Oct 01, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government yesterday awarded a state literary award to an exiled journalist.

The state literary award for the Best Anthology of Poems of year 2011 was awarded to Manjula Wediwardhana for his collection of poetry named as 'Awakening to a Call of July.'

Wediwardhana, a Free Media activist now lives in exile in a European country under political asylum.

He was an editor of Siyatha Sinhala newspaper and previously worked in Ravaya Sinhala newspaper.

Wediwardhana was a leading activist of Free Media Movement, which is a NGO campaigning for freedom of expression.

The organization came under severe criticism based on misappropriation of funds after which several leading figures of the organization migrated out of the country saying that their lives are in danger.