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Foreign Media accredited to cover CHOGM related events only: Ministry Secretary
Foreign journalists arriving here to cover the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), will be accredited only to cover CHOGM related events, Secretary to the Ministry of Media and Information Charitha Herath said.
“There will be no restrictions on travel within Sri Lanka for foreign media personnel who arrive in the country for CHOGM, but only as tourists,” he said.
The new media centre at the BMICH (above ) and (top) shows the area which will be used for news conferences. Pic by Indika Handuwala
“However, those who come as part of the official delegations of various countries, can carry out media related activities and will get accreditation to cover only CHOGM related events,” he said. Journalists requiring to cover non-CHOGM events will have to apply for a separate accreditation.
A total of 530 Sri Lankan journalists and over 300 foreign journalists have been accredited to cover the events which will commence today with the Youth Forum and People’s Forum in Hambantota and Galle respectively. “We are aware that some of the foreign journalists want to portray a negative image of Sri Lanka, but this is a democratic country and we have nothing to hide,” Mr Herath said.
He said a media desk set up at the Colombo International Airport will assist journalists and also handle their transport to the designated “Media” hotels in Colombo. “In keeping with the Commonwealth Secretariat’s media guidelines, a pooling system has been put in place, as all accredited media personnel cannot be accommodated at all the conference venues, while live satellite feeds of the main events will be telecast locally as well as across all five continents,” Mr Herath said.
“We believe in positive engagement with the foreign media. We are a country that has suffered from terrorism for 30 years, and we want to show the progress the country has made since the war ended,” he said. All journalists, both local and foreign, can operate from a Media Centre set up at the BMICH, which is equipped with computers, Wi-Fi facilities and other media requirements.