CHOGM will prove our success story - Charitha Herath

By Manjula Fernando

Excerpts of interview with Secretary of Mass Media and Information, Charitha Herath the head of the CHOGM Media Sub-committee.

Question: There was criticism that certain media persons will be barred from entering Sri Lanka to cover the CHOGM and reporting on the developments in Sri Lanka?

Answer: Yes, some people were trying to make an issue out of it Even before they applied for accreditation they whipped up stories that the accreditation process was tainted. Today we have accredited all the applications selected by the London Commonwealth Secretariat. There was absolutely no issue.

I must emphasise that security clearance and other logistics for the conference in Sri Lanka will be just like in the case of other CHOGMs held in the past, meaning that there will be strict guidelines but there is no deviation or special procedure for CHOGM 2013.

There are certain people who are blind to reality. They operate with personal agendas.

They want to make CHOGM another platform to carry out their campaign. Apparently their time is about to expire. No more can they sell such blatant lies to the world community. Everyone can see what is happening in this country. Our troubled past is behind us.

The Government has categorically said that we have nothing to hide and anyone is welcome to report the truth. Everyone should be mindful however, that we are trying to develop a country that has been battered by terrorism for nearly 30 years.

Q: CHOGM is the biggest international event Sri Lanka will be hosting after the Non Aligned Summit. It must have been a challenging exercise to organising such a massive media operation?

A: Indeed it is one of the major events. But this time it will not be like the NAM summit in 1979. This time we are ready. The infrastructure has been developed, logistical arrangements are in place. We are proud of our preparedness.

Those who wanted to change the CHOGM venue from Sri Lanka threw a lot of unsubstantiated allegations against us. It was a challenge to over come those hurdles and retain CHOGM within Sri Lanka. We hope the exposure this event will bring the country will make a lasting impact and help change the negative attitude.

Already these allegations have been neutralized by the international community's commitment to Sri Lanka. This is not just another event hosted by a country, we have gained recognition among the world community as a global competitor.