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New government must uphold press freedom, says press freedom collective
A coalition of trade unions, media advocacy groups, and journalist representative bodies have urged the newly-elected government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to uphold press freedom and challenge a culture of impunity for crimes against journalists in Sri Lanka. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliates, the Federation of Media Employees and Trade Unions (FMETU), the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), and the Free Media Movement (FMM), in stressing the historic importance of this transition and urging Dissanayake and the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) coalition to stand by their commitments in service of democracy, the media, and justice.
Following Sri Lanka’s Parliamentary and Presidntial elections in 2024, a coalition of 25 civil society organisations, unions, and media bodies, including the IFJ, FMETU, FMM, and SLWJA, called on the ruling NPP coalition and President Dissanayake to uphold press freedom and human rights in Sri Lanka through their terms in office.
The letter comes as Sri Lanka’s media community commemorates Black January, an annual remembrance of colleagues killed and disappeared between 2004 and 2010, with those responsible escaping with impunity in a vast majority of cases. Other attacks on the press, including harassment, abductions, intimidation, and assault continue to be met with inaction from authorities, if state forces are not directly responsible. In a report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), a lack of accountability for historic and current human rights violations was identified as a significant impediment to human rights in Sri Lanka.
In the NPP’s election manifesto, the coalition criticised what it described as a partisan mass-media, announcing its plans to safeguard the professional integrity of journalists. In its principles, the coalition committed to remove sections of the controversial 2024 Online Safety Act impacting freedom of expression, while reviewing existing media legislation with a focus on press freedom.
Securing over 70 per cent of seats in November’s parliamentary elections, the NPP campaign promised to deliver sweeping reforms, including the enactment of a new constitution and legal reform amid the ongoing impacts of the country’s worst financial crisis. The election marks a significant departure from Sri Lanka’s recent political history, which has been dominated by the Rajapaksa political dynasty.
In the joint letter, the 25 organisations called on the new government to:
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Reopen or initiate impartial and swift investigations to ensure accountability in cases of violence against the press under previous governments;
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Ensure that law enforcement agencies end the harassment and intimidation of journalists;
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Repeal the Online Safety Act;
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Repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act;
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Amend the Parliamentary (Powers and Privileges) Act;
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Amend the Personal Data Protection Act; and
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Establish an independent, self-regulatory media commission.
The FMETU said: “Journalists In Sri Lanka often practice self-censorship due to fear of reprisals. This can lead to underreporting of important stories and a lack of critical coverage of the Government.”
The SLWJA said: “After the current government assumed power, there was widespread hope for a new era of freedom of speech and expression in Sri Lanka. However, these hopes are rapidly diminishing. The SLWJA urges the government to honour its commitments to safeguard media freedom and ensure the protection of journalists. Immediate steps must be taken to repeal oppressive legislation and foster an environment where the fundamental right to freedom of expression is respected and upheld.”
The FMM said: “The Free Media Movement commends President Dissanayake and the National People’s Power for their stated commitment to fostering a free and independent press in Sri Lanka. At this critical juncture, we urge the president to translate these commitments into concrete actions by ensuring justice for crimes against journalists, repealing repressive laws like the Online Safety Act, the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act, and fostering an environment where journalists can work without fear of harassment or intimidation.”
The IFJ said: “The IFJ and its affiliates stand resolute in their defence of press freedom and accountability for Sri Lanka’s media. Justice for the families of colleagues killed, disappeared, or subject to other violence and attacks cannot be delayed any further, and the new Dissanayake government must ensure that it addresses the failings of its predecessors to combat impunity. At the same time, the NPP coalition must uphold democracy and commit to creating a media landscape free of laws affecting the fundamental freedoms of expression and the press.”
[IFJ]
US President Donald Trump has withdrawn an invite for Canada to join his newly constituted Board of Peace, in the latest spat between the North American neighbours.
“Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining,” Trump said on Truth Social in a post addressed to Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Carney made headlines this week warning of a “rupture” in the US-led global order. Ottawa also said it would not pay to join Trump’s new body.
The board, which gives Trump wide decision-making powers as chairman, is being billed by the US as a new international organisation for resolving conflicts.
Trump did not give a reason in Thursday evening’s post as to why he had decided to revoke Canada’s offer.
Carney’s office did not immediately respond. The prime minster had indicated last week he would accept Trump’s invite on principle.
But Ottawa had indicated in recent days that it would not pay the $1bn (£740m) membership fee which Trump has said permanent members will be asked to pay to help fund the board.
His Board of Peace was originally thought to be aimed at helping end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and oversee reconstruction.
[BBC]
Two people have died and several are feared buried after landslides in New Zealand’s North Island.
The deaths were reported at Welcome Bay, while rescue workers are still searching through rubble at a different site in a popular campground on Mount Maunganui.
