Sri Lanka’s Northern Province chief secretary, A.Pathinathan, sent a letter demanding civil servants working in the media sector across the Northern Province, to disclose ‘relevant information’ to the government.
The letter was sent earlier this week to the departments of the Northern Provincial Council and Vavuniya district by Pathinathan, ordering the release of the information. Those who refuse to do so were threatened with prosecution under Sri Lanka’s ‘Establishments Code’.
The legislation of Establishments Code, which ‘provides conditions of work, conditions of employment as well as rights and duties of public servants’, was allegedly used as a threat to collect the identification of public and civil servants that worked part time, full time, as a reporter, journalist, editor or presenter in media companies.
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