The Sri Lanka Professional Journalists Association has strongly opposed the statement made by the Deputy Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Sunil Watagala, who asserted that individuals publishing defamatory content targeting the President—whether through social media or any other media—should be severely punished under the emergency law imposed by the government due to the ongoing disaster situation. Sri Lanka Latest News
The Deputy Minister made these remarks during a discussion held at the Malabe Divisional Secretariat on 2025-12-02, attended by a group of state officials and the Deputy Minister of Mass Media, Kaushalya Ariyaratne. Elaborating further, he claimed that a campaign is underway to distort information in the media—using physical methods, social media, or AI technology—taking advantage of the disaster situation, and that this effort has been initiated by several individuals abroad. In response, the Deputy Minister has instructed police officers to arrest those responsible, not as suspects but as accused, under the Emergency Regulations gazetted in light of the disaster.
The Association stated that the fact that those who once advocated for freedom of speech and expression before coming to power are now issuing directives that suppress these freedoms indicates that the current government has taken a path that runs counter to democratic principles. The Sri Lanka Professional Journalists Association strongly condemns the Deputy Minister’s remarks, especially in a context where several instances of government threats to media freedom have been witnessed during the past year of governance.
