A group of five members of parliament from across party lines came together today to publish their declarations of assets and liabilities in the public domain, Transparency International Sri Lanka said.

It said in a statement that the five MP’s who came forward to do this included State Minister Eran Wickramaratne, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, M.A. Sumanthiran, Vidura Wickramanayake and Tharaka Balasuriya.

“Transparency International Sri Lanka has campaigned for many years to bring this information into the public domain, believing that greater openness by public representatives increases trust and ensures stronger accountability. The asset declarations can be accessed on www.tisrilanka.org/MPassets,” it said.

Speaking at the historic occasion, TISL’s Executive Director Asoka Obeyesekere said, “We commend the bold step taken by the five members of parliament to submit their asset declarations to the people. Whilst this marks a significant milestone in the campaign to bring politicians’ asset declarations into the public domain, we also hope that this step will encourage other public representatives to recognise the unquestionable public interest that is served by disclosing this information”

Obeyesekere added, “This will help open parliament to the people and promote a culture of transparency and accountability, further bridging the gap between the people and their representatives. It has been TISL’s longstanding position that putting information in the hands of the people is the key to enhancing governance in Sri Lanka”. (Ajith Siriwardana)