Twenty-five global organisations have issued a joint appeal to newly elected Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, urging his administration to prioritise press freedom and address longstanding concerns about media restrictions in the country.
The appeal, delivered on Monday, specifically calls for accountability in cases of violence against journalists, particularly during and after the armed conflict. The organizations emphasized the need for investigations into dozens of murders, abductions, and physical attacks on journalists and media offices during this period.
Of particular significance is the groups' focus on Tamil journalists, who have faced "intensive surveillance and other undue restrictions on their reporting." The appeal calls for an immediate end to harassment and intimidation of journalists by law enforcement agencies, with special attention to the challenges faced by ethnic Tamil media professionals.
The civil society groups outlined several key legislative reforms needed to strengthen press freedom:
- The repeal of the controversial Online Safety Act, which currently gives sweeping censorship powers to a presidential commission
- The abolition of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which has reportedly been used to imprison and harass journalists
- Amendments to the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act to improve media access to parliamentary committees
- Modifications to the Personal Data Protection Act to prevent it from overriding the Right to Information Act
The organisations also welcomed recent developments, including the order for a reinvestigation into the 2005 murder of journalist Dharmeratnam Sivaram, while urging authorities to expedite the prosecution in the 2010 enforced disappearance and suspected murder of journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda.
The appeal emphasised the need for establishing an independent, self-regulatory media commission to uphold press freedom and adjudicate matters of journalistic ethics without criminalizing reporters or placing undue restrictions on their work.
"Your election as president of Sri Lanka, a country haunted by impunity for brutal attacks on the media, offers a historic opportunity to demonstrate a genuine commitment to democratic principles," the organisations stated in their letter to Dissanayake.
The civil society groups stressed that effective investigations would require robust protection mechanisms for witnesses and investigators, referencing the 2022 case hearing on slain journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge at The People's Tribunal on the Murder of Journalists.
Last month, Tamil journalist and writer Murugaiyah Thamilselvan was attacked on the A9 road in Kilinochchi town at around 5.30 p.m. on Boxing Day by unknown assailants. Thamilselvan was on his way home from work in the evening when two individuals in a vehicle blocked him and tried to abduct him. When he resisted the abductors attacked him and fled the scene. Thamilselvan was taken to the Kilinochchi District Hospital for emergency treatment.
At that time the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA) wrote to Sri Lanka's police chief asking for a "swift, thorough, and independent inquiry" to ensure “those responsible are held accountable to the full extent of the law.” Thamilselvan has provided a statement to the police, confirming that he is able to identify the driver of the vehicle involved in the attack. But the Sri Lankan police so far failed to arrest the two abductors. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Sri Lanka to conduct a "swift and impartial" investigation into the assault and attempted abduction of Tamil journalist Murugaiyah Thamilselvan.
This incident is the latest in a long line against Tamil journalists. For decades, Sri Lanka has intimidated, threatened and even murdered journalists, particularly in the North-East for their work that has highlighted abuses faced by Tamils. The lack of tangible action so far by the Sri Lankan police suggests the situation remains unchanged for Tamil journalists despite the change of government in Sri Lanka.
Read the full text of the letter here.
