By banning @TamilGuardian, @Instagram and @Facebook are contributing to the decades of repression and attacks on the Tamil press. I condemn this act of censorship and call for the account to be reinstated. pic.twitter.com/nq96s7WbBR
— Shritharan Sivagnanam (@ImShritharan) October 29, 2021
Tamil politicians from the North-East joined British and Canadian parliamentarians in denouncing Instagram’s censoring of Tamil Guardian’s page.
Tamil Guardian’s Instagram account, was briefly reinstated on Friday after it was disabled on Wednesday without any prior warning or explanation.
However, just over 12 hours later, it was disabled again.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP S Shritharan tweeted that the censorship contributes to the “decades of repression and attacks on the Tamil press.”
Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader Gajen Ponnambalam also expressed his dismay and called the move “disgraceful and outrageous.”
.@Facebook’s @instagram’s actions against @TamilGuardian is not only disgraceful and unacceptable but must be condemned outright. The world pandered to the #SriLankan state to such an extent that it allowed a war that culminated in #tamil #genocide. (1) pic.twitter.com/n10HDZfcq5
— Gajen Ponnambalam MP (@GGPonnambalam) October 29, 2021
These type of actions by Instagram will only embolden the Sri Lankan state in its culture of impunity and make the victims to continue to be voiceless," he added.
Despite reaching out to Facebook and Instagram through various channels, they have not provided an explanation as to why the page has been disabled or why posts are repeatedly removed.
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.