Ceylon Daily News: Sri Lanka: Thursday,
July 28, 2016.
Certain
parties in the country try to suppress the development of the country by
carrying figments, but the government would never be discouraged by such
actions. “The best example is the bogus tales carried about the Right to
Information Act (RTI), that this Act would limit the independence of journalists
and a censor for independent journalism, said Media and Parliamentary Reforms
Minister Gayantha Karunathilake. He said so while addressing a seminar
conducted for journalists yesterday concerning the RTI Act titled “Methi
Sabayen Jana Sabayata,” at the Government Information Department auditorium.
“But we were
able to present it to Parliament after receiving the opinion of Civil Society
Organizations, Journalists, Media Specialists and many more, while clearing
doubts they had concerning this Act. Today, as the media minister, I am happy
to see the first Act I brought to Parliament being confirmed,” the Media
Minister said.
The Right To
Information Act (RTI) which was recently confirmed in Parliament had been
ranked as the 7th best Act in the world and also ranked the 2nd best in the
South Asian region.
“Our TRI Act
is only second to India in the South Asian region as it was prepared under
certain restrictions of the Constitution. If not, we would have been able to
produce a better RTI Act than this,” said Media Minister Gayantha
Karunathilaka.
“This is the
first Act in our history where the government is responsible to the public to
provide them with information. This Act is operated through the general public.
If the public do not ask for information, we would not be able to operate this
Act,” he added.
“There is a
major responsibility in the hands of journalists to raise awareness among the
public about this Act. Through the RTI Act, journalists are given the
opportunity to engage in investigative journalism, while reporting accurate and
reliable news, Minister Karunathilake said.
“Discussions
concerning this Act began during the time of late Minister Dharmasiri
Senanayake. Over the years, Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge's
government and the UNP government attempted to introduce this Act in
Parliament. During the previous regime too, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
himself presented this Act to Parliament as a personal proposal, but it was
called off, as no opposition MP could bring a personal proposal to Parliament.
Deputy Minister Karunarathna Paranawithana and a number of senior journalists
and media specialists were present at the occasion.
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