Sri Lanka

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is an FMM press release: The Free Media Movement (FMM) welcomes the government’s decision today to lift the censorship of military related news. The move is long overdue. The government imposed the current censorship in November 1999 saying it was aimed at stopping the LTTE from receiving “military secrets” from stories […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of Media Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, RSF called for an investigation after the attack on the office of newspapers “Ravaya” and “Athavan”. RSF asked the minister to ensure that the relevant authorities guarantee the safety of journalists working for these newspapers. “If the culprits of this attack and their […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is an FMM press release: Press release 23 05.2001 Today at around 1.30 p.m. a smoke bomb was thrown at the Ravaya newspaper office which is situated at Piliyandala road, Maharagame. Ravaya is an independent and critical newspaper in Sri Lanka. FMM condemns this bomb attack as an act of intimidation […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is an 11 May 2001 FMM press release: The Free Media Movement (FMM) strongly objects to the decision by High Court Judge Upali Abeyratna to proceed with the criminal defamation case against ‘Ravaya’ Editor Victor Ivan despite objections by Mr. Ivan’s lawyer. FMM considers the decision to be a violation of […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The following is an RSF update, followed by an open letter to Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga regarding the murder of journalist Mylvaganam Nimalarajan: In an open letter to the Sri Lankan president, Chandrika B. Kumaratunga, RSF expressed deep concern regarding “the serious shortcomings of the police investigation and the Sri Lankan government’s […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 17 April 2001CPJ press release: U.S. JOURNALIST WOUNDED WHILE COVERING SRI LANKAN CIVIL WAR Government Threatens to Impose Additional Restrictions on Foreign Correspondents New York, April 17, 2001 —The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the injuries suffered by Marie Colvin, an award-winning American journalist who […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 16 April 2001 letter to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, CPJ expressed deep concern over the security of A.S.M. Fasmi, a reporter for the Tamil-language newspaper “Thinakkural”. Fasmi, who is based on the northern island of Mannar, says he has been detained, interrogated, and threatened repeatedly with death since he reported on […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Prime Minister and Defence Minister Chandrika B. Kumaratunga, RSF expressed its deep concern after journalist A. Fasmi received death threats. The organisation asked the prime minister to guarantee the journalist’s security and ensure that an inquiry is opened to identify the authors of the threats. RSF also asked to […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 5 April 2001 letter to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, CPJ requested information about the status of the investigation into the murder of Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, a Jaffna-based journalist who was killed in October 2000. Nimalarajan covered the civil war for various news organizations, including the BBC’s Tamil and Sinhala-language services, the Tamil-language […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is an FMM press release: THE DEBATE ON THE NEW PRESIDENTIAL RESIDENCE IS CENSORED On March 26, 2001, the Director of Information issued an order preventing the TNL television channel from broadcasting the layout of the new presidential mansion during a programme on this topic that was transmitted that day. The […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is an FMM press release: Attack on a newspaper and a campaign of intimidation against journalists. The Free Media Movement expresses its grave concern regarding a recent attack on a newspaper and a campaign of intimidation against two journalists known to be associated with the opposition. On February 23, the ‘Daily […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In an 8 March 2001 letter to Sri Lankan Minister of Justice Batty Weerakoon, RSF called for the release of Subramaniam Thiruchelvan, a correspondent in Point Pedro (Jaffna peninsula) for the government press group Lakehouse. The journalist has been detained by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) since 2 January. RSF believes that the […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is a 26 February 2001 FMM press release: STATE MEDIA PUBLISHES DISTORTED INFORMATION ON INTERNATIONAL PRESS INSTITUTE (IPI) ANNUAL ASSEMBLY The Free Media movement wishes to express its regret regarding the mud-slinging campaign being carried out by the state media against the FMM. It is especially worrying that this campaign attempts […]

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – ARTICLE 19 wishes to clarify that it was the Sri Lanka Court of Appeal which dismissed the appeal of editor Sinha Ratnatunga against criminal defamation charges. It was incorrectly noted in ARTICLE 19’s Friday 8 December 2000 press release that the decision was taken by the Sri Lanka Supreme Court. ARTICLE 19 […]

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release: For immediate release – Friday 8 December 2000 SRI LANKA DEFAMATION SENTENCE CONTRAVENES INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ARTICLE 19, the Global Campaign for Free Expression, today condemned the decision of the Sri Lanka Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal of editor Sinha Ratnatunga against criminal defamation […]

(FMM/IFEX) – The following is an FMM press release: The Free Media Movement (FMM) condemns attempts by Mr. Dougles Devananda, the leader of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party and a minister in the Sri Lankan government, to paint the murdered journalist Milevanagam Nimalarajan as an LTTE activist, in a bid to justify his murder. Mr. […]