Senior Journalists were removed from Hotel Galadari under the intimidation of Gota
(Lanka-e-News- 09.June.2014, 9.30PM) The Rajapaksa administration has become so bestial and brutal that a group of media reporters has been intimidated and threatened for conducting a workshop and chased out from the Galadari Hotel they were staying at midnight under the instruction of Criminal defense secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

This workshop was conducted by five senior journalists in order to train the new journalists from North East of the country. The reason for that is although there were experienced journalists in the North East before the war there were no train journalists available at present. Many journalists have left the country due to fear and some has died during the war. 

Many journalists have left their jobs due to threats and have doing other jobs. As a result training independent journalists from these areas is an important factor. 

Due to these 14 new reporters has been selected from the North and East and planned to arrange a workshop at a hotel in Girithale named 'Deer Park' on last 23rd May. While this has been arranged the Eastern commanding officer of the Sri Lanka Army Lal Perera has called the Girithale hotel management and told there was a group coming to protest over this and to remove the reporters from the hotel. Though the owner of the Girithale Deer Park hotel was Minister Siripala Gamlath he was compelled to remove the paid guests amid intimidation to hotel staffs. Later the Military spokesperson denied that the Eastern commander threatened the hotel staff. 

Later another workshop was organized in Negombo Gold Sands Hotel from 6th to 8th. When the workshop started on the 6th on the 7th there was a group which has come to the hotel with play cards and banners and has protested from outside the hotel. The amusing thing what happened was before the protesters arrive, the senior police officers has come to the hotel and told that due to the workshop there is a hindrance for peace. From this it was confirmed that the protest carried out was known to the police before. Despite giving police protection to the workshop and journalists which was organized by getting prior permission from the police, the police took the side of the protestors and told the reporters to cancel the workshop and leave the hotel premises. 

Amid immense difficulties and since many journalists has come from far distance the group could not find shelter or go home due to lack of transportation as it was late. They decided to come to Colombo and stay the night at Hotel Galadari anticipating there will not be any obstacles. As the group has become so tired travelling all the way the group has booked seven rooms at Hotel Galadari to spend the night and to leave to their homes the following day. Having got to know this the criminal defense secretary has threatened the Galadari Hotel management for hosting these journalists and told to remove all journalists from the hotel. The hotel management has told the journalists that they are unable to give protection to them. It is none other than the criminal defense secretary Gota who caused to lose the security of Colombo high security zone.

The senior journalists who faced this bestial act were the chairman and the editor of the Sri Lanka Professional Journalist Association Lasantha Ruhunage, Jayasiri Jayasekara of the free Media Movement and the editor of Herald, Senior Journalist Shan Wijethunga of the Transparency International and another 14 new journalists. Though an attack was expected against the group of these journalists by the goons of ugly Gota fortunately nothing as such happened. 

In an earlier occasion the Asia desk office in charge of International Federation of Journalists and her assistant kept a workshop at Hotel Renuka was arrested and sent back from the country by the same Rajapaksa apes.