Fact Check: SJB did not delay May Day attendance allowance payments

දිනපතා සත්‍ය කරුණු දැන ගැනීමට අපගේ WhatsApp චැනලයට මෙතනින් එකතුවන්න.

All parties are currently preparing to commemorate World Workers’ Day tomorrow (May 1st). In the context of heightened competition among political parties to attract the largest gatherings, misinformation is being circulated regarding their respective May Day rallies. This document constitutes a fact-check of one such widely shared claim.

Social Media Posts:

A letter, purportedly issued by the General Secretary of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, R. M. Ranjith Madduma Bandara, and addressed to district organizers, has been circulated on social media in this manner.

It stated that a problematic situation had arisen during the organization of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya May Day rally scheduled for the following day, owing to the withdrawal of a group, including Mr. Iran, from the party’s finance division.

The letter declares that, as a consequence, the payment of attendance and meal allowances for party members participating in the May Day event will be delayed by one month. It further indicates that Mr. Marikkar (0777886665) will provide a partial contribution toward transportation expenses to the District Organizer and requests that he be contacted for this purpose. In light of the prevailing circumstances, the letter also urges that members not be discouraged from attending and calls for active efforts to ensure the success of the May Day rally.

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This article was widely circulated in this way.

We undertook the steps to verify the accuracy of this claim.

Fact Check:

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s International Workers’ Day rally is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at Maligawatta’s P. D. Sirisena Stadium. Held under the patronage of Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, the event centers on the theme, “The Opposition’s May Rally to Drive Thieves Out of the Poor.”

Furthermore, if the party’s General Secretary had issued such a letter to district secretaries, it likely would have been covered by mainstream media; however, no such reports exist.

Additionally, the document’s unclear lettering and improper spacing, deficiencies rarely found in official party correspondence, further call its authenticity into question.

We further inquired with several of the party’s district secretaries, all of whom confirmed they had not received any such correspondence.

The Media Division of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya

The media division of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya has also confirmed that the claims contained in the letter are false and that no such communication was issued by the party’s General Secretary to the district secretaries. It further noted that such misleading posts are being disseminated with the intent of disrupting the party’s May Day rally.

Following his appointment as Chairman of the Sri Lanka Cricket Transformation Committee, Mr. Eran Wickramaratne resigned from his positions on the Party Management Committee and the Party Working Committee. In accordance with party policy, which dictates that political involvement should be separate from the governance of sports associations, he was also requested to resign from his party membership. A letter detailing this decision can be viewed here.

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Conclusion:

Our investigation indicates that the article titled “Regarding the facilities and payments provided to participants of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya May Day Rally” is a forged document, falsely presented on the party’s official letterhead. Both the district secretaries and the party have confirmed that no such correspondence was issued or received.