Corruption

SLAF rejects RTI request

JF Rifdhi AliOctober 15, 20221 Mins read944 Views

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) rejected the Right to Information (RTI) request on the details of former President Gotabaya
Rajapaksa’s visit to Maldives on an Air Force aircraft on 13 July.

The former President fled to the Maldives a few days after protesters occupied both the President’s House in Fort and the
Presidential Secretariat on 9 July, following a mass protest in Colombo.

Both Information Officer and Designated Officer for RTI at Air Force Headquarters rejected the application and said requested
details cannot be released as per the provision of Section 5 (1) (b) (i) of the Right to Information Act No. 12 of 2016.

SLAF confirmed on 13 July that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his wife, and two bodyguards boarded an Air Force flight to the Maldives early that day. “In accordance with the powers vested in an Executive President in the Constitution of Sri Lanka, at the request of the existing Government, subject to the full approval of the Ministry of Defence, and subject to Immigration, Customs and all other laws at the BIA, the President along with the First Lady and two security guards departed on an Air Force aircraft to the Maldives early this morning,” the SLAF said in a statement, of its services to Rajapaksa, who held the positions of Minister of Defence and Commander-in-Chief, until his resignation.

By Rifthi Ali

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Written by

JF Rifdhi Ali

Rifthi Ali is an award winning journalist with 15 years of experience in print, digital and new media. He is the chief editor of vidyal.lk which is one of the leading Tamil news website in Sri Lanka, since 2014. Also, he writes for Ceylon Today, Vidivelli and Thamilan newspapers. Rifthi Ali is interested in electoral reforms, Right to Information (RTI) reporting, fact checking, environmental reporting and investigative journalism. He won the Prof. K. Kalasapathy Award for Reporting under Special Circumstances – 2020 in Journalism Awards for Excellence which was conducted by Sri Lanka Press Institute and Editors Guild of Sri Lanka. Also, Rifthi Ali has been recognized for his reporting by National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) under the initiative of "Revolution for freedom - A country free of alcohol". He completed his Diploma in Journalism at Sri Lanka College of Journalism. Also, he graduated from Gaylord College for Journalism and Mass Communication in University of Oklahoma, United States and Queensland University of Technology in Australia on media related programmes. He was a participant of the Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) for Scholars conducted by the U.S. Department of State. Rifthi Ali trained more than 500 youths and journalists on media ethics, media literacy, fact checking, awareness on RTI and investigative journalism