A Tamil freelance journalist, Vijayaratnam Saravanan, highlighted the ongoing media repression by Sri Lanka to Eric Walsh, the Canadian High Commissioner during his visit to Mullaitivu this week.
Saravanan told Walsh about the recent Sri Lankan police intimidation he has been subjected to over his coverage of an incident at Kurunthurmalai last week. On July 14th, Tamil worshippers gathered at Kurunthurmalai, an ancient Tamil site, to make pongal but were faced with opposition from Sinhala Buddhist monks and a hostile mob.
During the tense situation, the police surrounded the Tamil worshippers and made attempts to arrest them in a violent manner. Throughout the incident, Saravanan was on-site, providing live reports to document the unfolding events.
However, in the days following the incident, the police began intimidating Saravanan. As a result, he lodged a formal complaint with the Human Rights Council on July 17, seeking protection and recourse.
Saravanan drew Walsh's attention to the ongoing risks journalists, particularly in the North-East, face from Sri Lanka's security forces. Press freedom has been a worrying concern on the island for decades, where Tamil journalists have faced reprisals for speaking out against and highlighting issues faced by Tamils in the North-East. They have frequently found themselves targeted with surveillance, threats, acts of violence, and even death. According to Together Against Genocide, from 2004 to 2009, over 48 journalists and media workers were reported killed, 41 of whom were Tamil.
