Media News - Friday, May 09, 2008
Sri Lanka rescinds move to bar foreign media for elections
The Sri Lankan government said Thursday it was barring foreign journalists from covering weekend elections in the Eastern Province, but backed off hours later following a wave of protests by journalists and rights groups. On Thursday, an Associated Press reporter and a photographer were stopped at a checkpoint in the eastern town of Valaichchenai and ordered to leave the province and head straight back to the capital, Colombo. Their license plate was then distributed to checkpoints in the area to ensure they complied. Maj. Gen. Palitha Fernando, a senior official in the Defense Ministry, said any foreigner not registered as an election observer was barred from the volatile province during the polls. Fernando said the barring of journalists and other foreigners was for their own protection. Media rights organizations protested the ban. Fernando later said there was a misunderstanding, journalists would be allowed to cover the election, and the reporters were allowed to return to the east. Saturday's first-ever elections for the Eastern Provincial Council are seen as a referendum on the government's performance since it drove the Tamil Tigers out of the region, which they had ruled for 13 years. (AP via ABC News)
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