IFJ Joins Sri Lanka International Mission Statement

 
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), as part of the third visit of the International Press Freedom Mission to Sri Lanka between October 25 and 29, has joined a statement expressing concern at the deterioration in the situation since the last visit in June 2007.
Among the most serious developments that the mission encountered was the [...]

On the new Private Television Broadcasting Station Regulations

 
30th October 2008
The Minister of Mass Media and Information has on 10th October 2008 promulgated a new set of regulations cited as the Private Television Broadcasting Station Regulations, under powers conferred by the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Act, No.6 of 1982. These new regulations seek to regulate all aspects of private television broadcasting, including classification of [...]

Human rights matter – and they particularly matter for journalists.

Jacqueline ParkAsia-Pacific Director
International Federation of Journalists
They matter to our societies and, as journalists, they give us objective criteria we can use to assess how our governments are performing and standards to measure those who hold power in society.
They matter to us in our day to day work. Human rights are essentially the air that we [...]

Independent media in Jaffna threatened by armed cadre of EPDP

  
29 October 2008, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Free Media Movement (FMM) is extremely disturbed to receive a letter from the Managing Director, Mr. E. Saravanapavan of the Uthayan daily newspaper printed and published from Jaffna, noting that paramilitary groups in the embattled city were preventing the distribution of the paper and posed a grave risk [...]

New curbs on private TV channels

(lankadissent.org – Monday, 27 October 2008 18:30 )
 
Minister of Mass Media and Information Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, in gazette extraordinary no: 1570/35 dated October 10th, has introduced new curbs on private television channels.
“Private Television Broadcasting Station Regulations of 2007″ says “a license issued shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of [...]

IPI concerned over interference with newspaper’s distribution

 
SOURCE: International Press Institute (IPI), Vienna
(IPI/IFEX) – The following is a 23 October 2008 IPI letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa
President of Sri Lanka
‘Temple Trees’
Colombo 3
Sri Lanka
Vienna, 23 October 2008
Your Excellency,
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, is deeply concerned about the [...]

Open death threats against human rights activists and lawyers in Sri Lanka

 
 
22 October 2008, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Free Media Movement (FMM) is deeply disturbed by the contents of a letter posted to leading Human Rights defenders and lawyers, as well as given to all Court Registrars to be handed over to lawyers who appear for human rights cases.
 
The letter, in Sinhala, from a group that [...]

Government Intelligence creating environment to hunt journalists

 
FMM expresses  its serious concern on the news item which appeared in state controlled daily Dinamina on 18th October, titled “Information about ten journalists who work for Tigers exposed”. The news story had the by line of one Wijayani Edirisingha.  This story was given wide publicity by state controlled electronic media as well.
 According to the [...]

Violence against media in the Eastern Province seriously undermines democracy

 
 
22 October 2008, Colombo, Sri Lanka: Recent violence directed against and involving media personnel in the Eastern Province ridicule the Sri Lankan Government’s claims of the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in the region.
 
In August, a TMVP (Karuna faction) supporter/member threatened journalist Thakshila Jayasena from Sandeshaya – the BBC Sinhala Service – [...]

A death squad formation against human rights lawyers needs to be investigated urgently

 
Yesterday an announcement was received by registrars of all courts and a number of human rights lawyers by a group that calls itself the Mahason Balakaya (Mahason Battalion). The notice threatens death or other serious physical harm to any lawyers who appear for any suspected terrorist in any court in Sri Lanka. The lawyers who [...]