Blatantly false and misleading coverage of Centre for Policy Alternatives and Social Indicator on website

23 January 2010, Colombo, Sri Lanka: It has been brought to our notice that the website titled SF Balakaya hosted at the URL http://www.sfbalakaya.com currently features a blatantly false story involving Social Indicator (SI), the survey research arm of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA).

A story posted on the aforementioned website (accessible at http://www.sfbalakaya.com/story.php?nid=n20100122_04 at the time of writing) claims that SI was contracted to do an opinion poll survey on the presidential election by the United National Party (UNP), and that survey results have been withheld by the Executive Director of CPA, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu on account of the results showing a victory for President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Social Indicator and CPA categorically deny this report as one without any basis in fact. We have not done and nor were we asked to do any survey on the presidential election by any political party or partisan group.

We remain committed to the highest standards of professionalism in our work and wholeheartedly condemn this attempt at inventing a story for short -term political gain.

We demand a full and immediate retraction of this story by this website, which misleads the public with incorrect information.