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A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thursday, January 30, 2020
Families of disappeared demand protection for Tamil journalists
Tamil families of the missing held demonstrations in Vavuniya yesterday,
demanding that the Sri Lankan government assurance the security of
Tamil journalists, who have recently faced increased harrassment and
intimdiation from the security forces.
28 January 2020
The protests follow the distressing increase in threats and intimidation
of journalists, since accused war criminal Gotabaya Rajapaksa was
appointed Sri Lanka’s president in November 2019. Most recently, Tamil
journalists were targeted and issued with threats of "death punishment" in Batticaloa.
The families demonstrating on the road-side are on their 1073rd-day of
protest. At around 1:30 pm on Monday, they took to the same site they
have been protesting for almost 3 years at the front of the Road
Development Authority in Vavuniya.
They held placards with messages that said;
Journalism is the backbone of democracy. Oppressed journalism would pave the way to the dictatorship of military rule.
The families also requested that the state provide answers regarding the
fate of their loved ones who were forcibly disappeared. Many
clutched pictures of their missing loved ones and also continue to hold
international flags calling for foreign intervention in finding further
infromation on their whereabouts.
They
were heard chanting and demanding that the Sri Lankan state answer to
the wehereabouts of disappeared individuals and to ensure the safety of
Tamil journalists is not further compromised.
"Where are our children?" and "Ensure the security of the Journalists" were amongst the slogans heard during the demonstrations.
The treatment of Tamil journalists has been scrutinised by the international press freedom organisations and last week RSF called
for “proper police protection” and a “thorough investigation” following
the Batticaloa incident, and the rising amounts of harrasment and
intimidation prevailing in the North East against Tamil journalists.
Tamil families of the missing held demonstrations in Vavuniya yesterday,
demanding that the Sri Lankan government assurance the security of
Tamil journalists, who have recently faced increased harrassment and
intimdiation from the security forces.
28 January 2020
The protests follow the distressing increase in threats and intimidation
of journalists, since accused war criminal Gotabaya Rajapaksa was
appointed Sri Lanka’s president in November 2019. Most recently, Tamil
journalists were targeted and issued with threats of "death punishment" in Batticaloa.
The families demonstrating on the road-side are on their 1073rd-day of
protest. At around 1:30 pm on Monday, they took to the same site they
have been protesting for almost 3 years at the front of the Road
Development Authority in Vavuniya.
They held placards with messages that said;
Journalism is the backbone of democracy. Oppressed journalism would pave the way to the dictatorship of military rule.
The families also requested that the state provide answers regarding the
fate of their loved ones who were forcibly disappeared. Many
clutched pictures of their missing loved ones and also continue to hold
international flags calling for foreign intervention in finding further
infromation on their whereabouts.
They
were heard chanting and demanding that the Sri Lankan state answer to
the wehereabouts of disappeared individuals and to ensure the safety of
Tamil journalists is not further compromised.
"Where are our children?" and "Ensure the security of the Journalists" were amongst the slogans heard during the demonstrations.
The treatment of Tamil journalists has been scrutinised by the international press freedom organisations and last week RSF called
for “proper police protection” and a “thorough investigation” following
the Batticaloa incident, and the rising amounts of harrasment and
intimidation prevailing in the North East against Tamil journalists. 