‘Right to Information’ has become the domain of the President
The Right to Information of the Sri Lankan people has become the domain of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, according to an eminent rights defender, and thus it is now in limbo.
Elmore M. Perera, a former President, Organization of Professional Associations (OPA) expressed this view while speaking as the Chief Guest at the National Integrity Award 2014 organized by Transparency International Sri Lanka to commemorate the United Nations Anti- Corruption Day – 9 December at the BMICH this week.
It so happened in the history of Sri Lanka that the first initiative to have a Right to Information Act was made in 1990s. Mr. Perera said that it dragged on and on and in 2010 when Milinda Moragoda was the Minister of Justice, he presented the draft RTI Act to President Rajapaksa and according to Mr. Perera the President’s response was that no RTI Act for Sri Lanka was necessary as the President would readily furnish any information requested and thereafter a Bill was introduced to Parliament by parliamentarian Karu Jayasuriya without success.
He pointed out that in the whole of South Asia only Bhutan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka do not have legislation on Right to Information.
Freedom of Information is an essential element of any democracy, he said, adding that the ultimate governors are the people and they are entitled to know everything about their assets. What comes into the Treasury and what goes out is their concern.
He said that the Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) had selected ‘Integrity in the Public sector’ as its theme for 2014 and this is an important issue today.
The father of a family, he said, who finds it difficult to live and feels insulted by the luxury of the dishonest rich, asks “Why have I been honest? Why are the wicked successful? It is more a scandal than a temptation when one sees the wicked succeed in everything”.
The National Integrity Award was awarded posthumously to Nihal Perera, Manager of Noori Estate, Deraniyagala who gave his life (and was murdered) for honesty and trying to prevent corruption. The award was received by his wife.
A Special Integrity Award was also presented to Ms. Susila Herath, a teacher at Nawagaththegama, Navodya Vidyalaya who was humiliated by being forced to kneel down before a politician.