The President’s Office, it is learnt, has launched a quiet internal inquiry to find how a confidential report prepared and handed over by two directors of the President’s Media Division (PMD) had leaked and ended up in the possession of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Leader, MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Dissanayake during a recent press briefing revealed to the media that he had received a report prepared by two directors of the PMD detailing a media campaign to be carried out through various media to build up public opinion against the holding of Local Government Elections. 

The JVP Leader however refrained from listing out the names of members of the media fraternity who were listed in the document by the two PMD directors as being part of the media campaign.

It is learnt that the list of names of media persons had included the names of senior media personnel as well. It is further learnt that a majority of the media personnel whose names had been included in the document were unaware of the so-called ‘media campaign’ that had been planned by several directors of the PMD.

Hearing Dissanayake’s revelation, the other directors of the PMD including the Director General had expressed their displeasure at the manner in which the report had been prepared and had questioned how it had leaked.

Meanwhile, several media personnel, after learning that their names had been included in the ‘report,’ had called several other directors of the division and expressed their displeasure at the manner in which their names had been included in a document without their knowledge and consent.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe had also expressed his displeasure over the manner in which matters were being handled in the PMD and, most of all, the manner in which the report had leaked to an Opposition party leader. The outcome of the internal investigation is expected to be completed within the next few days.