Maintain media freedom
World journalists body appeals to President, Prime Minister
The International Federation of Journalists has appealed to the President and the Prime Minister to maintain media freedom and respect the independence of journalists, particularly in the state-owned media, during the current political uncertainty that has swept the nation.

The IFJ has appealed to the President and the Prime Minister to find the political will to work together and establish an independent media commission to oversee the state-owned media institutions and ensure that the Government withdraws from the editorial process in Sri Lanka's state-owned media.

The IFJ statement, issued just weeks before its December 1-3 Colombo meeting on editorial independence and public service values in journalism, noted that the President had reportedly replaced editors and senior journalists in both state-owned print and broadcast outlets with those who are aligned to the new administration.
"There is a long tradition of political interference in the state-owned media in Sri Lanka and it has just got to stop," IFJ President Christopher Warren said in the statement.

"The Sri Lankan public has the absolute right to trust that the news and current affairs being produced by the state-owned media are truly independent - and right now they are being denied this right," Mr. Warren said.

"Journalists need to be able to perform independent and ethical journalism, free from political interference. Now is the perfect time for the political leaders to show the will to put faith back into Sri Lanka's public media and establish a truly independent media commission," he said.

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