Ranil slams Al-Jazeera panel, says unhappy with “Edited” video

Friday, 7 March 2025 06:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday expressed dissatisfaction with the Al Jazeera interview that was broadcast, raising concerns over the integrity of the panellists involved.

Speaking to the media shortly after the interview aired yesterday, Wickremesinghe claimed that two of the three panellists who joined host Mehdi Hasan had pro-LTTE affiliations.

“I was informed that Human Rights Lawyer and Former Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, Ambika Sathkunanathan, would be part of the discussion. I was comfortable with that, as I have known her despite our ideological differences. However, I later found out that she was replaced by two other panellists who, I was told, have links to pro-LTTE groups,” Wickremesinghe stated.

He also criticised the format of the interview, alleging that key parts of his responses were omitted. “When I speak to local media, it is broadcast live, so everything — both good and bad — comes out. Al Jazeera, however, interviewed me for two hours but released only a one-hour segment, editing out most of it,” he said.