COLOMBO (News 1st): Yoshitha Rajapaksa, the son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has informed the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption that he will not appear before the commission today. In a written notification, Rajapaksa stated that his absence is due to a requirement to attend a case being heard in the Court of Appeal today.Yoshitha Rajapaksa had been summoned by the Bribery Commission today in connection with an ongoing investigation into the manner in which he joined the Sri Lanka Navy and the British Royal Naval College. Following today’s notification, the Bribery Commission stated that Rajapaksa has been re-summoned to appear before the commission tomorrow.Meanwhile, former Navy Commander Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda was also summoned to the Bribery Commission today regarding the same incident. However, Karannagoda has reportedly stated that he did not receive the official letter summoning him. Consequently, he has been notified to appear before the commission next week.According to investigations, in September 2006, then Navy Commander Admiral Karannagoda sent a letter to the British Royal Naval College inquiring whether Yoshitha Rajapaksa could be admitted to the academy. Responding to the inquiry in November of that same year, the academy informed the Navy that the request could be accommodated.Bribery Commission investigations have revealed that up until that point, a cadet officer being recruited into the Sri Lanka Navy was strictly required to pass the Advanced Level examination in either the Biology or Mathematics streams. However, the probe has uncovered that because Yoshitha Rajapaksa had studied in the Arts stream for his Advanced Levels, the recruitment qualifications were amended before advertisements were published.Furthermore, the Bribery Commission states that a discrepancy regarding Ordinary Level qualification requirements had also arisen during the recruitment process in December, which was subsequently amended to match Yoshitha Rajapaksa's qualifications.The commission has uncovered information revealing that after being enlisted into the Navy in this manner, the former President’s son departed for the United Kingdom in January 2007, spending over a year and a half at the British Royal Naval College. The commission further noted that as Yoshitha Rajapaksa was not admitted to the academy on a scholarship, all associated expenses were fully covered by state funds. The Bribery Commission launched an investigation into the matter and had summoned both Yoshitha Rajapaksa and Admiral Karannagoda today to record their statements.
