Sri Lankan state officials, in plain clothes, surveilled and harassed Tamil journalists at the Mullaitivu Press Club, as the office was preparing to open on October 20.
Military patrolled the building, and police interrogated journalists on the opening event and expected guests. Mullaitivu District Secretariat, K. Vimalanathan and University of Jaffna, Head of Media Studies Dr. S. Raguram are among those expected to attend.
The event will be chaired by the organisation's president, Shanmugam Thavaseelan. The prominent Mullaitivu based journalist has faced persistent harassment from state officials for reporting on Tamil issues in the North East. In 2019, Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) repeatedly summoned the journalist for questioning after a navy officer had filed a complaint against him following his attendance at a protest.
Sri Lanka remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, with the island remaining 127th out of 180 countries on the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index.
