Asia - Pacific
Sri Lanka
-
Index 2023
135/ 180
Score : 45.85
Political indicator
146
40.94
Economic indicator
76
48.53
Legislative indicator
143
43.40
Social indicator
148
42.05
Security indicator
116
54.32
Index 2022
146/ 180
Score : 42.13
Political indicator
144
40.91
Economic indicator
163
27.04
Legislative indicator
132
53.07
Social indicator
150
48.25
Security indicator
134
41.37

Press freedom issues are closely tied to the civil war that ravaged the island until 2009, and to the crimes – still left unpunished – against many journalists during the crushing of the Tamil rebellion. With a media sector lacking diversity and highly dependent on major political clans, journalism is at risk.

Media landscape

State-owned media dominate the sector. The Ministry of Mass Media runs, among other outlets, the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), the Rupavahii Corporation (SLRC), the Independent Television Network (ITN) and Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL), whose editorial staff – be they print, radio, TV and internet – lack almost all independence. Journalists in the private sector are in essentially the same situation, as most owners of major media have clear political affiliations. In the print media, the four biggest owners share three-quarters of the country’s readership. The main press group, Lake House, belongs to the Wijewardene family, which alone owns more than half of the country’s publications. An RSF study concluded that fewer than one in five Sri Lankan citizens have access to politically independent media.

Political context

The political situation has been extremely volatile since 2022, when Sri Lanka was rocked by a political crisis known as the “Aragalaya” (or “struggle”). This huge wave of protests led to the fall of the Rajapaksa family, headed by then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country in July 2022. During his brother’s administration between 2005 and 2015, Rajapaksa became notorious as chief of the “white van commando”, in reference to a team of special operatives who used white vans to kidnap and murder at least 14 journalists. While his departure marked the end of his relentless crackdown on press freedom, the media landscape is still extremely polarised and subject to political vagaries.

Legal framework

Sri Lankan law does not restrict freedom of expression, but guarantees of protection for journalists do not exist. Above all, the 1973 law creating the Press Council, designed to “regulate” the sector, presents a major problem because the president appoints a majority of its members. Officials regularly invoke the anti-terrorism law to silence journalists, especially those who try to report on conditions for the Tamil minority in the island’s north and east.

Economic context

The mass media market is highly concentrated. In broadcasting, the four big firms of the sector share approximately 80% of total viewership. Political authorities exert strong influence on appointments and dismissals of editors-in-chief, whether through political friendships, control over subsidies and advertising contracts or, simply, through corruption. As a result, the most independent news content comes from online networks. Journalists who run them, however, are not exempt from pressure and intimidation.

Sociocultural context

The Sri Lankan press is directed mainly to the Singhalese and Buddhist majority, who make up three-quarters of the population. Open criticism of the Buddhist religion or its clergy is very dangerous. Prosecutors have used the penal code to imprison journalists suspected of religious hatred. As a rule, treating issues involving the Tamil minority and/or Muslims is considered extremely sensitive. Journalists and media who risked it in recent years have been targeted by arrests, death threats or coordinated cyber-attacks.

Safety

At least 44 media professionals were killed or disappeared over the past two decades, which was marked by the crushing of the separatist Tamil Tiger rebellion. Although journalist murders stopped after 2015, those crimes have gone completely unpunished. The tenth anniversary year of the civil war, 2019, was marked by a troubling increase in attacks on reporters based in the north and on the east coast, the traditional Tamil homeland. Journalists there suffer systematic surveillance and harassment by the police and army. These areas are completely closed to independent media.