journalists – Page 2 – People for Equality and Relief in Lanka

Trapped Sri Lankans ‘dying in makeshift hospital’

By pearlaction | February 15, 2009 |

[The Observer] Doctors say wounded Sri Lankan civilians are dying for want of proper medical treatment as they lie trapped in a makeshift hospital in the last rebel-held pocket in the north-east of the island. This weekend, hundreds of injured civilians poured in to the improvised medical facility in Putumattalan village, which has been repeatedly…

U.N. experts decry ‘climate of fear’ in Sri Lanka

By pearlaction | February 9, 2009 |

[Reuters] Sri Lanka’s journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders are living in fear and need better protection from violence, United Nations investigators said on Monday. In a joint statement, 10 U.N. experts called on the government to act quickly to halt repressive practices. “The fear of reprisals against victims and witnesses, together with a lack…

Analysis: Sri Lanka’s media faces growing pressure

By pearlaction | February 2, 2009 |

[CNN] Journalists in Sri Lanka have come under a growing number of attacks and intimidation, with some fleeing the country or losing their lives, media analysts and rights groups say. On January 8, a prominent journalist who had been critical of the government was shot and killed by unknown assailants on the outskirts of Colombo.…

Sri Lanka: Pillay deplores deteriorating situation for civilians

By pearlaction | January 29, 2009 |

[OHCHR] GENEVA — The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Thursday she was deeply concerned by reports of the rapidly deteriorating conditions facing a quarter of a million civilians trapped in the conflict zone in northern Sri Lanka, and of alleged human rights abuses and a significant number of civilian casualties, as…

Sri Lanka’s other war keeps media on the run

By pearlaction | January 25, 2009 |

[AFP] Sri Lanka is in the grip of its biggest military offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels, but the country’s journalists are also facing an unprecedented battle of their own. Since the killing of the anti-war Sunday Leader editor Wickrematunga on January 8, at least eight senior journalists and media activists have fled the island, fearing…