Western media has been attempting to create fear and panic among people about the corona virus while mainly discounting efforts taken by People’s Republic of China to contain and cure the disease, President of the Sri Lanka – China Friendship Association (SLCFA) Ananda Goonatilleke said yesterday.


Goonatilleke said that sporadic episodes of epidemics caused, either by natural causes or human mistakes was not uncommon in human history and the humane response to such incidents should be to support the country affected and encourage positive steps that had been taken by it, he said.


“However the western media has been trying to create chaos and fear among people. Not only do they pay little attention to steps taken by China, from locking down large areas, to sharing DNA sequences of the coronavirus with the world. Beneath a lot of this coverage is racism. As Sri Lankans we have seen how western media falsely report what transpires in Sri Lanka. We have had very recent examples of this. So it’s obvious that we must take Western reporting with a lot of salt,” the SLCFA President said.

While expressing concern and sympathy for those affected by the coronavirus and their families, the SLCFA is confident that the Communist Party of China, the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese people will defeat this menace within a short period.

“Already we have seen effective steps being taken. China has cordoned off a number of cities and has built health facilities almost overnight to quarantine and treat patients. It has also poured immense resources into research on this virus and had obtained the support of teams that worked in combating such diseases in the past. While the detection of cases keeps increasing, Chinese medical authorities have already cured scores of people,” he said.