President Rajapaksa said there was no need for new laws to protect people’s right to information and he was prepared to ensure that everybody had access to any information except what was covered by the Official Secrecy Act and matters related to national security. He would make available information required by journalists if a request was made, he said.
In reply to a remark by an editor that freedom of information was a prerequisite for battling corruption etc, the President said such matters could be referred to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption. “We have strengthened it and anyone can move it if there are complaints of bribery or corruption,” he said.
In Sri Lanka, the President said, there were no secrets as such. “I realised that fact when I was Minister of Fisheries. Some outsiders who attended meetings at my ministry at that time had copies of Cabinet papers in their hands.”
Asked to comment on Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa’s announcement at the last Cabinet meeting that the government would present a comprehensive Right to Information Bill to Parliament, the President passed the question on to Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, who said that matter was being discussed.