(FMM/IFEX) – The following is a 24 April 2002 FMM press release: The Free Media Movement warmly welcomes the decision by the Cabinet Ministers to approve legislation to abolish the criminal defamation laws from the statute books. The government spokesman announcing the granting of approval for the draft law said the law would be tabled […]
(FMM/IFEX) – The following is a 24 April 2002 FMM press release:
The Free Media Movement warmly welcomes the decision by the Cabinet Ministers to approve legislation to abolish the criminal defamation laws from the statute books. The government spokesman announcing the granting of approval for the draft law said the law would be tabled in parliament immediately.
This is the first major legislation in over two decades to strengthen freedom of expression in Sri Lanka. The FMM has been campaigning for nearly a decade for the abolishment of this repressive legislation, introduced during the British Colonial rule. The campaign was later supported by both the Editor’s Guild and the Publishers Association.
Successive governments since the 1970s have used this law to harness newspaper editors and it has been used to impose serious constraints on the media.
At a meeting with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in January, the government and representatives of the three media organizations, FMM, the Editors Guild and the Publishers Association, reached agreement on a wide ranging reform package to strengthen freedom of expression in the country. This includes the abolishing of laws that curtail freedom of expression, introducing a right to information act, replacing the Press Council with an independent Press Complaints Commission and the setting up of an independent media training institute. Most of the details involved in setting up the institutions have been finalized in subsequent meetings with the Secretary to the Prime Minister and the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Communications.
The FMM hopes that the government will implement the remainder of the reform package without delay as well.
Sunanda Deshapriya
Convenor, Free Media Movement
24 April 2002
