We Friends of Sri Lanka are equally shocked by the accusation made against Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa by the chief editor Lasantha Wickramatunga of The Sunday Leader. In the July 15, 2007 publication the editor of the newspaper has published lies and innuendos to discredit the good name of Gotabhaya and also to confuse the people of Sri Lanka by issuing false statements and innuendos to tarnish his name. In the past we stood up against the false accusation labeled against him and his brother that they had bought multi million dollar homes in California. We successfully challenged that and brought the truth to the open. Since Mr. Gotabhaya became the Defense Secretary he has been fighting a protracted war to save Sri Lanka from the blood thirsty Tamil Tigers (LTTE). At this critical time, instead of showing support and appreciation, the action taken by The Sunday Leader in defaming Mr. Gotabhaya is unforgivable. We therefore request the peace loving people of Sri Lanka in the Diaspora to support Gotabhaya in his lawsuit against the Editor and owners of The Sunday Leader and bring this character assassination fiasco to an end. This petition will be mailed to his attorney, Sanath Wijewardane, in support of Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Please add your signature below. For more information about this lawsuit please refer to: http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/02/26/news03.asp