EU urges Govt. to ensure rights of free media

The European Union Heads of Mission yesterday called on the Government to ensure that the rights of the free media are respected.

In a statement issued yesterday the EU Heads of Mission in Colombo pointed out that it considers freedom of press forms an integral part of any democratic system and therefore media should be allowed to operate independently.

“The EU also believes that citizens have the right to access all information provided by the media and to make their own judgements and to formulate opinions independently,” the statement said.

At least five websites were blocked by the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission since last Friday.

According to media reports the web sites were blocked because they committed character assassination and insulted people including key political leaders.

In a statement, the government advised websites to register with the Media Ministry and appealed to them to adhere to media ethics and to Sri Lankan law.

The requirement is new for websites -- earlier it was not mandatory for websites to register with the Media Ministry.

Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Colombo called on Sri Lankan authorities and telecommunications firms “to stop activities aimed at blocking free access in Sri Lanka to all legitimate media websites, including Lanka-e-News.”

In a statement released to the media the embassy said: “While the embassy does not endorse the views of any particular media outlet, the US believes that a free and independent media is vital to ensuring the health and continuation of any democracy.”

While media groups criticised the moves as undemocratic - opposition political parties too have reacted strongly against the ban on websites.