Freedom of expression watchdog Article 19 has strongly criticised the Sri Lankan Government for its continued censorship of the Colombo Telegraph website in the country.
Article 19’s Executive Director Thomas Hughes
Article 19’s Executive Director Thomas Hughes said the blocking of the Colombo Telegraph website in Sri Lanka was “deeply concerning”.
“Silencing of onling news media, such as the Colombo Telegraph, deprives the public of an invaluable independent voice on issues of key public interest,” Hughes said.
Colombo Telegraph is being blocked by all internet service providers and mobile networks – private and state owned – in Sri Lanka.
Readers are strongly advised to change the DNS settings on their computer to Google Public DNS by following the instructions provided here: http://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-to-change-dns-settings-in-windows-7-vista
Readers can also utilise this one click link to access Colombo Telegraph: http://j.mp/ColoTele
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History of Colombo Telegraph blocking
First -December 26, 2011 – We are blocked but we will not be stopped
Second – May 8, 2012 – Colombo Telegraph Blocked Again
Third – March 29, 2013 – Sri Lanka Blocks Colombo Telegraph and Selected Tweets: Colombo Telegraph Unblocked
Fourth – August 23, 2013 – Colombo Telegraph Blocked, How To Reach Us Now: Sri Lanka Telecom And Mobitel Joins The DPI Club!
Other attempts
October 26, 2012 – Colombo Telegraph Was Hacked
August 9, 2012 ColomboTelegraph Password Cracking Attempt Blocked
Freedom House Report: Freedom On The Net 2012, Sri Lanka Is A Country At Risk
Fathima Fukushima / March 8, 2014
No point banning it now.
UNHRC fooled Tamils with an impotent resolution.
Tamils are weeping and howling again.
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Amarasiri / March 8, 2014
Dear Executive Director Thomas Hughes.
“Freedom of expression watchdogs Article 19 has strongly criticised the Sri Lankan Government for its continued censorship of the Colombo Telegraph website in the country.”
The main cause and curse for the SL Govt. the ban Colombo Telegraph is that the Colombo Telegraph does not give exclusive coverage for the shills of the Govt. ONLY, and gives room for other viewpoints as well.
If they were shills of the Govt. like the Ceylon Daily New and other shills, there would be no need for a ban on CT. So, CT has a choice. become a SL Govt. shill or keep your Independence. We all hope CT have ethics.
Colombo Telegraph has a few shills as well, and seem balanced as to its reporting and access. The Shills Jim Softy, Kiri_Bamda Sumenasekera and may others, including LTTE Sympathizers, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Agnostics, Atheists and others are given access and room to comment, whether or not it is politically correct today.
In the other newspapers and web sites, only shills have access. It is only garbage, and not worth the time even to visit. The traffic counts show, and it is much less than 10$% of the CT traffic.
So, ask the state to provide equal access to non-Shills in the other media as well to gain credibility and gain readership. Who wants to read shit written by shills in those shill invested papers? Other Shills and fools?
By the way, do you know that all those who are blocking are “Para-deshis,” Para-Sinhala and other versions of Paras, are called Parangis locally according to the Native Veddah , the original inhabitants terminology in Lanka? They all came illegally by boat, called “Kallathonis”, “Hora-Oru” or Illegal-Boats, while the native Veddah walked around 25, 000 years ago when the sea levels were low, as low as 120 meters.
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eusense / March 8, 2014
Every country in this world block/hack web sites that the gov. Thinks is a security/safety threat to the country. This include the US andUK too. Why all these watch dogs hold Sri Lanka as an exception??
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Palmsquirrell / March 8, 2014
Can you cite mainstream media sources that state the US blocks certain websties? I live in the US and have never heard of any website being blocked.
The GOSL blocks any website that is deemed a threat to Rajapaksa familial rule and Sinhala hegemony. If you are ok with that then you are ok with Fascism because that is what it boils down to.
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eusense / March 9, 2014
Palm,
Have you seen or heard the mainstream media making security threats against the gov.? If you really live in the US you should have observed how the mainstream media reacts when there is a threat to the country. How well they come together to protect the country.
You need to do some research before you post!
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Palmsquirrell / March 9, 2014
GOSL’s definition of security threats is news that is detrimental to the Rajapaksa regime or news that reveals the truth about the war.
There is plenty of media in the US that criticises the US government and also reveals news about US wars or intelligence operations, case in point is: Edward Snowden, MyLai massacre in Vietnam, Abu Gharib, Drone strikes that kill civilians, Watergate scandal, severe criticism of the Obama admin and previous Admins.
You claimed the US blocks websites it doesn’t like, and when I asked for proof, you can not back it up. Now you try to weasel out by saying “do some research”.
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Siva Sankaran Sarma / March 9, 2014
And can you tell us a bit more about this love affair between the US government, defenders of freedoms and all things holy, and Edward Snowden :D
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eusense / March 9, 2014
Palm
You have access to google, don’t you? Why not use it for gods sake?
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