Protest in Colombo against Navy Commander over journalist attack

Journalists Associations island wide staged a protest in front of the Fort Railway Station condemning the recent attack on a journalist by Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne during a workers protest in Hambantota last week.

Alarming that this could be an early sign where the media freedom would be under threat and suppressed during previous regime, the journalists demanded the government to hold an impartial inquiry against the uncivilized act by the Navy Commander to upheld the rights of citizens and media freedom in the country.

This week, joining with Free Media Movement (FMM) on condemning the incident , the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) also said that the assault of a journalist by the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy is a condemnable act.

"The IFJ is seriously concerned by the assault of a journalist by the head of a security force and demands immediate action against him from the Sri Lankan government. Such an incident, if allowed to pass, not only undermines press freedom and the rights of the media but also has a chilling effect on free press." it said.