Port and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe yesterday strongly condemned the letter sent to all media institutions by UNP Chairman Kabir Hashim.
The Minister said that UNPers who are crying for democracy are now threatening media institutions.
Quoting from the letter, Minister Samarasinghe said; “Incorrect reporting of the current political situation in the country must be corrected immediately.
This is particularly important to safeguard your organization from law suits and other civil actions in light of the Hansards of November 15 and 16 confirming the absence of a legitimate government in Sri Lanka.”
In his letter Hashim further stated; “The positions of Prime Minister, Minister, Deputy Minister, State Minister, Leader of the House, Chief Government Whip no longer exists. It is therefore inaccurate to refer to any Member of Parliament as Minister or Prime Minister. I trust we can count on your organisation to refrain from carrying content referring to MPs using positional terms that do not exist.”
Responding to the letter, Minister Samarasinghe said the position of Prime Minister has been duly gazetted by the President and the Cabinet of Ministers and the institutions coming under the ministries have also been gazetted.
He further said that if anyone feels that their fundamental rights have been violated as a result of this gazette they can seek redress at the Supreme Court. But none of them had challenged these gazette notifications in the Supreme Court.
“The Cabinet of Ministers are currently engaged in their ministerial work and we are also taking all the decisions that need to be taken. It is questionable why the UNP is trying to influence these media institutions highlighting on some decisions included in the Hansard after conducting a voice vote,” he added.
He said the UNP Chairman should think twice before signing a letter like this.
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