JVP condemns police spokesman

The JVP yesterday condemned the Police spokesman saying that he speaks only on behalf of the Government and the SLFP instead of performing his duty by speaking on behalf of the Police.

JVP Propaganda Secretary MP Vijitha Herath said the Police spokesman should have been more duty conscious rather than ‘whitewashing’ for the Government when media personnel came under attack.

"People have a right to information and when the media is suppressed a fundamental right is violated. Police have a responsibility to ensure that people enjoy their fundamental rights. When media personnel were attacked by unidentified persons, the police spokesman went on record stating that media persons fabricate and stage manage these incidents with the intention of seeking asylum in foreign countries," Herath told a press conference at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo yesterday.

"Could you believe that media men would face attacks just to qualify to seek political asylum? We do not believe this. This statement made by the police spokesman is aimed at whitewashing the government’s inability to arrest the attackers. The police spokesman had done the job of the government spokesman or SLFP spokesman because he wanted to safeguard their interests," Herath said.

Police have a duty to arrest those who attack media personnel.
Every time journalists came under attack, the police came up with clumsy statements instead of investigating them. There had been several attacks on media men during the recent past but no one has been arrested so far, Herath said.