Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara has dismissed Opposition claims of 300 children being on board the second Iranian vessel off the coast of Sri Lanka.
Addressing Parliament today, Minister Nanayakkara clarified there were no children on board the vessel, criticizing the opposition for speaking based on reports on social media and without checking facts.
“A particular media had claimed that there were 300 children on board the ship. After some time, the media had dropped the part referring to children and reported 300 individuals. The opposition MPs have seen only the first reference. Please do not raise unchecked facts in Parliament. It is an injustice to the public,” he said.
The Justice Minister further said that there were attempts to create chaos in the country through such unverified information.
He went on to note that there was fake news related to the Iranian vessel being circulated on social media.
“One claim is that Sri Lanka was the informant for the US to attack the Iranian ship. Hours later, there is another fake news urging the public to buy and store fuel, as Iran has decided not to provide fuel to Sri Lanka for being an informant, leading to the ship attack. What irresponsible people. These people are attempting to seize power by setting fire to the nation,” he said.
The Justice Minister said the government cannot take action against such people as it respects freedom of expression, but urged the public, including the opposition, to use the right wisely and responsibly.
He further pointed out that some opposition MPs were using parliamentary privileges to make statements in Parliament, for which they cannot be arrested, which was being reported by the media, and could be misleading.
Meanwhile, Opposition MP Ajith P. Perera has clarified that he only mentioned that there were 300 children on board the second Iranian vessel, as they were cadets.
Addressing the Parliament today, he said that he never referred to the individuals as children of the age of 04 or 05.
“They are cadets. I never said they are young children. Eventually, the government did what we advised. MP Hashara Liyanage said not to help. But we urged for humanity and to help them. They are still children. They are Navy students. We will speak for their rights, irrespective of their nationality,” he said. (Newswire)