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Tuesday, 22 July 2014 00:42 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna has raised questions about the number of individuals travelling on Presidential delegations overseas, highlighting the case of Minister Wimal Weerawansa’s spouse being a member of the official delegation to Seychelles recently.
JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the Opposition had raised questions in Parliament recently about how many times the President had travelled overseas, the number of people travelling on presidential delegations and the reasons for each visit.
“We have a right to know this. They travel using the people’s money,” he charged.
He said the Government members had responded saying details of presidential delegations were a matter of national security.
The response underscored the necessity for a Right to Information Act, the JVP Leader said.
“Today it is not only the people who don’t have access to this type of information, even the Parliament is not told,” Dissanayake said.
“For instance we want to know why Minister Wimal Weerawansa’s wife was on the presidential delegation to the Seychelles recently,” Dissanayake charged.
“Was there a program for ministerial spouses in Seychelles? What was the purpose of her participation in that delegation?” the JVP Leader queried. He quipped that the Government needed to reveal whether there was a program for family counselling during the visit.
“They charter an aircraft, spend public money and take along Ministers’ wives. The country has a right to know why,” he charged.
The JVP Leader claimed that there could be no media freedom in Sri Lanka because the Government had too much to hide.
“There can be no independent Judiciary in Sri Lanka because the Government has too many people to bail out. They cannot strengthen independent institutions in the country because if they strengthen the Bribery Commission for instance, half the Government will be in jail,” Dissanayake charged. (DB)
