Skepticism Over AG’s ‘Return’ Call
The Attorney General’s words about protecting journalists are empty unless he backs them up with action. Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka welcomes the offer made by AG, Mohan Peiris, to provide protection for exiled journalists if they return but urges him to take immediate steps to prove he is serious about media freedom.
Inviting exiled journalists back home, the AG told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that there must be assurances on the part of the government that those who return won’t come to any harm. He was quoted as saying that it was not useful to have journalists staying away from the country and ‘attacking the government.’
Discussing the issue of exiled journalists while meeting a CPJ delegation in Colombo on Wednesday (10) he said, “They must come back and work with us and help set up the structures so that we can work together and we can respect each other.”
Over 70 Sri Lankan media workers fled Sri Lanka during the Mahinda Rajapaksa government due to intimidation and death threats. They were unable to work in Sri Lanka after being denounced as people who “attack the government”. It is interesting to note the AG now accepts that it is the responsibility of the government to provide protection to these journalists in future; is he also suggesting it was the government threatened the journalists in the first place?
As an initial step to provide assurances to exiled journalists who wish to return, JDS calls upon the Attorney General to prove his good intentions by disclosing the whereabouts of Prageeth Eknaligoda who has been missing since January 24.
— Journalists for Democracy in
Sri Lanka
More importantly, the charges against Tissanayagam should be withdrawn and he must be set free with an apology and compensation for framing false charges and imprisonment against him.
Mohan Peiris used to be a competent lawyer… but now he has surrendered all his principles and morals at the Temple of Rajapukka and is now nothing but another bootlicker & sycophant.
If this man has ANY shame instead of participating in the legal gymnastics and aiding the most corrupt regime in Asia he should resign immediately. But no, he won’t, eying the bogus prestige of the job and the ability to advance personal and family agendas.
He will never throw away his present billet, as there are tons of advantages and he would have learnt many a lesson from the antics of the once mighty and now mightless general.
As a father, who has had to lose his one and only daughter, due to an illness he will be only too aware of the pains and sufferings of the many hundreds who have had the privilege of being kidnapped, tortured, finally executed and some of the lucky ones have had their bodies found whilst for the others still missing it is dreamland for them and their relatives.
At the present moment in my opinion, there will be no takers for his Ambulimama folk takers, he has and will be treated as a court jester in the araliya medura,
How lucky ?. A j.
Journalists are the biggest crooks, who acts the exact the opposite of what they preach.
Most of the fellows who left the country are enjoying the fruits and fantasies of
“Jounalistic Asylum” in western countries.
Do you expect them to come back to thier motherland to drink kasippu , leaving their fabulous creature comforts ?
There are few Journalists who have been missing in recent times. Let him first find out where they have been kept by the white van gangs. Let the AG, Mohan Peiris find them out first before he called those who have fled the country for their safty to return. If he can not find them how the hell he is going to protect the others. Is the government trying to use the AG to get those Journalists to return so that they too could be finished off. In the absence of any guarantee from the Police nobody is safe to return to Sri Lanka now.
The AG must first frame charges against the thousands held in detention many of whom are yet to be produced before a magistrate – or else, discharge them.
Charges have not yet been filed against “more than 500 members of the armed forces and police found guilty of human rights violation” as revealed by the lankan delegation to the UN Human Rights Council’s annual sessions in 2008 – when sri lanka was voted out of the council.
No charges have yet been filed against 108 lankan peacekeepers expelled by UN from Haiti for human rights violations against haitian females, mostly children.
I think national papers should pay more attention to spelling as readers tend to reuse words they read in reputed national dailies and weekenders.
Your headline to this storey is spelt wrong! it should be Scepticism and not Skepticism.
MM
Hi Miles..You can spell it either way..Both spellings are acceptable..Pls check the on line if you need to…
MR & Clan must give the guarantee for the journalist to return.
Attorney General of Sri Lanka is another joker. A person who licks MR’s boots. How can he give such an assurance.
This guy was appointed by MR without following the rules in the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution so he has to play ball to please MR. This statement appears to be a lame attempt to salvage the GSP+. If this guy genuinely wants to protect journalists he should first do so with those in Sri Lanka. That will show that he is genuine.
AG’s joking. He’s also a person from MR & Co. He’s just pretending like protecting peace. PLEASE DON”T GIVE US BORU PORONDHU.
Shame on the AG as we would like to believe and have some respect for this fellow..Now , he is also another one of MR’s stooges and another Pandang Karayah…No value in his thinking and statement.
Definitely not AG material…Sad state of affairs for Sri Lanka to have this worthless and waste of time AG.
Journalism is a noble profession that should not be misused by those who profess in the field.It has been observed that many scribes in the field make use of the profession as a tool to revenge on rivals and this practice must be deplored.