Sajith condemns attack on journalist’s residence

The Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa has expressed his deep disgust and displeasure over the attack on senior journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrema’s residence in Piliyandala last night.

Issuing a statement, the Opposition Leader said the thug attack on senior journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrema is a thug attack on the media which is considered to be the fourth government.

The Leader of the Opposition said that an impartial, formal and transparent investigation into the attack should be carried out as soon as possible and that the law should be enforced against all those directly and indirectly involved in this heinous act.

The Leader of the Opposition said that no one has the right to impose restrictions on the conduct of the media and that the media should have its rightful freedom.

Following is the statement:

We condemn Sunday night’s attack on the house of veteran journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrema with the utmost contempt the heinous attack deserves.

We were shocked to learn of the attack and regret not being able to go to his house as we were away from Colombo.

Together with journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrema who has been affected by this incident, we share his trauma and we would not hesitate to extend our full support to him in this regard.

We emphasise the need for a transparent, impartial and fair investigation into this heinous act of thuggery and to strictly enforce the law against all those directly and indirectly involved.

The right to freedom of expression is a universal right, as recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Charter on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and our Constitution. 

It should also be emphasised that this is an inalienable right that cannot be violated.

“Media freedom means freedom to criticise and oppose,” said George Orwell.

We strongly believe that the media, which is considered to be the fourth government in a country, should never be censored and that the only censorship is “self-censorship”. 

The same is valid for journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrema and we stand unconditionally with all those who are fighting for media freedom on his behalf.