Bar Association meeting video dispute grows as BASL seeks full August 12 footage and the Presidential Media Unit says recordings were provided.
The Bar Association meeting video has become the centre of a fresh exchange between the Sri Lanka Bar Association and the Presidential Media Unit over access to the complete recording of the August 12 discussion with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
In a letter dated August 14 and signed by Bar Association Administrative Secretary Surani Samarasekara, the Association asked the Presidential Secretariat to provide the full, unedited video and audio of the meeting in the highest possible quality.
Bar Association Meeting Video Request
The Bar Association said the footage currently in its possession covers only the opening stage of the discussion. It also said the recording is incomplete and that audio quality is poor in several sections.
The Association therefore requested the entire recording, including all interventions, observations and responses made by both sides during the meeting.
It also asked for the final comments delivered by the Bar Association delegation to be included in the material provided.
The request focused on obtaining a complete and unedited account of the discussion rather than only selected portions of the meeting.
Presidential Media Unit Responds
Presidential Media Unit Director General Prasanna Perera responded to the request in writing.
According to his reply, the unedited video recordings containing the official statements made by the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Bar Association were officially handed to the Association on August 12, the same day the meeting took place.
Perera further stated that arrangements were being made to provide recordings containing statements by other participants in the meeting.
He said those remaining recordings would be provided as soon as possible, subject to the relevant official administrative procedures.
The response also stressed that the Presidential Office would continue to extend its full support to provide the requested footage through the proper formal process.
Questions Over Why Footage Remains Unpublished
The exchange has also drawn attention from Lanka Truth, a news website run by the JVP, which published a special report on the issue.
According to Lanka Truth, the Presidential Media Unit had provided the complete video containing statements by the Bar Association Chairman and other representatives who attended the discussion with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The report argued that it would be unethical for the Presidential Media Unit itself to publish statements made by the Bar Association. It said this was why only the President’s statements had been released publicly.
However, Lanka Truth also raised a separate question over the Bar Association meeting video.
It noted that many remained puzzled as to why the footage said to have been provided to the Bar Association had still not been released to the public.
The correspondence therefore leaves two issues in focus: the Association’s request for the complete, high-quality recording and the continuing question over why footage already said to be in its possession has not been publicly released.
