The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly condemns the reported ban on the popular news website www.lankanewsweb.com imposed by Sri Lanka’s Government on July 12.
According to a statement posted on the website, which continues to remain available outside the country, Sri Lanka’s state-controlled telecoms company and two other internet service providers within the country have been asked to block access to the website.
The management of lankanewsweb.com, which is yet to be formally informed of the decision, believes the ban is retaliation for two exclusive news reports featured on the website in recent days.
One reported that Namal Rajapakse, son of the Sri Lankan President, had met with a hostile reception when he visited a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the country’s north. The other reported on the circumstances in which a son of the Tamil insurgent leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, was killed after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were defeated by the Sri Lankan army after a quarter-century of civil war.
“The IFJ is deeply disturbed by this latest action against free speech by the Sri Lankan Government,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said.
“Reports that the Government coerced news outlets to suppress details of a visit by the President’s son to an IDP camp do it little credit. Sri Lanka has a functioning Press Complaints Commission, which could have been approached with a complaint if the President’s son felt that he had legitimate grounds for grievance.”
Meanwhile, reports on lankanewsweb.com and groundviews.org – both reliable sources of information based in Sri Lanka – have quoted Mervyn Silva, a government minister known for several bruising encounters with the media in recent years, as publicly claiming credit for the murder of newspaper editor Lasantha Wickramatunge in January and a serious assault on senior journalist Poddala Jayantha in June.
Silva was reportedly speaking at a public meeting in his parliamentary constituency, in the context of a dispute he is engaged in with the leadership of the local council.
“The IFJ is shocked by the statements attributed to the Minister,” White said. “We do not yet credit these statements, but that a Minister is reported to have claimed killing a journalist as a badge of honour is cause enough for him to be severely disciplined by his party and government”.
Silva continues to serve as Labour Minister, despite being indicted in November on charges of illegal assembly, assault and robbery, brought by the staff of a news channel that has repeatedly suffered from his verbal and physical violence.
For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide