Asia

Sri Lanka

{This graph represents scores that have been modified by CIMA so that higher scores indicate a better media situation. It is intended to show trends over time; each index measures significantly different factors of press freedom. To see an explanation for how this graph was created, click here.}

Freedom House Score: 71 (Not Free)	[Freedom House Methodology]
{Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 100}

RSF Score: 62.50	[RSF Methodology]
{Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to ~120}

Reporters Without Borders Description:

Taking advantage of a popularity boost resulting from the military defeat of the Tamil rebel force known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), President Mahinda Rajapaksa had himself reelected in January with the help of state media propaganda and the suppression of dissent. Of the world’s democratically-elected governments, Sri Lanka’s is the one that respects press freedom least.

The president and his aides, above all his brother, defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who is on the Reporters Without Borders list of Predators of Press Freedom, control the state media and use intimidation to get privately-owned media journalists to censor themselves. During last January’s elections, 96.7 percent of news programme air-time was devoted to the president and his aides and less than 3.3 per cent to the opposition.

Neither Sri Lankan nor foreign journalists were able to cover the civil war in the north, which left thousands of civilian casualties, and the media are still denied access to certain regions of the country. In the Tamil regions, pro-government paramilitary groups such as the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) in the Jaffna peninsula and the Karuna faction (whose leaders include two ministers) in the east inflict reprisals on media that oppose them.

Asia

Sri Lanka

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