Five Parliamentarians, in a historic move, made public their assets at a media briefing organised by Transparency International Sri Lanka, today. MPs Tharaka Balasuriya, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Mathiaparanan Abraham Sumanthiran, Vidura Wickramanayaka and Eran Wickramaratne made their asset declarations public at the media briefing. 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 Speaking at this 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”.