Media organizations call for support for freedom of expression

Srilankamirror - Media organizations in Sri Lanka have called on all those gathered at the Galle Literary Festival to support the freedom of expression in Sri Lanka in every they can.

Seven media organizations issuing a statement has appealed to the organizers and participants to recall the reality of the situation faced by journalists in Sri Lanka, and to engage with it in your discussion forums.

The seven organizations that have issued the statement are Sri Lanka Working Journalist Association (SLWJA), Federation of Media Employers Trade Union (FMETU), Sri Lanka Muslim Media Fedaration (SLMMF), Sri Lanka Tamil Journalist Alliance (SLTJA), South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA – Sri Lanka), Media Movement for Democracy (MMD) and the Free Media Movement (FMM).

The organizations have pointed out that the month of January, when the arts and culture are celebrated in Galle, is also a month which is marked by many of us with various acts of commemoration and mourning.

“It was in January 2007 that Sugirtharajan, a photojournalist in Trincomalee, was shot and killed for having published the photographs of five students who had been excecuted by the security forces. In 2009, Lasantha Wickrematunge, the editor of the English weekly the Sunday Leader was shot and killed while on his work on January 8.  In January 2010, cartoonist and writer Prageeth Ekneligoda, was abducted. In none of these cases has anyone ever been prosecuted,” the statement reads.

It further states, “During the years in which the government of Sri Lanka was engaged in a war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE), the government also launched a war against the media and against the freedom of expression. Through formal and informal censorship and through attacks and intimidation, they have silenced the diversity of opinion in our country. The prevailing climate of impunity has created an environment in which self-censorship has become the norm. The role of the media in building a strong body of conscious citizens, which is a cornerstone of any democratic society, is undermined.”