The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern on Sri Lanka’s decision to re-establish the Sri Lankan press Council, a media regulatory body which enables the government to jail journalists for their reporting.
In a press statement released on Tuesday, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, Bob Dietz, questioning the new government’s agenda of reform said,
“The decision comes from a government that lifted Sri Lankans’ hopes that their country was ready to make a genuine effort to move away from the hostile environment that has surrounded the media for years. The move calls into question the government’s commitment to the reform agenda that carried it to victory in January’s elections.”
The Sri Lankan Press Council was initially dissolved by Maithripala Sirisena, who pledged to protect the independence of the media as part of his reform process.
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