World press team to probe threats to journalists

A high powered international Mission on Press Freedom will arrive in Sri Lanka tomorrow on a three-day visit, at the invitation of leading media institutions and organizations in the country.

The five member Mission made up of delegates from International Media Support (IMS), International Press Institute (IPI), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International News Safety Institute (INSI), will focus on three target issues, namely, threats to journalists and killings, freedom of expression and censorship, and legal reforms.

The Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI), in collaboration with the Free Media Movement (FMM), Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), Federation of Media Employees Trade Union (FMETU), Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance (SLTMA) and Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF) will be hosting the Mission in Sri Lanka.

The delegation will be holding meetings with editors, publishers, senior journalists, media activists, political leaders, heads of security establishments and also civil society representatives. Appointments with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya and JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe have also been sought. The delegation will also meet some members of the diplomatic corps in Colombo.

“It is understood that the recent re-escalation of the ethnic conflict has resulted in serious deterioration of the security situation of media personnel as well as institutions in Sri Lanka. The current context has resulted in threats to personal safety of media workers as well as suppression and intimidation of media institutions, and the silencing of voices of dissent by all parties to the conflict - detrimental factors which impede functional democracy anywhere,” the SLPI said in a statement. At the end of the Mission the delegation will conduct a media conference to reveal its findings.