army chief’s wife and said it was purchased for the use of senior army officers.

Besides, thanks to Mercedes’ Airmatic DC adjustable suspension control, at the touch of a button the army officers or anyone else for that matter can ensure that their eggs do not crack on the way home from shopping by having the vehicle electronically compensate for road and driving conditions, meaning potholes.

Sophisticated entertainment

It gets better. Whilst General Fonseka’s troops die on the battlefield to the screeching wails of their valiant comrades, some army officer or otherwise will be entertained on the road by a 14 speaker ‘harman/kardon’ Logic-7 stereo speaker system with an in-dash CD changer, allowing them a choice of music as they cruise around.

What would happen however if all this indulgence at the expense of an almost starving public were to cause the occupant’s conscience to kick in, and if he/she were to break a sweat out of guilt? Never fear, Mercedes Benz has that eventuality covered too. The 2006 W221 S350L that he/she travels in is fitted with active-ventilated seats equipped with small fans to keep the seats cool and draw perspiration away from occupants.

In a worst case scenario, the occupant of this super luxury vehicle could always count on the variable colour fibre optic lighting system for the dashboard and foot-wells to provide some sense of soothing ambience. But it is not only the privileged occupant but also the driver who gets the pleasure of handling a 7-speed (or 7G-tronic as Mercedes puts it) automatic transmission system equipped with not one but two reverse speed settings.

Whether customs duty was paid on the vehicle, we are unable to tell as Customs officials did not answer their phones despite repeated attempts. It is not usual for the military to pay customs duty on vehicles it imports for its use. Needless to say Major M.A.V. Gunarathna refused to answer any further questions about the vehicle purchase once it clicked to him that he was speaking to The Sunday Leader.

Mystery

However the price paid for the vehicle adds mystery to the issue. A Dimo sales manager told us that their retail price for an S350L is Rs. 53 million. The army paid Rs.44 million for their car including Rs.7.3 million in VAT. Dimo’s retail price without VAT is Rs. 45 million.

Thus if the army paid duty on the vehicle, which would be irregular, it then received the super-luxury car at a Rs.9 million discount from Dimo on their retail price. However if duty has not been paid on the vehicle then its retail value landed in Sri Lanka would have been Rs. 36.7 million, around US$ 330,000.

According to a knowledgeable Mercedes enthusiast, there is no configuration of the S350 available no matter what options are selected, that can exceed US$ 100,000 in value before Sri Lankan taxes. "That is unless they have platinum and diamond fittings throughout the inside," he added sarcastically.

Draw the line

Someone has to draw the line on the government’s triple speak about the war. On one hand our Consumer Affairs Minister, Bandula Gunawardena keeps spewing out gems on the rising cost of living and asks the public to brace for bread at Rs.200 a loaf. Exhibit B is Central Bank Governor, Ajith Nirvard Cabraal’s multitude of excuses for skyrocketing inflation, with insistences of course, that it has little to do with the pot loads of money he decided to print last year to pander to the Chinthana’s whims.

Finally we have the military pitch. Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, is due to retire at the end of this year, and it appears his estimates on the number of Tigers remaining are best described by the current rate of inflation. Despite killing almost a thousand Tigers a month, the number of Tigers remaining seems to be inflating by 28%, just like the cost of living.

General Fonseka while packing off soldiers to die for their country, has been given an unprecedentedly high defence budget this year with the backing of Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse, purportedly to wrap up this war before it becomes too politically disastrous for the Defence Secretary’s brother - the President.

Investigate Possible Corruption and Collusion - Part 1 - HICORP

(Sarath Fonseka ensured that no photo is leaked to the media where he (the father-in-law) and his son-in-law are both in it. Photo from nation.lk)

What is the best way to divert attention from own corruption? It is to talk about others’ alleged corruption. It is a very old trick in Sri Lankan politics. We have seen those who promised to end corruption end up as corrupt. It is up to a competent court to convict a wrongdoer and it is not the intention of this series of articles to call anyone corrupt and make decisions. Instead what is intended is to shed some light based on third party generated, non-political evidence, widely available to readers, on possible corruption and collusion in military purchases. This evidence is not the creation of any interested party trying to defame anyone. In fact it has been created in most instances by the actors themselves! That means the accuracy, objectivity and relevance of these pieces of evidence remain very high. Same goes for third party evidence. Readers are free to do their own investigations into these independent sources. Newspapers may be burnt, media men may be killed, they can be assaulted and intimidated, they can be silenced, they can be told false news; but internet based evidence cannot be so easily erased.

As many are aware there is a company by the name Lanka Logistics and Technologies (Pvt) Ltd which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order, to facilitate the procurement of Equipment & Services for the Sri Lanka Army, Navy, Air Force & Police.
The Company is also engaged in conducting procurement research, sourcing, manufacturing and project management. (http://www.lltl.lk/index.php)

Contrary to popular belief, it is not the sole purchaser of goods and services for the defence services. It is impractical and costly for a single source to procure everything. But it is certainly the purchaser of high value and critical equipment; and spares. The government gazette No 1508/08 on Monday July 30, 2007 specifies what defence related articles cannot be bought by any other entity. (http://www.lltl.lk/pdf/annexa_government_gazzette.pdf).

