Untrammelled media freedom in the country - President

Rohan MATHES

COLOMBO: President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday asserted that there was absolute media freedom in the country and the Government is not bound to be answerable for isolated incidents as and when they occur.

The President made this assertion when he addressed the 60th anniversary and Minipahana Felicitation cum Awards ceremony of the Ruhunu Kala Havula (Ruhunu Artistes Forum), at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday.

He acknowledged the fact that certain sporadic attacks on media personnel was certainly wrong and unethical and reiterated that his Government was fully prepared and willing to probe such incidents.

“No individual is above the law. Everyone is on a level playing field under the law. Even the President who is immune from the law to some extent, as per the country’s Constitution, is however not above the people, to whom he is answerable and accountable for,” the President said.

He pointed out that only if an environment sans terrorism is created, Artistes of all races, inclusive of Tamils and Muslims could emerge freely within one independent Sri Lanka.

“We are fully committed in establishing a land within which all citizens, including those in the North, enjoy the same facilities, privileges and rights,” he added.

President Rajapaksa opined that despite the unfounded allegations of certain groups who incited a fear psychosis and even sabotaged the recent Batticaloa District elections, the Government has succeeded in liberating the East from the cruel grip of terrorism, and paved the way for a democratic way of life to its people, who have been denied this right for over two decades.

He thanked the prestigious Ruhunu Kala Havula community who had done their duty and rendered a yeoman service to protect and preserve the heritage of Ruhuna over the years.

He also expressed his heart-felt gratitude to them to whom he referred to as a national and valuable asset, for their unstinted support and enthusiasm for the policies of the Mahinda Chintanaya in the pre-Presidential election period.

He pointed out that as envisioned in his ‘Mahinda Chintanaya’, terrorism is being wiped out gradually, and therefore would reinforce the faith the Ruhunu Kala Havula community had in the Mahinda Chintanaya. “I will not betray or breach the trust placed on me,” President Rajapaksa added.