The Sri Lankan government has rejected a proposed right to information law, again saying it could draft a better bill, according to a report in The Nation.
United National Party (UNP) senior Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya, who had proposed the bill, subsequently said he would take the issue to the people at the grassroots level, the paper reported.
Jayasuriya’s proposal was rejected for the third time on May 25 during the party leaders’ meeting.
“Even if the government refuses to allow the presentation we will take it to the people like in the case of the 17th Amendment which became the cry of the nation for de-politicisation of state institutions. Similarly, in today’s context when there are accusations of waste, corruption and gross abuse of state resources, the day will come for the people of Sri Lanka to cry for their right to information,” he said.
The ruling party said it was drafting its own bill last September, too. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.)
Transparency International Sri Lanka recently launched the translated book “Open Sesame” to the Sinhala and Tamil languages recently at the J.R.Jayawaerdane Center Colombo. The book was translated and launched with the collaboration of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
An early May meeting on RTI in Sri Lanka, sponsored by civil society groups, was reported on by The Sunday Times.
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