A group of civil society organisations and activists have condemned, what they called, the surveillance, harassment, and intimidation, of Mullaitivu-based journalist Kumanan Kanapathipillai. The following is the text of statement issued by the group consisting of 141 organisations and activists: Kumanan has, for more than a decade, reported on and documented human rights violations committed by various actors in the Northern and Eastern Provinces (North-East); thereby playing a proactive role in the Tamil community’s post-war demands for human rights protection and accountability.
His work includes documenting militarisation, crackdown on protests and memorialisations, repression of civil society, families of the disappeared, land appropriation, and broader Sinhala-Buddhisation of the North and East. He has moreover highlighted the plight and struggles of the families of the disappeared for years, and the Tamil community’s demands for justice for the atrocity crimes committed during the armed conflict.
The relentless harassment of Kumanan has been continuing for many years, prompting several international human rights organisations to classify him as a ‘journalist-at-risk’. In 2020, a group of men attacked Kumanan and another journalist while they were covering the illegal smuggling of trees. In 2024, the Counter-Terrorism Investigation Division (CTID) visited Kumanan’s parents and interrogated his associates. The harassment reached a crescendo on 17 August 2025, when the CTID interrogated Kumanan for seven hours, framing his photojournalism as work ‘against the government’ and a ‘terrorist’ activity. On 26 September 2025, during the United Nations’ Committee on Enforced Disappearances’ review of Sri Lanka in Geneva, a government representative made a statement justifying their harassment of Kumanan by alluding to suspicions about his involvement in financial crimes and terrorism.
The unfounded accusations and persistent harassment are an attempt to silence Kumanan, as well as to make an example of him as a warning to silence other Tamil-speaking journalists in the North-East. Even though Kumanan is not the only person in the recent past to experience inquiries and intimidation, the level of harassment that Kumanan faces, which goes beyond mere inquiry, is intended to remind other journalists of the existence of repressive structures. The psychological pressure and reprisals not only against them, but also their families and colleagues if they continue reporting on matters that challenge the official version of the truth, force journalists to self-censor.
The National People’s Power (NPP) government was elected on a promise to bring about a ‘system change’ by charting a different course than previous governments, particularly with regard to the treatment of Tamils. Regrettably, the attempts to curtail the freedom of expression of Kumanan and other media personnel in recent times are no different to the approach adopted by past governments. This demonstrates the failure of the NPP government to adhere to its election promises, particularly with regard to dismantling and reforming repressive State structures, such as the security agencies that disregard and violate the rights of the people, especially those in the North-East. Tolerating dissent, respecting and protecting press freedom and broader freedom of speech are the hallmarks of a healthy democracy.
We would like to reiterate that the government is responsible for the actions of security agencies; it has the duty to subject them to civilian scrutiny and ensure they do not violate the rights of citizens in the guise of safeguarding national security. In order to accomplish this, the government would have to respect constitutional safeguards, the rule of law and due process. Kumanan’s treatment indicates to the public, and particularly the Tamil community, that it is business as usual for state structures which are repudiating ‘system change’. Such actions of state entities will undermine the credibility of the government and increase the mistrust of the Tamil community in state structures.
In light of the escalation of the intimidation and harassment of Kumanan, we call upon the Sri Lankan government to immediately cease the surveillance, harassment, and intimidation, stop weaponising the law to label journalists terrorists for practising their profession, respect constitutionally protected rights and end the mis and disinformation campaign against them.
We urge the international community to impress upon the government the importance of taking on board and implementing the aforementioned requests, and pay increased attention to the human rights situation in the North-East, particularly the treatment of Tamil-speaking journalists and human rights activists. “