Features

First Five years of Right to Information regime in Sri Lanka: In retrospect

Published

4 years ago

2021/11/14

Sahan Weerasooriya

Mahinda Gammampila

Former Chairman Right to Information Commission

The Right to Information Commission completed its first five year term on Sept. 30, 2021. This article attempts to summarize some of the key achievements of the Commission during this period, in its contribution towards the realization of the goals and aspirations of the legislators of the Right to Information Act No. of 2016.

A Culture of Transparency and Accountability

By introducing the primary law on RTI, the Parliament of Sri Lanka demonstrated its aspirations to foster a culture of transparency and accountability in public authorities by giving effect to the right of access to information and thereby promoting a society in which the people of Sri Lanka would be able to more fully participate in public life through combating corruption and promoting accountability and good governance. The RTI Commission which has been established under the RTI Act with the power to hear and determine appeals made by citizens on their right to information requests among other matters. The Commission can declare rules and regulations relating to the process; recommend disciplinary action against those who violate these provisions and to take legal action against persons violating the Act.

Guidelines and Performance Monitoring

All government and government related agencies have been identified as Public Authorities for the purposes of the RTI Law. The RTI Commission is basically responsible to provide guidelines to public authorities in the course of implementation of the RTI law, while monitoring their permanence.

RTI Commission, on its part has been instrumental in the formulation and publication of a set of Rules that specifies the procedures to be followed in the implementation of the law, along with the Fee Schedules relating to the services provided by the public authorizes.

On the other hand, the Right to Information Commission, being the oversight body in the implementation of the RTI law, is responsible for monitoring the performance of public authorities and ensuring the due compliance by them of the duties cast on them by the Act. The Act empowers the Commission to inquire into the appeals made by the citizens who are aggrieved by the decisions of the Information Officers and Designated Officers of public authorities. The citizens who are not satisfied with the determinations of the Commission have the right to appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Hearing of Appeals (Adjudication)

The hearing of appeals is the core function of the Commission. Hearing of appeals however faced many challenges due to the lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed to prevent COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission had to resort to documentary proceedings, in the absence of the physical presence of the parties. Where it was extremely necessary to hear views of the parties, the Commission used telephone or online meetings/inquiries through Zoom technology. Commission also attempted to resolve cases through consultation with public authorities in accordance with the policy of maximum disclosure of information.

As the workload of the Commission increased and its functions expanded, the Commission had to face huge administrative issues and challenges in managing its day-to-day affairs with limited human and physical resources. In the absence of competent staff to support the appeal hearing process and drafting of orders, it had to continue its practice of employing newly passed-out law graduates on temporary and assignment basis, till recently.

For the five year period from October 2016 to August 2021, the Commission received around 3,000 appeals from citizens and more than 70% of them were concluded. This is a remarkable achievement for any Administrative Appeal body where all cases are disposed of following due process of law and procedure and the principles of natural justice, particularly granting the appellant (citizen) and the public authority equal opportunity to defend themselves. The above assertion is further confirmed by the fact that a very few appeals have been made to the Court of Appeal against the orders of the Commission.

In the process of adjudication, a citizen-friendly procedure was adapted to the extent possible which is characterized by less formalities enabling the lay appellants to present the case without being pressurized. However, this principle could not be maintained when parties were represented by lawyers resembling court procedures

Public Awareness and Training for Officials

It is often observed that the citizens from all walk of life and all corners of the county who have not been satisfied with the responses of the respective Information Officers and Designated Officers of relevant public authorities have come to the Commission seeking redress. Once a sarong-clad bare bodied member of the Vedda community appeared before the Commission with the traditional axe hanging from his shoulder along with a group of citizens in the adjoining village on an issue of public interest in their area of living. However it may be noted that this example does not suggest that the RTI message has penetrated into all parts of the country equitably. There are many areas yet to be reached.

