Foreign Ministry slams AI report

The recent Amnesty International report fails to acknowledge the many positive steps taken by the Government to promote freedom of expression which is enshrined in the Constitution, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

It fails to acknowledge any positive steps taken by the Government of Sri Lanka to enhance protection in an environment of combating terrorism and shadowy killers, the Ministry said.

The Ministry said: “The attention of the Government of Sri Lanka has been drawn to a recent report issued by Amnesty International titled “Sri Lanka-Silencing Dissent” on alleged threats to media and media freedom.

The Report is totally misplaced - a contradiction between the title ‘silencing dissent’ and Government’s sustained policy of open and constructive engagement with the international community and international human rights mechanisms.

In 2007 the Government extended invitations to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, the Special Rapporteur on Torture, and in early 2008, to a delegation from the Inter Parliamentary Union and Ms Angela Kane, the UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs.

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http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/03/08/news03.asp