Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has called for the media to be more 'responsible' when reporting about incidents of crime.
Speaking at the Government’s information Department seminar on crime and national security, Rajapaksa outlined that ‘improper’ reporting of crime related reports would ruin Sri Lanka’s ‘image’, and have a negative impact on tourism and investments in the country.
The Defence Secretary stated that there had been no statistical increase in the countries crime rates, despite a police spokesman’s recent claim that incidents of rape and abuse had substantially risen this year.
Addressing the criticism that several government politicians are involved in high-profile crimes, Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the police were not under any political interference and were able to engage in their duties freely, and have been instructed to take action against offenders disregarding their political status.
The last year has seen a substantial increase in the government’s attempts to influence the media, and Gotabaya’s comments augment the evident media censorship scheme.
The Defence Secretary’s call to the media to act responsibly comes soon after his profanity-strewn exchange with a Sri Lankan journalist, where he threatened that she would be killed.
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