Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Sirisena slams media for false reporting on 'foreign judges'

Sri Lanka's president Maithripala Sirisena has denied that foreign judges will be allowed to prtake in any accountability mechanism, the second time he has done so in two days.

The president slammed sections of the Sinhala press for reporting that the accountability mechanism would include foreign participation, Ceylonews reported.

Speaking at a Buddhist event in Kandy on Saturday, Mr Sirisena showed his audience the front page of a Sinhala paper, the Sunday Divaina, which ran a story on foreign judges sitting on a war crime court.

“I am so sorry that this paper which is full of my friends in the editorial had carried this story without verifying it from us”.

“As I said yesterday I will not do anything to upset the sovereignty. Foreign judges can’t work here according to our constitution. The constitution must be changed for that. Even then I wouldn’t allow such a thing “.

“This report is misleading and inciting people,” he said.

On Friday the president said he would not allow any interference by foreign judges, as reported by his official media organ, PMD News.

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.