Cabraal says newspaper report on MR and China “fake news”

Former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal says a newspaper report on former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and China falls within the ‘fake news’ category.

He said a New York Times article, dated 25 June, titled “How China got Sri Lanka to cough up a Port” was a gross misrepresentation of facts as well as a piece of journalism which has violated the truth in a shocking manner.

Cabraal said the news item is probably the type of propaganda under the veil of journalism that President Donald Trump has been regularly referring to as ‘fake news’ or reports.

Cabraal says he was interviewed by the New York Times correspondent on 10 May, and countered almost every one of her string of allegations and pre-conceived notions in an hour long interview with irrefutable facts and figures.

However, he says the reporter has chosen to ignore all his responses relating to the Chinese loans and projects, as well as Sri Lanka’s debt position under President Mahinda Rajapaksa, which would have materially changed the “flawed findings” and highly suspect conclusions of the reporter.

He says the stance of the reporter undoubtedly confirms she was on a mission to provide a pre-determined and completely one-sided viewpoint which is detrimental to both China and Sri Lanka in general, and President Xi Jingping and Mahinda Rajapaksa in particular.

Cabraal says he will submit a detailed reply to the “shockingly imbalanced article” which is not worthy of being published in a newspaper such as the New York Times, and expose its subjectivity in a few days.