The Commission has been able to overcome the problems of human and physical resources that it faced due to financial constraints since its inception, to a great extent with the continuous support of the development agencies such as the World Bank, UNDP, USAID/SDGAP and the Embassy of Switzerland. Their technical and financial support was instrumental in obtaining services of competent persons and undertaking outreach programmes. As such, the Commission was able to continue its programmes for the enhancement of public awareness from 2017 to 2021 at District and Divisional levels.

The Commission has made substantial efforts towards increasing public awareness among Civil Society Organisations, Community based Organisations and public officials on right to information. With the support of the Embassy of Switzerland, the Commission held advocacy workshops in Panama (Ampara), Ambagamuwa (Nuwara Eliya), Sooriyawewa (Hambantota), Kilinochchi. Jaffna, Karuwalagaswewa (Puttalam), Mahiyangana (Badulla), Kantale (Triancomalee), Nawalapitiya (Kandy), Nuwara Eliya and Matara

The participation of civil society activists at these workshops was encouraging. At the Mahiyangana workshop, the ‘Varige Nayaka” (chief) of ‘Vedda’ community Uruwarige Wannila Eththo addressed the gathering consisting of civil society representatives as well as the senior government officials, placing several valuable \suggestions for the expansion of the RTI movement. At Nawalapitiya Workshop many representatives from the workers in the plantation sector and the executives of the plantation companies attended

Uruwarige Wannila Eththo, the Chief of the Vedda community took part at the Mahinyangana workshop and a member of that Community attending an appeal inquiry at the Commission in Colombo.

Proactive Disclosure of Information and Record Management Guidelines

Promotion of Proactive Disclosure of Information policy and the provision of Record Management Guidelines to public authorities are two other important tasks entrusted to the Commission by the RTI Act.

A total of 2,280 public officials belonging to 15 state institutes working at the head offices in Colombo and the outstations were given a training on implementation of Proactive Disclosure Policy and Record Management Guidelines in terms of RTI Act. There was a great demand for a comprehensive training from the senior management. The participants themselves found both the record management and proactive disclosure, under the RTI Act were challenging tasks. Of the trained 2,280, a third was from head offices in Colombo and two thirds from all nine provinces participated in these training programs.

In both these areas a survey was carried out by the RTI Commission, with the technical support of the UNDP. Its thematic focus was the involvement of the RTIC with public authorities of the state sector, organized into different types such as ministries, departments, authorities, boards, district secretariats etc. to promote implementation of proactive disclosure policy and the record management guidelines within 15 public institutions. The Commission formulated sixteen (16) broad areas of information that should, at minimum be disclosed pro-actively by public authorities.

RTI Act directs to catalogue and index all records to facilitate the access of information to citizen while directing public authorities to keep all new records for 12 years and records that existed on February 3, 2017 for 10 years. With the assistance of the UNDP, a set of Guidelines for Record Management in public authorities was developed. These Guidelines also facilitate disclosure of information proactively by public authorities. This set of guidelines can be considered a major outcome of the consultancy project.

Research Publications

With the support of the Swiss Government two publications were released in all three languages. These are (i) Reflections on Sri Lankas RTI Act and RTI Regime, a collection of academic analyses on RTI by eminent writers and (ii) Selected Orders of the RTI Commission on decided cases by the Commission which could be used as a reference guide by practitioners of RTI.

Research Collaborations

With the collaboration of the Swiss Government two programs were held with the University of Colombo and the University of Kelaniya for the encouragement of legal and social research on RTI among postgraduate students and academic staff.

Measuring Contribution of RTI Orders to Development in terms of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS)

An independent Research was undertaken on the performance of the RTI functions, under the Swiss project, where appeals received by the RTI Commission were categorised according to UN Sustainable Development Goals. Findings included the impact of Commission interventions among various segments in the socio-economic profile. The SDGs are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to achieve a better and sustainable development by all by the year 2030.

