SLWJA postcard campaign to President to probe 'crimes against journalists'

The campaign will kickoff at 11 am next Tuesday (24) at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute.

The Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ Association (SLWJA) will launch a campaign to send postcards to President Maithripala Sirisena, requesting the appointment of a Presidential Commission to investigate murders, assaults and abductions of journalists, as well as attacks on media institutions.

The campaign will kickoff at 11 am next Tuesday (24) at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute.

The postcards will be posted with ideas and signatures of political party rep- resentatives, civil society activists, trade unionists, journalists and editors.

On January 26, last year, activists had forwarded a letter to President Sirisena, urging him to appoint a Presidential Commission to conduct speedy investigations to locate culprits who attacked journalists.

The SLWJA said that, though a year has now passed since the letter was sent to the President, they were yet to receive a response. As such, a fresh campaign will be launched to draw attention to the issue.

Meanwhile, another event titled “Black January Vigil”, organised by the Free Media Movement (FMM) under the theme “End impunity for Crimes against Journalists”, will take place at 6 pm on the same day at Independence Square.