The London-based Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA) issued a statement yesterday stating it “appalled” at the Sri Lankan government’s continued persecution of journalists “for committing the ’sin’ of criticizing the ruling party”.

The organisation was also “deeply concerned” at the disappearance of the Sri Lankan journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda.

There has been growing concern and coverage of events in Sri Lanka, where police raided the offices of opposition candidates last week, seizing equipment and arresting staff.

According to the New York Times, officials accused one candidate, former army chief Mr. Fonseka, of plotting to overthrow the government and assassinate President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The latter had defeated Mr. Fonseka by a wide margin in voting last week according to official results.

According to the BBC, government officials cordoned off the street during the raid and excluded all journalists around where the general’s campaign office is situated.

The CJA has chosen to focus on the forced suspension of a pro-opposition newspaper, Lanka, and the arrest of its editor. It also condemned the apparent temporary shutting down of lankaenews.com, the website to which Prageeth Ekneligoda contributes.

CJA President Hassan Shahriar said: “The ugly and oppressive actions make a joke of President Mahinda Rajapaksan’s offer to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting – an offer that was wisely shelved, though not yet rejected, by Commonwealth leaders at their Trinidad and Tobago summit.”

“Let me, as a representative of journalists across the Commonwealth, state the obvious: Any government that subjects its independent news media to such violent and arbitrary actions has no right to call itself democratic. Sri Lanka doesn’t even come close to adhering to the most basic principles of the Commonwealth or, for that matter, of basic human rights.”

The strongly worded statement called on Commonwealth leaders to condemn the state of affairs.

The CJA president also endorsed five Sri Lankan media groups: SLWJA, FMETU, SLMMF, SLTJA and FMM, who also condemned the Sri Lankan government’s attacks on freedom of the press.

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Al Jazeera: Sri Lanka opposition offices raided
ABC News: Sri Lanka purges military amid coup fears
Washington Post: Sri Lanka opposition complains of gov’t pressure