COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

SRI LANKA 7 MARCH 2012
government officials. National and international media freedom organizations and
journalists' associations expressed concern over media freedom and were sharply
critical of the government's role in harassing and intimidating journalists. The police,
under the authority of the Ministry of Defense, reportedly maintained a special unit to
monitor and control all references in the media to members of the Rajapaksa family.
―Senior government officials repeatedly accused critical journalists of treason and often
pressured editors and publishers to print stories that portrayed the government in a
positive light. This pressure reportedly was exerted sometimes directly through threats
and intimidation and sometimes through orders to government and private firms to
cease advertising in critical newspapers. Threats led some journalists to choose selfexile…Statements
by government and military officials contributed to an environment in
which journalists who published articles critical of the government felt under threat.‖
14.13 On 30 December 2010 Reporters sans Frontières (Reporters without Borders) 260
observed:
―Reporters Without Borders condemns the new forms of censorship and obstruction
being used by government to prevent diverse and freely-reported media coverage of the
situation in Sri Lanka. The fall in the number of physical attacks, threats and cases of
imprisonment is to be welcomed, but it is worrying that the authorities are blocking the
return of real editorial freedom.
―At the same time, the flight of at least 55 Sri Lankan journalists, including many press
freedom activists, into exile during the past three years has left a void in the country‘s
media.‖
14.14 Sri Lanka ranked 163 out of 179 countries (from 1 for the highest level of press freedom
to 179 for the lowest level) in the Reporters sans Frontières Press Freedom Index 2011-
2012 261 , released on 27 January 2012. The country ranked 156 out of 196 countries in
the Freedom House Freedom of the Press 2011, Global Press Freedom Rankings 262 ,
released on 2 May 2011.
14.15 Additional information on the situation of journalists is available from the web-site of the
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and of Reporters sans Frontières (RSF).
INTERNET/MOBILE PHONES
14.16 Freedom of the Press 2011 - Sri Lanka 263 , released on 17 October 2011 observed:
260 Reporters sans Frontières, Less anti-media violence in 2010 but more obstruction and self-censorship,
30 December 2010 http://en.rsf.org/sri-lanka-less-anti-media-violence-in-2010-30-12-2010,39197.html
date accessed 2 June 2011
261 Reporters sans Frontières Press Freedom Index 2011-2012, 27 January 2012 http://en.rsf.org/pressfreedom-index-2011-2012,1043.html
date accessed 30 January 20112
262 Freedom House Freedom of the Press 2011, Global Press Freedom Rankings, released 2 May 2011
http://freedomhouse.org/images/File/fop/2011/FOTP2011GlobalRegionalTables.pdf date accessed 2
June 2011
263 Freedom House Freedom of the Press 2011 - Sri Lanka, released on 17 October 2011, accessed via
RefWorld http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,LKA,,4e9bec282,0.html date accessed 23 January
2012
112 The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February 2012.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section
to 2 March 2012.