Former Minister Sarath Weerasekera has sent a letter of demand to the management of Colombo’s Kingsbury Hotel, threatening legal action seeking Rs. 100 million in damages unless it apologises and secures the removal of CCTV footage allegedly edited and released online in violation of his privacy.
The notice, issued through his lawyers, alleges an unjustified intrusion into his privacy, defamation and serious damage to his reputation.
It gives the hotel management seven days to meet his demands, failing which he intends to pursue court proceedings and lodge formal complaints with the Police, the Online Safety Commission and the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
According to his lawyers, CCTV footage recorded during Weerasekera’s visit to the hotel on 24 October had been edited and circulated online to create the misleading impression that he and a Buddhist monk entered the same hotel room at the same time or shortly afterwards.
The letter alleges that footage under the hotel’s control was released to certain Facebook pages and YouTube channels without his consent and contrary to guest privacy policies. It further alleges that the hotel management was complicit in its release.
Citing severe distress, harassment and reputational harm, the notice demands that those responsible be identified, that the management express regret in writing and issue a public apology, and that all related videos be removed from the internet within seven days.
Speaking to the media, Weerasekera said the monk had arrived at the hotel a day before his own visit, which he said was made to check on the monk’s health.
He said monks who participated in the days-long march had suffered cracked and wounded feet after walking in heavy rain, while some had contracted dengue. He said he had accompanied doctors to attend to them in Nittambuwa and at hospitals.
Weerasekera said he visited the monk, who was suffering from a fever, in a hotel room booked by a devotee. He described the visit as an act of care motivated by religious devotion.
He said it did not matter to him whether a monk was staying in a hotel, temple, cave, house or under a tree.
He also condemned what he described as derogatory social media attacks by people who had neither checked on the monks’ welfare nor offered them an umbrella or a hot drink during the march, but were now accusing them of dishonouring the Buddhist robe.
The controversy followed the widespread circulation of CCTV footage showing monks, including Ven. Balangoda Kassapa Thera, staying at the five-star Kingsbury Hotel and Weerasekera visiting the premises.
Commenting on the controversy, Ven. Thiththagalle Anandasiri Thera said the Buddha had been a king who entered monastic life, rather than a beggar. He argued that monastic tradition permitted monks to occupy a golden seat or stay in a five-star hotel room, and that there was nothing unusual about accepting accommodation offered by a devotee.
