The Hon. Ajith P. Perera

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, when the Right to Information Bill, No. 12 of 2016, came to this House, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and all of us supported it to protect the people’s right to know. A progressive MP who strongly backed it was Anura Kumara Dissanayake. He said then that information had been hidden even from Parliament, and that a law was needed to ensure access — and he supported it. He also said if a treaty were to be signed between India and Sri Lanka, Parliament and citizens had the right to know it in advance.

¶ 02 This Government came to power on the foundation of the Aragalaya. One of its leaders, a social activist arrested during that struggle, is Anuruddha Bandara. He risked his life to depose the then Government and expel an autocrat. From that political awakening, today’s President — then MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake — rose to the Presidency and your Government was formed.

¶ 03 Anuruddha Bandara wrote to the Presidential Media Division asking for the names, posts, salaries, allowances and privileges of those employed there. Astonishingly, the President’s Senior Assistant Secretary G.P.H.M. Kumarasinghe replied in writing citing Section 5(1)(b) of the RTI Act to refuse the information. That clause does not apply. I helped draft that law. Yet names, posts, and emoluments of media staff are being withheld. Are the principles President Anura Kumara Dissanayake espoused then being upheld today?

¶ 04 A month ago, I asked the Hon. Prime Minister: how many India–Sri Lanka agreements exist; when were they signed; by whom; on what subject; did the Attorney-General approve; under what legal basis; and will copies be tabled in Parliament? I was told time was needed. A month has passed; no information. When we passed RTI, we cited India–Sri Lanka trade agreements as examples of why citizens must have the right to know. Yet today, the activist who helped bring this Government to power gets no answers; nor does an Opposition MP. Do citizens not have the right to know treaties with China, the USA, or India?

¶ 05 We must ask whether Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s stance on RTI has changed. One policy in Opposition and another in Government? That is a serious matter. What is so secret that even positions and salaries of the Presidential Media Division cannot be disclosed?

¶ 06 Today’s debate was moved by Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, who himself called the salt episode a “man‑made disaster.” I say: this Government itself is a man‑made disaster. If you cannot provide even the minimum information to protect citizens’ rights, if you cannot table basic treaty information, if you cannot disclose staff details under your own office to the very activists who helped seat you, then this Government is a man‑made disaster.

¶ 07 To Hon. Sunil Handunnetti and to all citizens: you have created a man‑made disaster with your majority. Thank you.