Tag: lbo

January 14, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government censured a senior international diplomat after he spoke at the funeral of a newspaper editor whose murder has been blamed on the island’s rulers, officials said Wednesday.Sri Lanka’s opposition has demanded an international probe into the killing, which drew condemnation from the US, the European Union and […]

January 12, 2009 (AFP) – The funeral of a Sri Lankan newspaper editor and staunch critic of the war on Tamil rebels was held Monday with the island’s government facing allegations of being behind his execution-style murder.Security was tight as thousands of mourners attended a Christian service for Lasantha Wickrematunga at the Assembly of God […]

BRUSSELS, January 8, 2009 (AFP) – The European Union condemned Thursday the shooting death of a respected Sri Lankan newspaper editor and expressed concern about media freedoms in the South Asian nation.Wickrematunga, 52, was shot by gunmen on two motorcycles as he drove to work near Colombo. He was rushed to hospital but died after […]

Jan 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka needs freedom of information to develop, and Sri Lanka’s government should hold full and transparent investigations on violence against the media, the World Bank said. “The World Bank urges the Government of Sri Lanka to hold full and transparent investigations of incidents of violence against media,” the World […]

Jan 09, 2009 (LBO) – The United States has strongly condemned the murder of a prominent newspaper editor in Sri Lanka and an attack on a broadcaster saying the violence was undermining democracy and silencing independent voices.Lasantha Wickematunge, editor of The Sunday Leader, a newspaper strongly critical of the government was shot on a main […]

Jan 09, 2008 (LBO) – Violence against media is a conspiracy to pave the way for international involvement in the island’s internal affairs, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. The most recent violence drew widespread condemnation from the United States, the European Union and rights bodies, who called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, and […]

January 9, 2009 (AFP) – Hundreds of Sri Lankan journalists took to the streets Friday to protest against the killing of a newspaper editor, as the government came under local and foreign pressure to protect freedom of expression.The demonstration in Colombo demanded a halt to violence, threats and intimidation after Thursday’s shooting of Lasantha Wickrematunga, […]

January 8, 2009 (AFP) – The editor of a Sri Lankan anti-government newspaper was shot dead on Thursday as he drove to work near the capital Colombo, police said, in the second attack on journalists this week. Gunmen on two motorcycles escaped after opening fire on Lasantha Wickrematunga, the editor of the Sunday Leader, police […]

Jan 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition called for an international probe into the killing of a newspaper editor, which rights bodies called a terrifying blow against the freedom of expression and an absolute scandal that should not go unpunished. Lasantha Wickrematunga, editor of the The Sunday Leader, a newspaper which is strongly […]

January 7, 2009 (AFP) – Media rights groups Wednesday urged Sri Lanka to punish those behind a recent attack on a privately-run television station that was torched by an armed gang. Gunmen stormed the studios and control rooms of the Maharaja TV network outside Colombo, held staff at gunpoint, and smashed and set alight equipment, […]

Jan 06, 2009 (LBO) – An independent privately-owned TV station in Sri Lanka was attacked by an armed gang who stormed its main studio complex in the outskirts of the capital Colombo, an official said.An MTV employee said a group of around dozen or more persons had arrived in a white van around 2.00 am, […]