There are no “signs of life”, authorities said, adding that they have a “rough idea” of how many people are missing but are waiting for an exact figure. They provided no other details except that the group includes “at least one young girl”.
The landslides were triggered by heavy rains over the last few days, which led to flooding and power outages across the North Island. One minister said the east coast resembled “a war zone”.
New Zealand is “heavy with grief” after the “profound tragedy” caused by recent weather, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on X.
Footage from the campsite on Mount Maunganui, an extinct volcano, shows a huge slip near the base of the volcanic dome, as rescuers and sniffer dogs comb through crushed caravans and flattened tents.
Authorities said that the search would continue through the night. “This is a complex and high-risk environment, and our teams are working to achieve the best possible outcome while keeping everyone safe,” said Megan Stiffler, the deputy national commander for the Urban Search and Rescue team,
The extinct volcano is a sacred Māori site and one of the most popular campgrounds in New Zealand, with a local holiday website describing it as a “slice of paradise”. But it has been repeatedly hit by landslides in recent years.
“I heard this huge tree crack and all this dirt come off, and then I looked behind me and there’s this huge landslide coming down,” Australian tourist Sonny Worrall told local broadcaster TVNZ.
“I’m still shaking from it now… I turned around and had to jump out of my seat and just run,”he added. He saw it happen while swimming in a hot pool.
Hiker Mark Tangney told the New Zealand Herald he heard people screaming from under the rubble. “So I just parked up and ran to help… We could hear people screaming: ‘Help us, help us, get us out of here’,” he said.
Those calls persisted for about half an hour and then went silent, Tangney said.
A surf club in another part of Mount Maunganui has been evacuated following fears of more landslides.
A state of emergency has been declared in the Bay of Plenty where Mount Maunganui sits, and various parts of the North Island, including Northland, Coromandel, Tairāwhiti and Hauraki.
Several areas reported their wettest days on record on Thursday. Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty, for example, received three months worth of rain within a day, according to local media.
Some 8,000 people were without power as of Thursday morning, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported.
The wife of a man who was swept away in the Mahurangi River is holding out hope that he will survive.
“I know his personality is strong, wise,” she told RNZ, adding that he was a fisherman back home in Kiribati and knew how to swim and dive.
The man, 47, was driving to work with their nephew when the car they were in fell into the river.
He had pushed the nephew towards a branch so the nephew could hoist himself onto land; but the older man did not manage get back up himself, according to the report.
“It’s been a very big event for us as a country, really hitting almost our entire eastern seaboard of the North Island,” said Minister for Emergency Management Mark Mitchell.
“The good news is that everyone responded really quickly, and there was time to get prepared. That helps to mitigate and create a very strong response,” he told RNZ.
December to February are typically the sunnier months in New Zealand but in recent years heavy rains and storms have become more frequent.
In February 2023, parts of the island were devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle, which is to date the costliest cyclone to hit the Southern Hemisphere, with damage amounting to NZ$13.5bn ($7.9bn; £5.9bn).
This week’s flooding has added to the toll for the local communities that are still rebuilding.
[BBC]
Following a difficult Ashes tour, what is left of Bazball ran into an old-fashioned spin-bowling choke in Colombo. There were glimmers of brilliance from England in a chase of 272. But four Sri Lanka spinners, sharing six wickets between them, won through comfortably in the end.
Despite measured 60s from both Joe Root and Ben Duckett, England fell 19 runs short, their run rate having stayed below five an over for the majority of the run-chase. And so England, who had made attacking batting their brand for several years now, delivered the kind of insipid batting performance reminiscent of their woes in South Asia in decades gone by.
The likes of Dunit Wellalage and Jeffrey Vandersay would prosper on a dry Khettarama track, but it was Sri Lanka’s sensible batting that had laid the groundwork for this victory. Kusal Mendis’ 93 not out off 117 was the backbone of the innings, with Janith Liyanage punching out a helpful 46, and Wellalage producing the finishing fillip, hitting 25 not out off 12 balls.
Their 271 for 6 was merely a good total, rather than an imposing one. But then Khettarama is a notoriously difficult venue at which to chase. Though Jamie Overton’s late hitting gave England a sliver of hope, Sri Lanka had the match mostly trussed up at 40 overs, England needing to score at more than 10 an over at that stage, with four wickets in hand.
Overton could still potentially have stolen victory in the final over, off which England needed 20. But he turned down a single first ball, and then holed out trying to clear the infield off the next one.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 271 for 6 in 50 overs (Kusal Mendis 93*, Janith Liyanage 46; Adil Rashid 3-44) beat England 252 in 49.2 overs (Ben Duckett 62, Joe Root 61, Jamie Overton 34; Pramod Madushan 3-39, Dunith Wellalage 2-41, Jeffrey Vandersay 2-39 ) by 19 runs
[Cricinfo]
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