Exiled journalists who return will be offered protection
March 11, 2010 07:57 am
In
a meeting with a CPJ delegation today, Sri Lankan Attorney General Mohan Peiris
said he was prepared to offer protection to any of the nation’s journalists who
return to the country from exile.
“Speaking for myself, and I’m fairly sure
the government will back me up on this, there is no question that the
government needs our journalists,” Peiris told the delegation in his office. “They
must come back and work with us and help set up the structures so that we can
work together and we can respect each other. We must work with these
institutions because we need them. We know if they stay outside and attack the
government that is not useful.”
When asked if the government would ensure
their safety, Peiris said, “Of course, if they come back, there must be assurance
on our part that they won’t come to any harm.”
Peiris made the statements to CPJ Deputy
Director Robert Mahoney and Asia Program Coordinator Bob Dietz. The meeting
came near the end of a series of discussions CPJ had with Sri Lankan
journalists in
“The attorney general’s appeal to
journalists to return from exile is just a first step,” said Mahoney. “The
government must go further by taking concrete action to address the climate of
impunity and intimidation that prompted them to flee in the first place.”
“Many journalists with whom we met in