Karunaratna Paranavitana. (Picture by Mahesh Abeyewardene)
Former Sri Lanka Consul General to Toronto Karunaratne Paranavithana was named as the new Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media and Information earlier today.
Paranawithana, served a successful tenure as Consul General of Sri Lanka in Toronto from 2010 until late 2013.
Sri Lanka’s new President Maithripala Sirisena has ordered the immediate lifting of censorship on dissident websites, an end to phone tapping, surveillance of journalists and politicians, according to French news agency AFP.
Previously, Paranawithana was Assistant Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Director General – Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, Editorial Director – Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd., Chief Executive Officer – Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation.
During his time in Toronto many described him as a humble, peaceful and loving person and a highly accomplished academic and a professional in many fields. Paranawithana had his early education at the village school, Dippitigala Maha Vidayala in Lellopitiya, north of the Gem City of Ratnapura. He moved to St. Aloysius College Ratnapura and entered the University of Colombo to read for a special degree in arts.
As a student at the Colombo University he was involved in trade union activities and was very popular among the student population. Despite his popularity and academic brilliance he remained true to his village traditions.
From the sleepy hamlet of Lellopitiya he moved to England to continue his studies in a British University. He accomplished this fete and graduated from the University of Bradford, Manchester in the United Kingdom with a Master’s Degree in International Politics and Security Studies.
