Sri Lankan journalists protest attack on website office
By DPA, IANSTuesday, February 1, 2011
COLOMBO - Journalists and activists Tuesday took to the streets in the Sri Lankan capital to protest against the torching of a prominent news website’s offices.
Demonstrators chanted slogans against the government for not preventing attacks on media outlets including one on the offices of the Lankaenews.com website early Monday.
The website’s local office is in Colombo, but its editor lives in exile in Britain.
More than 40 journalists and editors have fled the country following a series of attacks on them in the last five years. At least 17 journalists have been killed and several media institutions have been attacked during the same period.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered an inquiry into the fire in the Lankaenews.com offices.
The website, which operates in the Sinhala and English languages, has run a series of anti-government news items.
