Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday told the heads of the United National Party (UNP) Communications Wing that they should focus on how to contribute to the speedy conclusion of the ongoing terrorist investigations, rather than releasing all investigation information to the media and the public to be in the orbit of popularity with the masses.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that the police had been tasked with disseminating information to the media about terrorist investigations so that the process of investigations carried out by the security forces are kept in check.
“I, as the Prime Minister, as well as other ministers, have avoided disseminating information on terrorist investigations to guard the secrecy of such information,” he said.
The Prime Minister was at a discussion at Temple Trees with the heads of the UNP Communications Wing. The Brigade’s new board of directors, including newly-appointed Director-General MP Hesha Vithanage, provincial directors, district secretaries, and district legal secretaries, participated in the meeting.
The Premier said that the situation created following a number of violent incidents that occurred in various parts of the island has been brought under control and normalcy has been established throughout the country. The armed forces and the police have been given the power to preserve internal peace throughout the country, he added.
He appealed to the public to be patient and ensure that they take no part in causing any calamities as it could have a negative impact on the terrorist investigations under way by the security forces. He requested that the public extend their fullest cooperation and support to the security forces.
He said, “I asked the police if they could establish the accuracy and the credibility of information that describes the current situation. They confirmed that they cannot say so because a large amount of falsified information had spread far and wide.”
“The media may present various types of news items to market their news telecasts, but let me make it clear that credible information comes only through the police,” Premier Wickremesinghe said.
“The government and the security forces have done a great deal of work with respect to the current situation, but they cannot afford to deliver that information to the media or to the people because of the need to protect their secrecy,” he said.
“As a result, this could give rise to the manifestation of an opinion that the government was not taking any action. It must be mentioned here that the government and the security forces receive the blame for this,” he added.“Steps are being taken to apprehend those who have had various dealings with terrorists. The security forces are taking steps to prevent any such terrorist attack in the future,” the Prime Minister said.
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