Sri Lanka is suppressed by bullet, flame and terror Keerthi Tennakoon, at World Press Freedom Day meeting.

04 May 2013

During the past 25 years the plight of the media in Sri Lanka is to live with fear and harassment. During the last ten years the journalists who were with us celebrating the press freedom has left the country, forced to leave or live in exile fear of lives said the Executive Director of CaFFE.

He further added celebrating the World Press Freedom Day in a troubled democracy is nothing much similar to an arms giving for dead souls.

Media suppression intensified during the 19th century in the South against few selected journalist who had alternative opinion during then government. Although Media institutions and journalists who took alternative opinion to the public was burnt, sealed, taken into custody, remanded and killed no one could stop the news reaching the people. After the year 2000 there was a culture of impunity started against the journalist in the North and South who claimed for a peaceful solution to the ethnic conflict. Journalist were attacked, assaulted, abducted, disappeared and killed. There was a period the journalist ran away from the country to protect their lives. Still those journalists were unable to come to Sri Lanka. Today journalists are forced to campaign in fear under suppressed conditions. Not only for journalist people who distribute papers in the north too are targeted and attacked. Media institutions who criticized the government are attacked and burnt in the North. Bullet, flame and fear of death are inherited to the journalists living in the north. This cannot be continued every day.

Speaking at the World Press Freedom Day at the "Colombo Institute of Social Sciences" in Rajagiriya Mr. Keerthi Tennakoon said this government is protecting its survival by suppressing the media. Due to this we are cornered from the civilized world in the international arena. We are being branded as an uncivilized nation in the world not protecting human rights. The elections in the North will be held by burning the Udayan newspaper and attacking the Yaal Thinakkural and Virakesari papers.

Today the media suppression has made people deaf, dumb, disabled and to be crippled. The challenge ahead us the in the World Press Freedom Day if we don’t liberate our society from this culture of terror and impunity there will be no future and a place for us and to our children to live in this country Mr. Tennakoon added.

Media Unit/CaFFE 2013.05.03