Britain expects Lanka to allow all journalists access to cover Commonwealth summit

Thursday, 18 July 2013 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The British government said it expects Sri Lanka to issue visas to all the accredited journalists to enter the country to cover the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Colombo in November. In an interview with BBC Sinhala Service, the Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Alistair Burt said he has learned that some British journalists, especially the director of ‘No Fire Zone’ Callum McCrae, will not be allowed to visit the island, as indicated by the Sri Lankan Consul General in Australia Bandula Jayasekara. Burt said he expects the Sri Lankan Government to not only allow the British media personnel to enter the island but also allow them the freedom to cover the events and travel within the country. He said he is aware that the Commonwealth Secretariat is the body responsible for media accreditation for the CHOGM and not the Government of Sri Lanka. However, he is stressing on both entities to not restrict entry to any accredited media person. Regardless of the Government’s general policy regarding the access to foreign journalists, the Sri Lankan Government must grant visas to whoever the Commonwealth Secretariat deems eligible to cover the event, Burt said. The Sri Lankan Government said it is following the guidelines set by the Commonwealth Secretariat in its entirety and that it is committed to providing full media access to any journalist accredited by the Secretariat. “As a member of the Commonwealth of Nations for more than 60 years, Sri Lanka remains fully committed to Commonwealth values, including a free press,” the Government said in a statement. For international media, the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, in consultation with the CHOGM 2013 Taskforce Secretariat in Colombo, will review and process the accreditation and as the host country, Sri Lanka will be responsible for processing the visa applications of all accredited international media, the Government said. It further said that the terms and conditions outlined on the online registration site are identical to the terms and conditions used during CHOGM 2011 in Perth, Australia. Burt also told the BBC Sinhala Service that the security of the British visitors to the summit is very important and that the Sri Lankan Government must ensure their safety during the summit. He admitted that despite some isolated incidents where the British citizens were troubled, in general, the visitors have experienced a trouble free environment. However, he urged British citizens to follow the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s travel advisories during their visit to Sri Lanka.

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