Right to Information Act has been able to win people's rights - Media Minister

Colombo Page: Sri Lanka: Friday, September 29, 2017.

Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the Right to Information (RTI) Act has been able to win people's rights which were suppressed in the past.

He was speaking at a seminar held today at the Global Towers on the Practical Application of the RTI Act of Sri Lanka', organized by the Media Ministry to mark the 'International Day of Right to Information'.

Minister Samaraweera said the importance of the RTI Act is now being felt among the public and the people have been given the right to know under this initiative.

"When the system of access to and distribution of information is improved, we can minimize the misuse of information by public officials and the RTI Act which came into force in June of 2016 has since helped many discover information previously not available," the Minister noted.

The Minister recalled that Roshen Chanaka was murdered in a protest in 2011 and his mother could not get any information even though a report was completed in the same year and was handed over to the President at the time. His mother was only able to get the report on an inquiry because of the Right to Information Act.

"Unequal access to information allows officials to pursue policies that are more in their interests. Improvements in information and the rule governing its dissemination can reduce the scope of these abuses," he said.