Media freedom in Sri Lanka

Freedom of the press in Sri Lanka is guaranteed by Article 14(1)(a) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka which gives every citizen "the freedom of speech and expression including publication". Despite this there is widespread suppression of the media, particularly those critical of the government. Sri Lanka is ranked 165 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders's Press Freedom Index for 2014.Freedom House has judged the Sri Lankan press to be not free. During the civil war Sri Lanka was one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist. The civil war ended in May 2009 but, according to Reporters Without Borders, murders, physical attacks, kidnappings, threats and censorship continues and that senior government officials, including the defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, are directly implicated.

Although the constitution guarantees free speech it places significant limits on the exercise of this right. This, together with various laws and regulations, such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1979, brought in to deal with Tamil militancy have been used by successive governments to suppress freedom of expression. During the civil war many journalists were killed, assaulted or went missing. 25 journalists were killed between 1999 and 2011. Dozens fled abroad.

Much of the media in Sri Lanka is state-owned. There are no regulations in place to guarantee editorial independence, instead the state-owned media takes a heavy pro-government stance. Although there is a large contingent of independently owned media in Sri Lanka, most practice self-censorship.

The civil war ended in May 2009 but many of the war time laws and regulations remain in place. The attacks on the media have reduced but journalists continue to be harassed and intimidated.

Thevis Guruge, chairman of the state-owned Independent Television Network, was killed on 23 July 1989. His murder was blamed on the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna.

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