The pies-chart below indicates that a very significant 38% of appeals belong to areas falling under SDG No 16, i.e. just, peaceful, and inclusive society and institutional transparency goal; 15% of appeals belong to areas falling under Goal No 15 i.e. Agriculture and Land and while 13% of appeals belong to areas falling under Goal No 9 i.e. Infrastructure & construction.

Support of Non-Governmental Organization (NGOS), Community Based Organizations (CBOS) and Mass Media.

In the course of the preceding five years, the support provided by various NGOs and CBOs has been of immense use for the fulfillment of the responsibilities of the Commission. The cooperation extended by such organizations and representations made by them include (a) awareness creation among the citizens of the legitimate of right the citizens possess to ask for information (b) providing advice and assistance to individual citizen in making formal information requests or related appeals to the respective authorities, and (c) even appearing at times on behalf of the citizens before public authorities and the commission in support of such representations. In addition, the findings of some of the independent surreys carried out at the field level by several organizations have been very useful.

Similarly, the role-played by media personnel, not only at the national level, but also in the provinces in the promoting of the RTI movement in numerous ways needs to be highlighted.

The cooperation extended to the Commission by media in general, and the media organizations such as the Sri Lanka Press Institute, the Editors Guild and others in particular, has been a source of strength.

International Relations

The Commission throughout the period has been closely following the trends and developments taking place in the global arena of Right to Information, and also working in cooperation with the regional and international organizations for the enhancement of the needs of our county.

In this respect, it is worth noting here that Sri Lanka has been ranked fourth among 123 countries by having earned 131 points (out of 150) in the global right to information rating (RTI Rating) in consideration of Sri Lanka’s legislative framework in relation to transparency and access to information, among other things.

A Framework for Future Strategies

Though there are still delays at the stage of information release, we are confident that the culture of information denial that has long been prevalent in Sri Lanka, is changing positively. We are inspired by the vigour with which the RTI Act has been used, from information release on infrastructure, better health facilities and environment protection to matters of state accountability at the highest levels of the Government.

This shows that the Right to Information is vital to the democratic system and that enforcing the transparency of state and non-state actors directly impact in reducing corruption. Citizen have become part of the governance process and themselves proactively monitor the management of affairs of state. The Commission’s mandate is the realization of principles enshrined in the preamble to the RTI Act i.e ‘to promote a society in which the people of Sri Lanka would be more fully able to participate in public life.’

As an independent Commission acting in the public interest, in which confidence is reposed by both information seekers and the Public Authorities, the Commission has endeavored to carry out that task to the best of its ability. Sri Lanka demonstrates the enormous value of an RTI law working for the benefit of the public when the public itself is given a role to play in that process.

As we advance in the Right to Information process, it is of the highest importance that the information empowerment of the citizenry through the RTI regime, consisting of the constitutional Right to Information (Article 14A), the RTI Act and an independent RTI Commission as guaranteed by law, continue for the sake of democratic values of society.

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Features

Misinterpreting President Dissanayake on National Reconciliation

Published

19 hours ago

2026/02/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

President Dissanayake

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been investing his political capital in going to the public to explain some of the most politically sensitive and controversial issues. At a time when easier political choices are available, the president is choosing the harder path of confronting ethnic suspicion and communal fears. There are three issues in particular on which the president’s words have generated strong reactions. These are first with regard to Buddhist pilgrims going to the north of the country with nationalist motivations. Second is the controversy relating to the expansion of the Tissa Raja Maha Viharaya, a recently constructed Buddhist temple in Kankesanturai which has become a flashpoint between local Tamil residents and Sinhala nationalist groups. Third is the decision not to give the war victory a central place in the Independence Day celebrations.