This list is not exhaustive and allows other entities to supply items not prohibited. Hicorp (Pvt) Ltd. has carefully avoided the prohibited items and had supplied the items that are not prohibited.

The following link gives evidence how Hicorp (Pvt) Ltd carefully and skillfully avoided prohibited items. In doing so it ensured a continued flow of business as long as the father-in-law was at the helm. View the product list here.

(http://lk252467.en.asiaproduct.net/)

While the owners of Hicorp’s Sri Lanka operation have been divulged elsewhere (http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2009/12/06/us-asked-probe-danuna-tillakeratne), Mr. Randy DeHoedt is the contractor of the company.

EVIDENCE - 1
This is what they have to say about their operations.
“Our Organization is based in Sri Lanka with presence in the USA. We are specialized in integrated defense systems / Radar systems / Body armor / Ballistic helmets / armored vehicles and many other related products in Sri Lanka. We are a registered supplier for the Sri Lanka Army / Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force / Sri Lanka Police Department / Government and Private Sector Organizations / United Nations Offices in Sri Lanka NGOs / ICRC / Red Cross Etc.”

EVIDENCE - 2
And this is the company profile.

Company Name: HICORP (Pvt) Ltd.
Business Type: Other
Product/Services: Defense, Security, Surveillance Equipment
Contactor: Mr. Randy DeHoedt
Address: # 7 Siebal Avenue Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka 00500
Phone: 94-714-813111
Fax: 94-114-51427

Third party created evidence of these details are found at: http://lk252467.en.asiaproduct.net/

EVIDENCE - 3
The contractor Randy DeHoedt is a very close friend of not only Danuna Tillakaratna, but also his mother - Asoka Tillakaratne. They have been known to each other for a long time, at least from 2006.

The following covering letter was done by him and published voluntarily in the internet under the category, “how to write an amazing covering letter”!

The following is quoted from the covering letter.

I Randy DeHoedt, wish to introduce my self in my endeavor to explore the possibility of my association with your esteem establishment.
With reference to the advertisement which appeared on Sunday Observer 23rd April 2006, I hereby wish to apply for ‘Client Service Executive’. In this context please find attached herewith my Curriculum Vitae for your kind perusal.

Conviction, confidence and the ability to work independently as well as with a team have kept me in good stead.

Referees
Mrs. Asoka Tillakaratne
Managing Director
Salon 7th Avenue
#1, Shopping Piazza,
Galle Face Hotel, Colombo 03
Tel. 2382992, 5678266
Mobile. 0777311229

Mr. Lakshman Abeysekera
Director/CEO
Novex Pharmaceuticals Limited.
#7, Siebel Avenue,
Colombo 05
Tel. 2820512, 5511430
Mobile. 0777360094

Enclose my resume looking forward to a favorable reply from you.

Thanking you.
Yours faithfully,
……………….
Here is the link - http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/734233-how-to-write-a-cover-letter-amazing

EVIDENCE - 4
The contractor who supplied weapons and other materials to the Sri Lanka Army / Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force / Sri Lanka Police Department in his own admission knows very well the family of Danuna Tillakaratna, the son-in-law of the then Army Commander!

Asoka Tillakaratne runs Salon 7th Avenue.

Confirmation is found in this link - http://www.salon7thavenue.com/contactus.htm

EVIDENCE - 5
Further confirmation of the relationship is found in the following excerpt.

“Danuna, who lives and works overseas, is a computer analyst. The groom is also the son of a military man – Brigadier (Rtd) Tissa Tillekaratne, so the families have been friends since their children were very young, The Nation learns.”

“The bride was dressed in a beautiful, pure white, heavily-worked lace saree draped Indian style and carried a bouquet of white orchids, which she also wore in her hair. Her bridesmaids, three in all, including her sister Aparna Fonseka, wore salmon pink sarees and carried orchids of the same shade as the bouquets. There were a total of 14 in the bridal retinue, including two page boys and two little flower girls. The bride and her party were dressed by Salon Seventh Avenue, which is owned and managed by the groom’s mother.”

http://www.nation.lk/2007/07/15/events.htm

CONCLUSION
Apart from the Army Commander’s son in law’s company in the USA selling weapons to the Sri Lanka army, that company’s main arms dealer is a close family friend of him. It offers many opportunities for collusion and it possibly did happen. Weren’t his superiors aware? They might or might not have been aware of it but they had other considerations too. Getting rid of the army commander right in the middle of the war would have affected the political balance. Going by what happened after the war, the impact during the war would have been phenomenal. These events must be investigated as soon as possible. Culprits must be named and shamed; and punished appropriately. Allowing the culprits to rule the country is the worst act of omission.

Sri Lanka Should not End up as Pakistan: Gone to Them!