COLOMBO: Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris yesterday said that an impartial and independent investigation will be held over the alleged attack on the house of journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrema and the Government will never interfere politically in incidents such as this.
He added that the country has a well established mechanism to probe such cases through the Police, the Attorney General’s Department and the Courts of Law.
Prof. Peiris said that there is no media suppression in the country and the media has the freedom to criticise the Government. He was speaking at a press conference yesterday. The Minister said that it is clear from the number of criticisms levelled against the Government through the newspapers and television that there is no media repression in the country.
He added that the Government has not taken any action to suppress the media and that media personnel have been given all the freedom to continue their duties without any hindrance.
He also said that the legal procedure against a journalist or anyone else is clearly enshrined in the Sri Lankan legal system and it would operate without any influence.
Prof. Peiris added that the previous Government had a tradition of convening the officials of the Attorney General ‘s Department to Temple Trees and exert pressure on them to file action against its opponents without proper evidence
“Our Government has never and will never resort to such manoeuvres to intervene with the enforcement of the law with the intent of targeting opponents,” he said.
He added that the previous Government was in the habit of pressurizing junior officials at the Attorney General’s Department to file charges against the then Opposition members without evidence.(CDN)