Even in the opposition, when his party held only three seats in parliament, Anura Kumara Dissanayake took his role as a public educator seriously. He used to deliver lengthy, well researched and easily digestible speeches in parliament. He continues this practice as president. It can be seen that his statements are primarily meant to elevate the thinking of the people and not to win votes the easy way. The easy way to win votes whether in Sri Lanka or elsewhere in the world is to rouse nationalist and racist sentiments and ride that wave. Sri Lanka’s post independence political history shows that narrow ethnic mobilisation has often produced short term electoral gains but long term national damage.

Sections of the opposition and segments of the general public have been critical of the president for taking these positions. They have claimed that the president is taking these positions in order to obtain more Tamil votes or to appease minority communities. The same may be said in reverse of those others who take contrary positions that they seek the Sinhala votes. These political actors who thrive on nationalist mobilisation have attempted to portray the president’s statements as an abandonment of the majority community. The president’s actions need to be understood within the larger framework of national reconciliation and long term national stability.

Reconciler’s Duty

When the president referred to Buddhist pilgrims from the south going to the north, he was not speaking about pilgrims visiting long established Buddhist heritage sites such as Nagadeepa or Kandarodai. His remarks were directed at a specific and highly contentious development, the recently built Buddhist temple in Kankesanturai and those built elsewhere in the recent past in the north and east. The temple in Kankesanturai did not emerge from the religious needs of a local Buddhist community as there is none in that area. It has been constructed on land that was formerly owned and used by Tamil civilians and which came under military occupation as a high security zone. What has made the issue of the temple particularly controversial is that it was established with the support of the security forces.

The controversy has deepened because the temple authorities have sought to expand the site from approximately one acre to nearly fourteen acres on the basis that there was a historic Buddhist temple in that area up to the colonial period. However, the Tamil residents of the area fear that expansion would further displace surrounding residents and consolidate a permanent Buddhist religious presence in the present period in an area where the local population is overwhelmingly Hindu. For many Tamils in Kankesanturai, the issue is not Buddhism as a religion but the use of religion as a vehicle for territorial assertion and demographic changes in a region that bore the brunt of the war. Likewise, there are other parts of the north and east where other temples or places of worship have been established by the military personnel in their camps during their war-time occupation and questions arise regarding the future when these camps are finally closed.

There are those who have actively organised large scale pilgrimages from the south to make the Tissa temple another important religious site. These pilgrimages are framed publicly as acts of devotion but are widely perceived locally as demonstrations of dominance. Each such visit heightens tension, provokes protest by Tamil residents, and risks confrontation. For communities that experienced mass displacement, military occupation and land loss, the symbolism of a state backed religious structure on contested land with the backing of the security forces is impossible to separate from memories of war and destruction. A president committed to reconciliation cannot remain silent in the face of such provocations, however uncomfortable it may be to challenge sections of the majority community.

High-minded leadership

The controversy regarding the president’s Independence Day speech has also generated strong debate. In that speech the president did not refer to the military victory over the LTTE and also did not use the term “war heroes” to describe soldiers. For many Sinhala nationalist groups, the absence of these references was seen as an attempt to diminish the sacrifices of the armed forces. The reality is that Independence Day means very different things to different communities. In the north and east the same day is marked by protest events and mourning and as a “Black Day”, symbolising the consolidation of a state they continue to experience as excluding them and not empathizing with the full extent of their losses.

By way of contrast, the president’s objective was to ensure that Independence Day could be observed as a day that belonged to all communities in the country. It is not correct to assume that the president takes these positions in order to appease minorities or secure electoral advantage. The president is only one year into his term and does not need to take politically risky positions for short term electoral gains. Indeed, the positions he has taken involve confronting powerful nationalist political forces that can mobilise significant opposition. He risks losing majority support for his statements. This itself indicates that the motivation is not electoral calculation.

