The Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ Association (SLWJA) has strongly condemned the government’s decision to summon two BBC Sinhala Service journalists before the Parliamentary Privileges Committee, describing it as media repression and a threat to freedom of speech.
Issuing a statement the SLWJA said BBC producer Ishara Dhanasekara and journalist Sampath Dissanayake have been ordered to appear before the committee at 2.00 pm on July 23, following a complaint lodged by MP Lakmali Hemachandra and under the directive of the Speaker.
The summons is linked to BBC Sinhala’s coverage of a meeting of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus, which questioned officials of the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) over delays in police investigations into allegations of child abuse against the Atamasthanadhipathi of Anuradhapura, Venerable Pallegama Hemarathana Thera.
SLWJA said the Caucus is an informal body without legal authority, and that summoning journalists for reporting on its proceedings is “a serious threat to freedom of speech and media independence.”
The association accused the government of attempting to cover up failures and irregularities by curtailing press freedom and intimidating journalists through misuse of parliamentary privileges. “This marks yet another dark stain in Sri Lanka’s history of media repression,” the statement read.
SLWJA urged the government and parliamentary authorities to immediately withdraw the measures and called on all media, civil organizations, and citizens to resist what it described as a repressive approach undermining democracy and transparency. (Newswire)
