Media associations to hold demonstration against harassment

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 January 2006, 20:28 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association, Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance, Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum and Media Employees Trade Union Federation have decided to hold a demonstration in front of the Fort Railway Station in Colombo Thursday evening against the security forces for harassing Tamil media persons and media institutions using the Emergency Regulations, sources said

In recent times search operations at media institutions and arrest of journalists and other harassment, particularly targeting Tamil media institutions and media persons, are on the increase. Security forces refuse to accept media accreditation cards by the Department of Information when they arrest Tamil media persons. The security forces had assaulted Tamil media persons who were covering a demonstration in Jaffna recently and were not accepting their media accreditation card. Photographers of two Tamil dailies have been subjected to inquiry for taking photographs of Tamil people when they were arrested and detained in Colombo police stations. Security forces searched offices of two Tamil dailies published in Jaffna recently, said a press release issued by these five media associations Monday.

"Hence we have decided hold a demonstration in front of the Fort railway station on Thursday evening to oppose using the Emergency Regulations against the Tamil media institutions and Tamil media persons and demanding the security forces to accept the government media accreditation cards," said the press release.