President Dissanayake has recognized that Sri Lanka’s long term political stability and economic recovery depend on building trust among communities that once peacefully coexisted and then lived through decades of war. Political leadership is ultimately tested by the willingness to say what is necessary rather than what is politically expedient. The president’s recent interventions demonstrate rare national leadership and constitute an attempt to shift public discourse away from ethnic triumphalism and toward a more inclusive conception of nationhood. Reconciliation cannot take root if national ceremonies reinforce the perception of victory for one community and defeat for another especially in an internal conflict.

BY Jehan Perera

Features

Recovery of LTTE weapons

Published

19 hours ago

2026/02/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka Navy in action

I have read a newspaper report that the Special Task Force of Sri Lanka Police, with help of Military Intelligence, recovered three buried yet well-preserved 84mm Carl Gustaf recoilless rocket launchers used by the LTTE, in the Kudumbimalai area, Batticaloa.

These deadly weapons were used by the LTTE SEA TIGER WING to attack the Sri Lanka Navy ships and craft in 1990s. The first incident was in February 1997, off Iranativu island, in the Gulf of Mannar.

Admiral Cecil Tissera took over as Commander of the Navy on 27 January, 1997, from Admiral Mohan Samarasekara.

The fight against the LTTE was intensified from 1996 and the SLN was using her Vanguard of the Navy, Fast Attack Craft Squadron, to destroy the LTTE’s littoral fighting capabilities. Frequent confrontations against the LTTE Sea Tiger boats were reported off Mullaitivu, Point Pedro and Velvetiturai areas, where SLN units became victorious in most of these sea battles, except in a few incidents where the SLN lost Fast Attack Craft.

Carl Gustaf recoilless rocket launchers

The intelligence reports confirmed that the LTTE Sea Tigers was using new recoilless rocket launchers against aluminium-hull FACs, and they were deadly at close quarter sea battles, but the exact type of this weapon was not disclosed.

The following incident, which occurred in February 1997, helped confirm the weapon was Carl Gustaf 84 mm Recoilless gun!

DATE: 09TH FEBRUARY, 1997, morning 0600 hrs.

LOCATION: OFF IRANATHIVE.

FACs: P 460 ISRAEL BUILT, COMMANDED BY CDR MANOJ JAYESOORIYA

P 452 CDL BUILT, COMMANDED BY LCDR PM WICKRAMASINGHE (ON TEMPORARY COMMAND. PROPER OIC LCDR N HEENATIGALA)

OPERATED FROM KKS.

CONFRONTED WITH LTTE ATTACK CRAFT POWERED WITH FOUR 250 HP OUT BOARD MOTORS.

TARGET WAS DESTROYED AND ONE LTTE MEMBER WAS CAPTURED.

LEADING MARINE ENGINEERING MECHANIC OF THE FAC CAME UP TO THE BRIDGE CARRYING A PROJECTILE WHICH WAS FIRED BY THE LTTE BOAT, DURING CONFRONTATION, WHICH PENETRATED THROUGH THE FAC’s HULL, AND ENTERED THE OICs CABIN (BETWEEN THE TWO BUNKS) AND HIT THE AUXILIARY ENGINE ROOM DOOR AND HAD FALLEN DOWN WITHOUT EXPLODING. THE ENGINE ROOM DOOR WAS HEAVILY DAMAGED LOOSING THE WATER TIGHT INTEGRITY OF THE FAC.

THE PROJECTILE WAS LATER HANDED OVER TO THE NAVAL WEAPONS EXPERTS WHEN THE FACs RETURNED TO KKS. INVESTIGATIONS REVEALED THE WEAPON USED BY THE ENEMY WAS 84 mm CARL GUSTAF SHOULDER-FIRED RECOILLESS GUN AND THIS PROJECTILE WAS AN ILLUMINATER BOMB OF ONE MILLION CANDLE POWER. BUT THE ATTACKERS HAS FAILED TO REMOVE THE SAFETY PIN, THEREFORE THE BOMB WAS NOT ACTIVATED.

