News
Editors Guild condemns CID for hounding editors
The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka (TEGOSL) strongly condemned a move by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to summon and record statements from three senior newspaper editors and several
journalists regarding the complaint lodged by Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena against former director of the Consumer Affairs Authority Thushan Gunawardena related to the Sathosa garlic scam.
In a statement signed by its Secretary, Sisira Paranathanthri, TEGOSL has questioned the right of the CID to pursue journalists including editors who reported certain incidents in the country by viewing what was believed to be an accurate report of an offence in a civilized society.
The statement said: “Instead of shamelessly hounding the media which exposed the scam, the CID should have questioned the parties directly accused by the minister and brought them before the law
after conducting proper investigations.
“We would like to question whether the CID, despite its professional responsibility, decided to summon the President of The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka, who is also the Chief Editor of the Lankadeepa, Siri
Ranasinghe, and its members, the Editor of Divaina, Anura Solomons, and the Editor of The Island,
Prabath Sahabandu, as though they were connected to the scam.
“The letter dated 28.09.2021 sent by the CID to the Lankadeepa Editor says that the Trade Minister has lodged a complaint claiming that he had been defamed and insulted by the print and electronic media publishing hateful statements by Thushan Gunawardena.
“It is shocking that Bandula Gunawardena, who sat as a minister in Parliament in 2002 was not aware that Parliament unanimously voted to repeal the criminal defamation laws in the same year. Under
what legal provision did the CID attempt to obtain statements from Lankadeepa Editor Ranasinghe
and other journalists at the Lankadeepa office on Sept 28.
“We once again denounce the shameless and ridiculous act of the CID hounding editors and journalists instead of dealing with the parties directly involved in the scam according to the law in a context
where the criminal defamation laws have been repealed in Sri Lanka. This is a huge threat and a danger on the freedom of media.”
The Paddy Marketing Board has approximately 115,000 metric tonnes of paddy stocks purchased from farmers, which are currently stored in the Board’s warehouses, and it has been planned to retain a sufficient buffer stock from these reserves and sell the remaining quantity in order to provide the necessary storage space and financial resources for the purchase of paddy from farmers during the upcoming Yala season.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to sell the aforementioned paddy stocks
following a formal tender procedure.
The Promotion of Export Agriculture Act, No. 46 of 1992 provides the legal provisions for regulating and promoting the export agriculture sector in this country.
Taking into consideration administrative changes and sectoral developments that have taken place over time, approval was granted at the Cabinet Meetings held on 2023-09-04 and 2025-08-11 to amend the said Act, which has not been updated for over 30 years.
The proposed amendments are intended to amend the designations of the Head of the Department of Export Agriculture and other officials, and to provide a clearer definition of the term “the export agricultural crop.”
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to publish in the Government Gazette the Draft Export Agriculture Promotion (Amendment) Bill, prepared in all three languages by the Legal Draftsman to amend the Export Agriculture Promotion Act, No. 46 of 1992, and thereafter submit the same to Parliament for its concurrence
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