Media Helping Media

A Sri Lankan journalist says he has received death threats after writing an article perceived to be critical of two National Arts Council members. Thilak Kodagoda says he is now taking steps to ensure his safety.

The alleged threats are carried by the Lanka News Web site and have been reproduced on a number of blogs, including that of media rights activist, Sunanda Deshapriya, who writes the Freedom of Expression Sri Lanka blog.

Kodagoda wrote about the plight of the refugees - image courtesy of Zelmira Sinclair/UNHCR

In recent months Kodagoda has written several articles in the Ravaya newspaper, about the plight of civilians trapped in the fighting between the Sri Lankan security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Kodagoda believes he has now been picked out as a journalist who some feel is against the security forces.

A number of journalists have been killed or have disappeared during the fighting, with the most prominent being the editor of the Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge.

Another Sri Lankan blog, Lanka Polity , says the challenge facing journalists in Sri Lanka is to tolerate diverse opinions.