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Sri Lankan scribe sacked for anti-govt stance

The editor of a prominent Sri Lankan daily, known for its anti-government stance, claimed on Friday that she has been sacked after resisting pressure to stop printing reports adverse to the government.

Frederica Jansz, the editor of Sunday Leader, said the new publishers of the paper were mounting pressure on her not to feature articles attacking the government. It was in an interview with Jansz that former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka had alleged that Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa had given orders to eliminate LTTE cadres who had shown white flags to the military with an inclination to surrender.

Jans was slapped with a defamation suit by Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in connection with the interview.

The paper’s management sources said the ownership of the paper had changed hands during the last few weeks. Jansz told reporters today that she was asked by the new owners of the publishing company not to report anything adverse of the government.

She diagreed and this resulted in her termination.

The paper founded in 1995 has been known for its pro-opposition stance and its relentless exposes.

Sunday Leader’s founder editor and Jansz’s predecessor Lasantha Wickrematunga was murdered by an unknown gang in 2009.

He was way laid on his way to office and died of serious head injuries upon being attacked. Fonseka was convicted for the offence of endangering national security due to comments made in an interview with Jansz.

Media freedom has increasingly come under attack in Sri Lanka in recent years with the media reporting police raids on websites and death threats to journalists.
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