CPJ asks Commonwealth leaders to protect media freedom in Sri Lanka
Thursday, 7 November 2013 00:26
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The New York-based media watchdog, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the Commonwealth leaders to protect media freedom in Sri Lanka and raise the issue with the President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
In an open letter to the more than 50 leaders of the Commonwealth, the CPJ highlighted the “grave concerns about the perilous climate of press freedom” in the country and urged meaningful action.
Noting that that critical or opposition journalists continue to face intense intimidation in Sri Lanka, the CPJ said, its research shows that at least 26 journalists have gone into exile in the past five years and it is one of the highest rates in the world.
Although work-related murders have declined since 2009, the killing of nine journalists in the past decade have gone unpunished, the media rights organisation said pointing out that it is one of the worst records of impunity in the world.
The organization said that the government has failed to prosecute any of the murders including the high-profiled assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunga.
According to the CPJ, Sri Lanka remains a highly unsafe place for journalists to work, especially, when killers have impunity and the government is becoming increasingly repressive toward the press and critical voices.
The CPJ asked the Commonwealth leaders to take up the issue of press freedom with the President during the upcoming Commonwealth Summit in Colombo.
“We ask that in formal and private meetings with President Rajapaksa, you urge him to ensure a credible, independent investigation into the cases of disappeared and murdered journalists, make the findings public, and efficiently prosecute the perpetrators in an effort to help reverse the pattern of impunity,” the CPJ wrote in the letter.
Underscoring that a “vibrant independent press is necessary for sustainable development, long-term stability, and a healthy economy” the letter said journalists in Sri Lanka should be able to work openly and freely without fearing for their lives.
