Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa says his Government always protected media freedom in Sri Lanka.
In a message to mark World Press Freedom Day, Rajapaksa said that there was a time when media freedom was threatened in Sri Lanka.
However, he claimed that under his Government media freedom and right to information has always been protected.
The Prime Minister, who was President since 2005 to 2015, said that the media should act with responsibility and be unbiased.
He also said that the media should ensure the public are given the correct information, especially at this time.
Every year, 3 May is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991.
This in turn was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration(link is external) on media pluralism and independence.
At the core of UNESCO’s mandate is freedom of the press and freedom of expression. UNESCO believes that these freedoms allow for mutual understanding to build a sustainable peace.
It serves as an occasion to inform citizens of violations of press freedom – a reminder that in dozens of countries around the world, publications are censored, fined, suspended and closed down, while journalists, editors and publishers are harassed, attacked, detained and even murdered.
It is a date to encourage and develop initiatives in favour of press freedom, and to assess the state of press freedom worldwide. (Colombo Gazette)