Karu condemns the government's attempt to suppress media

Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said that it was clear that a vicious course of action is being launched to harass, block, ban or destroy the Sirasa media organisation as revealed by the leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna.

He said that if such a thing were to take place, then it would be considered as a vicious and criminal act against democracy.

In a statement issued by the National Movement for Social Justice, its chairman Karu Jayasuriya said:

"Our organisation is seriously concerned with the shameless preparations that are currently underway to destroy the democratic rights of the people based on the right to information and their freedom of speech. Therefore at this critical juncture, we urge all parties to come forward with determination to defeat any such attempt.

Media freedom is the right of the people of the country to express their views, the right to information and the right of journalists and media institutions to carry out their duties without fear or intimidation. This right was only taken away in the past by uncivilized regimes and by dictatorial, authoritarian rulers. But all those attempts were ultimately defeated by the civilized people around the world. Any powerful individual preparing to repress the media in this country must first understand that.

The National Movement for Social Justice emphasizes this point in the light of the very responsible revelations made by the Hon. Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. They made those serious statements before the country's parliament.

Accordingly, it is clear that a vicious course of action is being launched to harass, block, ban or destroy the Sirasa Media organisation. If it happens, then it would be considered as a vicious and criminal act against democracy. This cannot be expected from a regime that has at least some respect for its people and democracy.

Why this situation frightens us is because the dark past of this country can never be forgotten. We have travelled past some very dark times. We have gone through an era where journalists have been brutally murdered in broad daylight.

We have a history where there were organised attempts to destroy Sirasa by setting up claymore mines at the organisation. The people should not forget the horrific attempts to destroy media institutions such as Siyatha, Sunday Leader and Lanka e News. The heinous acts of attacks on journalists are no secret to the world today.

If anyone tries to take our country back to such an era with such a terrifying past, it is the responsibility of the democratic forces in this country to defeat it at its inception. Accordingly, all democratic forces must unite now and forget all divisions.

At the same time, there is a growing tendency to arrest political activists who represent the issues and grievances of the people. We must also pay close attention to the arrests of political activists of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the Frontline Socialist Party. These incidents can be considered as vicious attempts to suppress the voice of the people by abusing the law of this country.

Accordingly, we call on the just people of this country and all democratic forces to come forward to drive out this terrifying darkness that is engulfing the country and to join hands unconditionally."