Police officers obstructing work!
Journalist Sornalingam Varnan (32) has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) on March 7, 2022 alleging that a constable (PC 92646) of the Yahapanaya Police Station had obstructed his duties.
The incident took place on February 21, 2022 at the Governor’s Office, Jaffna.
According to his complaint, the police had obstructed him when he went to cover the protest by pre-school teachers in front of the Governor’s Office in the Northern Province and the authorities of the Governor’s Secretariat had obstructed the journalists who covered the news without any order. Mr. Varnan pointed out that this was due to an administrative weakness and included the details of two eyewitnesses to the incident and the Thinakkural newspaper (Jaffna Zone) as documentary evidence. They were intercepted by police as they tried to enter the office with protesters. If they were not allowed to enter the office, the journalists asked the relevant authorities what solutions would be given to the protest and asked the police officer to inform them. The police officer then said that he could not be allowed to enter at all.
Mr. Varnan’s complaint states that when the Assistant Secretary to the Governor was informed about this, he stated that he had not issued such an order.
Mr. Varnan, who has been a journalist for five years, complained about the incident due to the repressive treatment of journalists by the security forces. He points out that despite the approval of the authorities and the media, the police and other security forces are obstructing their work.
He said that the arrival of the security forces in the post-war period had been seen to be affecting the activities of the free media and that this incident was a good example of this.
Mr. Varnan did not forget to mention that the repression of the media by the security forces, even if they speak Sinhala or Tamil, continues.
Journalist Sornalingam Varnan
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