Sri Lanka

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is a 21 June 2004 FMM press release: European Union makes its media recommendations public and urges transformation of state-controlled media into public-service media On 17 June 2004, the European Union (EU) released its monitoring report on the April 2004 general election. While commending the conduct of the elections as free […]

(IPI/IFEX) – The following is a 17 June 2004 IPI press release: Vienna, 17 June 2004 IPI Questions “Dual Role” of Sri Lankan Media Minister According to news reports, Mangala Samaraweera, a close associate of President Chandrika Kumaratunga and a previous holder of the ministerial position, was recently sworn in as Sri Lanka’s Media and […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is a 15 June 2004 FMM press release: The State Media is not an inheritance of the Minister of Media The statement by Mangala Samaraweera, the new minister of media, at a public function attended by the heads of state media institutions, to the effect that the state media’s main task […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the 31 May 2004 murder of Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan in Batticaloa (220 km east of Colombo) and voiced concern that dissension within the Tamil separatist movement could lead to an escalation of violence against the news media. In a letter to Interior Minister Amarasiri Dodangoda, RSF said, “We call […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is a 25 May 2004 FMM press release: Exposing private lives in Media Our attention has been drawn to the editorial of the Daily News of May 24, 2004, titled “Canard nailed”, in which several privately-owned media institutions have been taken to task over their conduct in the recent exposures relating […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed its concern for the safety of Tamil journalist Dhamaratnam Sivaram (“Taraki”), editor of the online news service Tamilnet ( http://www.tamilnet.com ), following a 3 May 2004 raid on his home by Colombo police. In a letter to Interior Minister Amarasiri Dodangoda, the organisation called for an inquiry into the reasons […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: SRI LANKA: Police raid home of journalist New York, May 4, 2004-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned by yesterday’s police raid on the home of Dharmeratnam Sivaram, a Veteran journalist and columnist, in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital. Sivaram writes frequently for the private […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 25 March 2004 RSF statement: Investigative Report SRI LANKA Unpunished Crimes of the Presidential Security Division (PSD) On the evening of 7 September 1999, Rohana Kumara, editor of Satana (“Battle”), a Sinhalese-language weekly newspaper, was murdered while travelling in a rickshaw (three-wheeled taxi), within 50 metres of his home […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is an FMM press release: FMM condemns the grenade attack on the house of ABC Radio Managing Director Mr. Raynor Silva on the night of 28 March 2004 as a cowardly act meant to intimidate the ABC radio network. The ABC network operates five FM stations, namely Hiru FM, Sun FM, […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is an FMM press release: Editor Suspended, Journalist Dismissed, Management Changed at Community Radio Station The Free Media Movement is disturbed at the alarming levels of political interference taking place in the state-controlled media in Sri Lanka, just two weeks prior to the 2 April 2004 general elections. On 18 March […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is an FMM press release: Editor threatened by political party leader Free Media Movement condemns the threatening phone call made by the propaganda secretary of the Peoples Liberation Front (JVP), Mr. Wimal Weerawansa, to the chief editor of Lankadeepa newspaper, Mr. Siri Ranasingha, late in the evening on 10 March. The […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is a 10 March 2004 FMM press release: FMM commends Election Commissioner’s guidelines on election reporting FMM, a freedom of expression organization that believes in the media’s social responsibility, welcomes the Elections Commissioner’s (EC) guidelines to be observed by the electronic media when covering the general election to be held in […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is an FMM press release: FMM expresses its deepest regret over an attack on a television news crew during an election meeting of Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), which has become the political party of Buddhist monks. FMM extends an urgent request to the JHU’s leading monks to put an end to […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is an FMM press release: Biased Conduct of State Media The FMM condemns the ongoing use and manipulation of the state media as communications organs for the President’s political party, even after the date for a snap general election was announced. The state media were taken over on 3 November 2003. […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned Sri Lankan Information and Communications Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar’s decision to cancel the television broadcast licence that was granted to the Asian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 1995. The decision, announced on 16 February 2004, comes just as ABC was about to launch the station. ABC executives described the move as “politically […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is a 4 February 2004 FMM press release: FMM welcomes PM’s proposals regarding state media The Free Media Movement welcomes the latest proposals submitted to the co-habitation discussions on behalf of Prime Minister Ranil Wikramasingha on transforming state media into independent institutions. The organisation greets the proposals with the same enthusiasm […]