Colombo reimposes media restrictions

New regulation covers anything detrimental to Sri Lankan security

By Alistair Lawson in Colombo

The Sri Lankan government has announced a series of restrictions on the local and foreign media.

Under the terms of the new measures, the government will strongly encourage reporters to submit news stories for official approval if they are deemed to compromise national security or the actions of the security forces.

The measures have been hastily introduced following a court ruling last week which said that censorship in Sri Lanka was unlawful.

It is unclear at the moment exactly how the regulations will be implemented.

Censorship

The authorities say that the measures announced late on Monday do not mean that censorship has been reintroduced in Sri Lanka.

They say that journalists writing about national security will not be forced to submit their stories to the government for approval.

A spokesman in the government's information department said that, because the country was on a war footing against Tamil Tiger rebels, it was vital that the safety of troops and security personnel was not compromised.

He said that foreign and local journalists in Sri Lanka would soon be issued with guidelines as to what kind of information relating to the war effort they would be strongly urged not to publish.

It is unclear how the new guidelines will be implemented.

Neither is it clear what will happen to reporters who refuse to accept the government's invitation for them voluntarily to submit sensitive stories.

Criticism

The government's announcement is likely to be strongly criticised by many journalists and opposition politicians.

They may accuse President Chandrika Kumaratunga of reintroducing censorship by the back door.

They argue that the government has announced the measures to make sure that it retains ultimate control over the press.

Their criticisms are likely to be strengthened by the fact that the former official censor, Ariya Rubasinghe, will play a key role in monitoring news stories on behalf of the government.

The court said on Friday that Mr Rubasinghe had not been properly appointed.

This time, the government is certain to do its utmost to ensure that his new role is not again subject to legal challenge.