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World publishers call on President Rajapksa to promote self-regulation
View(s):The World Association of Newspaper Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has welcomed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s assurances of media freedom.
In a letter to President Rajapaksa, WAN-IFRA CEO Vincent Peyregne said the association noted with interest, several meetings Mr. Rajapaksa had with newspaper and other media heads and his assurances to them that there are no threats to media and they have the freedom to write factually.
“As the largest newspaper organisation in the world with an international membership of more than 3,000 media institutions, we welcome your statements of assurances of media freedom as enshrined and guaranteed by Article 14(1)(A) in the Constitution of Sri Lanka which as stated, “gives every citizens the freedom of speech and expressions including publications,” the letter stressed.
WAN-IFRA also pointed out that in the free world, democratic governments had permitted newspapers to be regulated on the principles of self-regulation rather than on statutory laws like the Press Council Act, which included a provision to jail publishers and editors.
“We hope you will support the concept of self-regulation in Sri Lanka,” Mr Peyregne further states.