Western media biased: Russian envoy

25 April 2011 09:04 pm

The Western media outlets are biased when reporting humanitarian issues as in the instance of Sri Lanka, choosing to report only one side of the story which suits their agendas and motives, Russian Ambassador for Sri Lanka Vladimir P. Mikhaylov said

He said the Western media did not have a uniform approach to humanitarian situations around the world but choose only one side of the story which suited their agendas and motives while being biased in their reporting.

The Russian Ambassador was speaking at an event held to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Soviet Pilot and Cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin’s journey into outer space, held in Ambulwawa organized by Prime Minster D. M. Jayaratne on Monday.

The Ambassador also said they were prejudicial and focusing on Sri Lanka when other major humanitarian issues were prevailing elsewhere.

The Ambassador stated that the United Nations had a responsibility to assist Sri Lanka to heal its wounds and reconcile from the 30 year civil war, rather than worsen the situation going forward.

The Sri Lanka government has appointed a committee to learn from the past mistakes and to take steps to reconcile, the government should be allowed to take its course in the reconciliation process, Ambassador Mikhaylov said.

The Sri Lankan government and armed forces have always acted in a manner to protect civilians and I have seen the affects Sri Lanka faced due to the terrorism in the past few years, he added.

The Ambassador added that Russia was happy to assist Sri Lanka in its initiative in eradicating terrorism in the island and that the Sri Lankan government and leaders always served and took steps to safe guard its people.