(UCAN) Lankan rights groups have demanded press freedom and justice for media workers as they marked the anniversary of a journalist who was murdered 16 years ago after he exposed governmental corruption.

Rights activists, family members, journalists, lawmakers, and civil society members joined the Jan. 8 program in Colombo, commemorating the murder of Lasantha Wickramatunga, the founder and editor of the English newspaper Sunday Leader.

Wickramatunga was shot dead in 2009 when President Mahinda Rajapaksa (2005-2015) was in power.

After seven years of investigation, police arrested five military intelligence officers on suspicion of murder. But no one has been punished yet.

“Four governments have ruled the nation since the murder. We hope that justice will finally be done this time,” said Lawmaker Ravi Karunanayake while attending the commemoration program.

Critics say Wickramatunga’s murder has exposed the vulnerability of Sri Lankan journalists as successive governments misused laws and state systems to silence journalists and to cover up massive governmental graft and human rights violations.

According to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index released by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Sri Lanka’s press freedom ranking has dropped by 15 positions, falling to 150th place from 135th the previous year.

Surin Madurapperuma, a journalist and rights activist, said media watchdogs have urged the current government to repeal three repressive laws—the Anti-Terrorism Bill, Online Safety Act, and Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA)—that are misused to muzzle dissent and restrict press freedom.

Madurapperuma said attacks on journalists continue unabated despite Sri Lanka electing a left-leaning party power in October last year.

Madurapperuma said two journalists were attacked recently. He wanted the government to appoint a presidential commission to investigate the disappearances and murders of journalists.

Hana Ibrahim, Convener of the Free Media Movement, a media freedom watchdog, wrote to the police chief on Jan. 4, urging swift legal action against those involved in the two recent attacks on journalists.

According to Reporters Without Borders, the government used these laws to silence, arrest, and censor journalists. Its recent report said most journalists, particularly those from Tamil and Muslim minorities, self-censor due to safety fears.

A UN Human Rights Office report in August 2024 highlighted that fundamental freedoms in Sri Lanka are threatened.

New laws since 2023 have granted security forces sweeping powers, restricting expression, opinion, and association while eroding democratic checks and fueling intimidation against civil society and journalists.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa told parliament on Jan. 8 that the anti-terrorism laws were misused to suppress protests, political opponents, and journalists, and its provisions conflict with international laws that Sri Lanka ratified.

He said several current government members had previously opposed the anti-terrorism law. “What is the government’s plan? Does it intend to repeal the law or introduce amendments?” Premadasa asked.

Premadasa wanted the government to uncover the truth behind the murder of Wickramatunga and other journalists.

At least 19 journalists have been killed or disappeared in Sri Lanka since 1992, according to New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.At least 200 attacks against journalists and media houses were recorded in Sri Lanka in the past decade, according to media reports.