 |
|
|
|
| News Stories |
|
|
|
Home Mail2Lanka News Sports World Previous Stories |
The Prajathanthra, a movement for social democracy in Sri Lanka has lodged its vehement protests against the refusal of the Colombo government to extend the visa of Mr. Paul Harris, a British journalist in Sri Lanka and has alleged that that the refusal was “the result of pressure on the government” by a terrorist group banned in the United Kingdom, USA, Canada and Australia. The Prajathanthra, in a press release said, that the Colombo government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe refused to extend the working visa of the this British journalist representing the Daily Telegraph of London in Colombo giving a “major blow to the freedom of the media and freedom of expression” under the pressure of the terrorist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The press release signed by the movement’s convener, Lucien Rajakarunanayaka said, “We register our strongest protest at the refusal of the government to extend the visa of Mr. Paul Harris, the correspondent in Sri Lanka for the Daily Telegraph UK.” The Prajathanthra said the government of Ranil Wickremesinghe allegedly refused to extend Paul Harris’ visa on the basis that he was considered “ a threat to national security.” The pres release said, “ We fail to understand how Mr. Paul Harris could pose a threat to national security. On the contrary he has, by his reports and commentaries on the situation in Sri Lanka shown that he is in deed an asset to national security. It will be recalled that shortly after the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement between the Government and the LTTE, Mr. Harris exposed many of the loopholes in the Agreement he said would be used by the LTTE to its advantage. He also predicted with great accuracy the manner in which the LTTE would manipulate civilians to give the impression of "people power" to have the security forces camps in the North and East removed. The attacks and demonstrations that took place at Point Pedro, Valaichchenai and Kanjirankudah were carried out in almost the same manner as predicted by Mr. Harris. “What Mr. Paul Harris has done is to draw from his wide experience in covering insurgencies and separatist & terrorist activities in other countries, and shown the true nature of the LTTE both as a separatist and terrorist organization, despite its signing of the Ceasefire Agreement with the Government. The LTTE's record on Human Rights after the agreement was signed and its current political activities, including the non-tolerance of any dissenting opinion is the real threat to national security.” The Prajathanthra warned, if Mr. Paul Harris a foreigner was refused a visa extension for having warned of the real dangers posed by the LTTE and criticizing its activities, then a citizen of this country who did the same could well have his or her citizenship cancelled and banished from the country. The refusal to extend the visa of Mr. Harris, the release said, under LTTE pressure, showed how much the government was in fact dominated by the LTTE today. This was a real threat to democracy in the country, the statement severely warned. The statement concluded, “The refusal to extend the visa of journalist Paul Harris is a major blow to the Freedom of the Media and Freedom of Expression. We, therefore, call on the government to desist from taking this action, and allow Mr. Paul Harris and any other objective journalists to comment freely on the developments in the country today.” (EOM) (09/11/02 go2lanka.com) |