INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
As numerous as 25 civil society companies consisting of the Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ) have actually prompted President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to ensure that Sri Lanka promotes press flexibility and the
right to freedom of expression, which are safeguarded by the countrys constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, to which Sri Lanka is a state party.The 25 civil society organizations have actually pointed out that they valued the expressed
dedication of the National Peoples Power to uphold media flexibility and pursue accountability for previous criminal activities against
reporters, as described in the coalitions election manifesto.To that end, they hire the recently chosen federal government to resume or
start prompt, impartial, and transparent investigations to guarantee responsibility in cases of violence versus journalism and other
infractions of human rights and liberty of expression, including, but not limited, to lots of murders, kidnappings, and physical attacks on
reporters and media workplaces during and in the aftermath of the countrys 26-year civil war that ended in 2009
The examinations ought to meet worldwide requirements, consisting of those outlined under the United Nations Minnesota Protocol on the
Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death, they mentioned.We welcome the current order of a reinvestigation into the 2005 murder of
reporter Dharmeratnam Sivaram
We further urge authorities to bring the extended prosecution for the 2010 imposed disappearance and thought murder of journalist and
cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda to a prompt and efficient end while guaranteeing accountability for all criminals and supplying access to
justice and efficient remedies for Ekneligodas family they said.Furthermore, the organisations have gotten in touch with the government to
guarantee that police end the harassment and intimidation of reporters, especially ethnic Tamils, who have long dealt with extensive
surveillance and other excessive restrictions on their reporting.Law enforcement companies must assist in the withdrawal of criminal cases
brought against journalists in retaliation for their work
Even more, authorities must not take legal action versus reporters for frightening public servants, they highlighted.Meanwhile, they have
actually also contacted the President to reverse the Online Safety Act, which gives sweeping powers to a commission designated by the
president to censor online content, consequently developing a chilling result on human rights, consisting of the right to liberty of
expression.The law must be changed with new cybersecurity legislation targeted at addressing real online damages, such as harassment and
fraud, rather than enabling out of proportion and unjustified limitations on peaceful online speech and threatening the right to privacy,
they highlighted.The organisations also call for the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which has actually long been used to harass
and put behind bars journalists for their work
The appropriate offenses ought to rather be dealt with within the framework of the nations existing criminal laws they said.Their demands
also consist of to modify the Parliamentary (Powers and Privileges) Act, amend the Personal Data Protection Act to remove provisions
allowing the law to bypass the Right to Information Act, establish an independent, self-regulatory media commission that will uphold press
freedom and adjudicate matters of journalistic principles without criminalizing press reporters or putting unnecessary limitations on their
work.Your election as president of Sri Lanka, a country haunted by impunity for ruthless attacks on the media, uses a historic opportunity
to demonstrate a genuine dedication to human rights and the rule of law
We advise you to take this critical moment and stand prepared to support your efforts to protect media liberty, as well as the rights to
liberty of expression and access to information
The Sri Lankan people are worthy of no less, they added.The joint letter have actually been signed by the organisations Access Now, Amnesty
International, Bolo Bhi, Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), Center for Justice and Accountability, CIVICUS: World Alliance for
Citizen Participation, Committee to Protect Journalists, Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions
(FMETU), Free Media Movement, Free Press Unlimited, Free Speech Collective, Freedom Forum Nepal, Human Rights Watch, IFEX, International
Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), International Federation of Journalists, International Press Institute, Journalists for Democracy in Sri
Lanka (JDS), Overseas Press Club of America, Inc., PEN International, PEN Sri Lanka, Reporters Without Borders, Robert F
Kennedy Human Rights and Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association.
