Sri Lankan Media Minister, Dullas Alahapperuma, claimed that the Sri Lankan President and the government are “open to constructive criticism” and have never considered placing restrictions on the freedom of speech of government critics, at a press meeting on Wednesday.
Energy Minister, Udaya Gammanpila, raised concerns regarding the spread of false news on social media. Such posts could destroy the lives of the people concerned, he added.
Meanwhile, following Sri Lankan Minister, Susil Premajayantha’s claims that his dismissal was due to his disapprovals of the state’s fertiliser policy and rising food prices, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa chastised ministers for criticising the government in a statement released this week.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has highlighted that since Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa took office in 2019, "there was a surge in cases of police harassment of journalists, including raids, interrogations and acts of intimidation, for all sorts of reasons." "The issue of impunity for crimes of violence against journalists continues to dog the press freedom situation on the island," it continued.
Mullaitivu Press Club has condemned the ongoing harassment of Tamil journalists and the brutal assault of journalist Viswalingham Viswachandran. In a statement they highlighted the abduction and forced disappearance of 44 Tamils journalists and lack of accountability. Last month Batticaloa journalists assembled en-mass to demand that Sri Lanka respect press freedom.
Sri Lanka is currently ranked 127th out of 180 countries in RSF's World Press Freedom Index.
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