FMM condemns Wijeyadasa statement

Thursday, 22 June 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Free Media Movement (FMM) yesterday vehemently condemned the remarks made by Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe over a statement made by lawyer Lakshan Dias regarding the violent attacks against minority religious groups in Sri Lanka.

The Minister’s statement is a severe threat to the freedom of speech and expression as well as religious freedom, the FMM said in a statement.

FMM said that as an organisation which stands for freedom of expression including social democracy and media freedom, it asked the Minister whether this was the transformation towards democracy and good governance achieved by Sri Lankan society on 8 January 2015.

“In a situation where there are allegations of attacks on religious centers, the due process should be inquiring about it from the IGP or any other responsible authority, not from a leader of another mission,” the statement read, adding that without following such a process, threatening to remove Dias from his profession was entirely unacceptable.

This statement by the Minister has exceeded the limitations of the behavior of a responsible and moral individual, the FMM says, emphasising the fact that it was intimidation against the right to freedom of expression.

Therefore, regardless of the accuracy of the statement by Dias, the Free Media Movement stressed his right to freedom of speech and expression while affirming that the Justice Minister’s behavior was a menace to the rule of law and the democracy of the country.