Editor of a Sri Lanka English weekly badly beaten up and bruised
May 22nd, 2008
Keith Noyahr, deputy editor with the English weekly The Nation, was abducted on Thursday night.
A day later, he was dropped off near his residence, badly beaten up and bruised, says the Free Media Movement, a media rights group in Sri Lanka.
The bruised face of Keith Noyahr (Photo: lankadissent.com)
Earlier in an urgent press release, FMM requested all press freedom organizations to take urgent action to get the journalist released:
Statement by Free Media Movement:
Keith Noyahr, Defence writer of English weekly The Nation, is reported missing from late evening today 22nd May 2008.
He has left his office around 10.30 pm but has not reached home. His vehicle was found close to his house, head lights and engine running.
Editor of the nation has made a complaint to the Dehiwala police on the incident.
FMM requests all press freedom orgaisations to take urgent action to save the life of journalist Keith Noyahr.
Please make phone calls:
The President of Sri Lanka + 94 112447400 ; president@presidentsoffice.lk
Secretary to the President +94 112 2326309; prsec@presidentsoffice.lk
Minister of Information + 94 112596557
_____________________________
Free Media Movement
237/ 22, Wijeya Kumaratunga Road
Colombo 05
Sri Lanka
Tel: +94 74 519 567/ +94 717 32623
Fax: +94 1 821236/ +94 1 591314
E-mail: fmm@sltnet.lk
__________________
Entry Filed under: FMM, Press Statement
12 Comments Add your own
1. mahindan rasiah | May 22nd, 2008 at 7:54 pm
When we protect genuine journalist, we protect all our rights.
When a journalist being threatened or harmed or killed, but if we fail to show our opposition that means we ourselves are denying our own rights willingly.
Genuine journalists are the protectors of democracy, human rights, freedom of expression, righteousness, justice and public interests.
If anybody kills a genuine journalist
1) He is a barbarian and an uncivilized person.
2) He himself denying his rights as well.
Mahindan Rasiah
2. Nava | May 22nd, 2008 at 9:08 pm
What a cowardice act. I worked for the paper since its inception for little over a year before migrating to the States. Keith is a very lovable, affectionate person. He has two small kids. Please spare his life.
3. shiraaz | May 22nd, 2008 at 9:17 pm
TO THE I.G.P DEAR SIR PLEASE HELP TO FIND KEITH NOYAHR WHO WENT MISSING ON 22 MAY2008 .ITS A HUMBLE REQUEST FROM ALL THE SRILANKANS LIVING IN AUSTRALIA ,THANKS .
4. Slay | May 22nd, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Yes, we all should show our displeasure by raising our voices to these incidents of violence and abductions to the authorities and to the people involved in these abductions and also to the non governmental players, who in most cases are responsible for these acts. However we should not be carried away and praise the FMM.
5. Dion | May 23rd, 2008 at 1:05 am
He wqs a fearless reporter and lately has been writing articles on how the war is been conducted. Hence, all knows who did this.
6. Sarvan | May 23rd, 2008 at 6:00 am
Now that Sri Lanka was kicked out of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the revengeful repercussions would be the intimdation, murder and violence against those who speak the truth.
Let us hope this would be taken seriously by the UN and the International Community.
7. ilaya seran senguttuvan | May 25th, 2008 at 12:13 am
If anyone had any doubt Sri Lanka is veering towards dictatorial despotism, this incident tells it all. Here is a President who was an ardent proponent of HR years ago-now committing/ ecouraging to commit/enabling the most abominable crimes against his own people. History has brought forth men like this and there is no guarantee we will not see this type again-here and elsewhere.
The roof is crashing on the man from all sides and soon the rats will abandon ship which will include MR’s medium to the underworld and criminal gangs of abductors-Merv. Today’s incredible increase of ordinary petrol from Rs127 to Rs157 is one of the last nails in …??you know what??. It was only 2 days ago that windbag Fowzie told the people there shall be no more petrol increases for some time. We were obliquely told with Iran’s Ahmedinajad’s visit all our fuel problems will be over since we are now in Iran’s inner circle. To put it briefly, the MR administration is trying to keep afloat by LYING and this cannot last far too long. Abducting, assaulting and inflicting terror on those who expose these aberrations and their families is old hattried and failed in the times of all terrible leaders in history.
Keith Noyar I met is a gentle person dedicated to his profession.
He will now go down in the history of the local media as a hero. He is indeed one.
8. Devinda Fernando | May 26th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
With so many people dying each day who cares about a Journalist getting a beat down? Really?
Kids come home in Bodybags everyday, kids who have sacrificed their lives and many more who continue to risk life and limb to defend our country. They have more to lose than some Self-Sanctimonious Journalists with pen and paper.
Journalists try to show their power by slandering the Government the minute one of their own is attacked. They prove they are not impartial, they are completely politically slanted and motivated. They know the damage they cause to moral of the public, and they continue to do it by writing articles that lack perspective or relevance. Those that engage in Scare Stories to demoralize our people are not Heros, they are Scum, they are worthless and they cost our Men who stand in the line of Fire their lives.
Freedom of Speech is not absolute. Lives are at stake here, we are at War. Our soldiers are in Harms way. This is a Fight to the Death. I will take the deaths of a THOUSAND Journalists over the Death of ONE of my generation who has the courage and valor to Defend Sri Lanka from her foes.
9. Devinda Fernando | May 26th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
*** The roof is crashing on the man from all sides and soon the rats will abandon ship which will include MR’s medium to the underworld and criminal gangs of abductors-Merv. ***
Senguttuvan,
You are spinning Fantasies in your Head.
LOL!
10. ilaya seran senguttuvan | May 28th, 2008 at 5:06 am
Devinda, my boy, welcome. It is in the nature of things in your sick mind to say you will take thousand journalists over the death of one of your generation. I am not the first in these columns to call you a raving lunatic. You seem to enjoy it. So be it. It takes all sorts of jerks to make the world.
11. common sense | May 28th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Sinhalese soldiers are just another victim of economic exploitation. There is nothing to be patriotic about here. Beating up journalists is just a sign of frustration, which shows the war is going nowhere for MR and his supporters.
12. Dingiri | June 9th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
When the offensives in the Vanni are getting bogged down the Rajapaksas need to take our their frustrations on enemies less able to defend themselves. Picture a Qixotic MR charging a Journalist in the form of a windmill…
Remember the TV station that was closed down after it aired a story about how some villagers in Tanamalvila had reportedly seen LTTE ers in the Jungles, The govt accusations of traitorous scare mongering and then a few days later the bus bomb…?
Was the license restored with an apology when the story turned out to be true?
In the up-side-down logic of today’s Sri Lanka..
Anyone who is genuinely concerned about all the people of the land and is prepared to make compromises automatically gets branded a “traitor”, “terrorist” or “murderer”. These words have lost all meaning in Sri Lanka and usually means the opposite of their conventional sense.
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