(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Dozens of pro-government supporters threatened violence and broke up an investigative journalism training workshop at the weekend.
sri lankan media rights activists on wednesday accused the government of a new crackdown against reporters as the country faced a un-led international war crimes probe.
dozens of pro-government supporters threatened violence and broke up an investigative journalism training workshop at the weekend said transparency international sri lanka (tisl) which organised the training.
tisl senior manager shan wijetunga said 14 tamil language journalists were forced out of their hotel in colombo at the weekend and they were warned not to go ahead with the programme.
“we had the same training for sinhalese language journalists and faced no difficulty but when it comes to the tamil programme we are threatened with violence and the training is broken up” wijetunga told reporters in colombo.
the local rights group the free media movement accused elements of the military of being behind the new wave of intimidation.
fmm convenor sunil jayasekera said those who protested against tisl workshops accused them of training tamil reporters to give evidence at a war crimes investigation announced by the un human rights council on tuesday.
“this is laughable these journalists were only following a training in investigative reporting” he said.
international rights activists have said thousands of civilians were killed by troops in the final months of fighting in 2009.
the government has vowed to resist any foreign investigation and denies its troops killed any civilians while crushing tamil separatists in may 2009.
during the height of fighting sri lanka prevented independent journalists travelling to the island’s northern conflict zone drawing criticism that it was a war without witnesses.
the new york-based committee to protect journalists (cpj) has accused sri lanka of keeping up a policy of harassing independent journalists despite the end of the fighting with tamil rebels in may 2009.
murders of more than a dozen journalists and media workers remain unsolved for the past 25 years.
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