President Mahinda Rajapakse has instructed that visas be approved to the Al-Jazeera television staff members of who had wanted cover the swearing-in of President Mahinda Rajapaksa for a second term on November 19.
The President has advised the relevant authorities to grant the Al-Jazeera television crew permission to enter the country stating that there is no reason to deny the group visas, a Spokesman to the President’s Office stated.
Sri Lanka had previously denied visas to at least three staff members of Al-Jazeera television, after the station on November 11th Thursday had broadcasted alleged images of bodies and execution-style killings, said to have occurred during the final weeks the civil war.
An External Affairs Ministry spokesman on Friday had spoken of the decision taken not to issue the visas for the crew who wanted to cover the swearing-in of the President and also to visit the Tamil region in the north.
