[Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)]

Reporters Without Borders / Reporters sans frontières

06-08-2011

(Audio interview available on the website (Sinhala / English)
Eng : http://en.rsf.org/sri-lanka-interview-with-wife-of-cartoonist-08-06-2011,40424.html
Fr : http://fr.rsf.org/sri-lanka-interview-de-l-epouse-du-08-06-2011,40422.html

Five hundred days have gone by since Prageeth Ekneligoda, a journalist and cartoonist who worked for the Lankaenews website, went missing in Colombo on 24 January 2010. In all this time, no progress has been made in the investigation into his disappearance.

Reporters Without Borders condemns the lack of resources assigned to the case and reminds the Sri Lankan government that it has a duty to find Prageeth and provide his family with answers quickly.

They have spent too much time with their fears and uncertainty.

Reporters Without Borders interviewed Prageeth’s wife, Sandya Ekneligoda, yesterday. She talked about the protest that was organized in Colombo by several media and human rights organizations, her financial problems, her difficulties in taking care of her children, her medical problems, the close surveillance to which she is being subjected and the anonymous threats she has been getting.

Finally, she called on the Sri Lankan justice system and on international bodies not to forget about Prageeth or his children, who have been abandoned to their grief and loss.

Interview:

Tell us about today’s protest and what it means.
What difficulties have you had to face since Pragreeth’s disappearance?
What are the security problems you mentioned?
What steps have you taken and what will you do next? 

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.