Press Council "threat than a solution"
Press Council poses a threat to journalism in Sri Lanka say international media watchdogs.
Expressing the concern over Sri Lanka’s government decision to revive the press council, Reporters without Borders (RSF) said “Press Council represents more of a threat than a solution”. Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena confirmed the government plans to revive the Press Council, which was created in 1973 and then suspended in 2002. The Press Council will have the power to pass jail sentences on journalists and news publishes. RSF pointed out that Sri Lanka was one of the first countries in Asia to decriminalise press offences and request the government to liberalise the laws before reintroducing the Press Council. A statement issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also said “a press council might sound innocuous enough, but it is the sort of tool we’ve seen in many countries where the government is intent on silencing critics.” Speaking to Associated Press the media minister said that the government did not reactivate the press council with the intent to silence the media. The CPJ asked people not to buy the government arguments in support of the Council and pointed out that due to the intense pressure from the government many journalists ‘stopped writing and others have fled the country’. RSF also urge the judicial authorities to withdraw all proceedings against the Sunday Leader group and call on the police to identify those responsible for threatening journalists.