Jan 30, Colombo: The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) warned that the safety of journalists in Sri Lanka is in serious jeopardy as several serious attacks and anti-media statements by government officials demonstrate a lack of respect for the value of media freedom in the country.

In a statement the IFJ said that it “joins the Free Media Movement (FMM), the Sri Lankan Working Journalists’ Association (SLWJA), the Federation of Media Employees Trade Union (FMETU), the Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF) and the Sri Lanka Tamil Journalists’ Alliance (SLTJA) in condemning all attacks on journalists in the country.”

“The IFJ is concerned by a series of recent incidents, including a knife attack on Lal Hemantha Mawalage on January 25. The producer in the news division of the state-controlled Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) was reportedly attacked by two unidentified men on his way home in Athurigiriya, a suburb of Colombo,” it said.

In an interview published on January 27, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa openly called for media censorship, the judicial enforcement of criminal defamation and the prosecution of two leading media institutions for “critical reportage”.

“The statement is another alarming reflection of the Sri Lankan Government’s growing and overt disregard for media freedom and the right of journalists to conduct their work freely,” it added.