Sea Tigers

Carl Gustaf 84 mm recoilless gun was named after Carl Gustaf Stads Gevärsfaktori, which, initially, produced it. Sweden later developed the 84mm shoulder-fired recoilless gun by the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration during the second half of 1940s as a crew served man- portable infantry support gun for close range multi-role anti-armour, anti-personnel, battle field illumination, smoke screening and marking fire.

It is confirmed in Wikipedia that Carl Gustaf Recoilless shoulder-fired guns were used by the only non-state actor in the world – the LTTE – during the final Eelam War.

It is extremely important to check the batch numbers of the recently recovered three launchers to find out where they were produced and other details like how they ended up in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka?

By Admiral Ravindra C. Wijegunaratne
WV, RWP and Bar, RSP, VSV, USP, NI (M) (Pakistan), ndc, psn, Bsc (Hons) (War Studies) (Karachi) MPhil (Madras)
Former Navy Commander and Former Chief of Defence Staff
Former Chairman, Trincomalee Petroleum Terminals Ltd
Former Managing Director Ceylon Petroleum Corporation
Former High Commissioner to Pakistan

Features

Yellow Beatz … a style similar to K-pop!

Published

19 hours ago

2026/02/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

Yes, get ready to vibe with Yellow Beatz, Sri Lanka’s awesome girl group, keen to take Sri Lankan music to the world with a style similar to K-pop!

With high-energy beats and infectious hooks, these talented ladies are here to shake up the music scene.

Think bold moves, catchy hooks, and, of course, spicy versions of old Sinhala hits, and Yellow Beatz is the package you won’t want to miss!

According to a spokesman for the group, Yellow Beatz became a reality during the Covid period … when everyone was stuck at home, in lockdown.

“First we interviewed girls, online, and selected a team that blended well, as four voices, and then started rehearsals. One of the cover songs we recorded, during those early rehearsals, unexpectedly went viral on Facebook. From that moment onward, we continued doing cover songs, and we received a huge response. Through that, we were able to bring back some beautiful Sri Lankan musical creations that were being forgotten, and introduce them to the new generation.”

The team members, I am told, have strong musical skills and with proper training their goal is to become a vocal group recognised around the world.

Believe me, their goal, they say, is not only to take Sri Lanka’s name forward, in the music scene, but to bring home a Grammy Award, as well.

“We truly believe we can achieve this with the love and support of everyone in Sri Lanka.”

The year 2026 is very special for Yellow Beatz as they have received an exceptional opportunity to represent Sri Lanka at the World Championships of Performing Arts in the USA.

Under the guidance of Chris Raththara, the Director for Sri Lanka, and with the blessings of all Sri Lankans, the girls have a great hope that they can win this milestone.

“We believe this will be a moment of great value for us as Yellow Beatz, and also for all Sri Lankans, and it will be an important inspiration for the future of our country.”

Along with all the preparation for the event in the USA, they went on to say they also need to manage their performances, original song recordings, and everything related.

The year 2026 is very special for Yellow Beatz

“We have strong confidence in ourselves and in our sincere intentions, because we are a team that studies music deeply, researches within the field, and works to take the uniqueness of Sri Lankan identity to the world.”

At present, they gather at the Voices Lab Academy, twice a week, for new creations and concert rehearsals.

This project was created by Buddhika Dayarathne who is currently working as a Pop Vocal lecturer at SLTC Campus. Voice Lab Academy is also his own private music academy and Yellow Beatz was formed through that platform.

Buddhika is keen to take Sri Lankan music to the world with a style similar to K-Pop and Yellow Beatz began as a result of that vision. With that same aim, we all work together as one team.

“Although it was a little challenging for the four of us girls to work together at first, we have united for our goal and continue to work very flexibly and with dedication. Our parents and families also give their continuous blessings and support for this project,” Rameesha, Dinushi, Newansa and Risuri said.

Last year, Yellow Beatz released their first original song, ‘Ihirila’ , and with everything happening this year, they are also preparing for their first album.