Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved the payment of compensation to 78 journalists who were subject to ‘harassment’ and ‘persecution’ between 2005 and 2015 during the presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa. A committee will decide the compensation to be handed out.
Several Tamil journalists reported receiving a form to apply for compensation in 2017 but refused to engage with the process, saying they wanted justice for the attacks against them as well as justice for over 40 of their colleagues who were assassinated and murdered during and after the armed conflict.
“We never wanted their measly compensation,” a prominent Tamil journalist said. “We have been asking only for justice for our colleagues that were killed and abducted by the Sri Lankan state and their paramilitary goons.”
“Either way, no-one believes this government are going to pay out before they are dissolved. For five years they’ve done nothing. In fact, Tamil journalists have continued to be targeted and persecuted under this government."
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
