http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gR0-RFt6FVjb9CQCsP-4yhYlOLZQ
Rights groups slam media controls in Sri Lanka 2 days ago COLOMBO (AFP) — Sri Lanka has the lowest press freedom rating of any democracy and has been the first to use anti-terror laws to prosecute journalists, international rights groups said Friday. Five organisations, including the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said journalists and media institutions seeking to report independently on the island's Tamil separatist conflict were being "attacked and intimidated." Following a fact-finding mission to Sri Lanka this month, the panel said in a joint statement that they found a deterioration in the press freedom situation since their last visit in June 2007. It was "marked by a continuation in murders, attacks, abductions, intimidation and harassment of the media," they said. In the recent World Press Freedom Index published by RSF, Sri Lanka was given the lowest press freedom rating of any democratic country worldwide, they noted. "In recent months, journalists and media institutions seeking to report independently on the ongoing conflict have been attacked and intimidated in a seeming effort to limit public knowledge about the conduct of the war and to reveal their sources. "This is a violation of the public right to know and the accepted norm that media sources should be protected," the group said. The International Federation of Journalists noted the unprecedented use by a democratic nation of terrorism legislation to punish journalists for what they have written. In August, Sri Lankan authorities used anti-terrorism laws to charge local journalist J.S. Tissanayagam and two colleagues with inciting racial hatred and bringing disrepute to the government. They have been in detention since being arrested in March. Media rights activists have described Sri Lanka as one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists due to a worsening climate of violence and unofficial censorship. ------------------------------------ -- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTMedia mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE Share media news, discuss journalism issues and network with media professionals across South Asia on this mailing list. Just write to [email protected] TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTMedia by sending a blank mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTCaste: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
