Sri Lanka gagging freedom of expression: Ex-Prez

New Delhi, Sep 16: Former Sri lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga who is on a week long visit to Kerala has accused the Sri Lankan government of massive human right violations in the country.

Claiming that no one is free to talk in the island country, the former president said the even she was terrified of speaking out in the country.

Disappointed with the present political situation in Sri Lanka, Kumaratunga said, "There are restrictions on basic freedom. It"s forbidden. There are lots of media restrictions and large number of media people have been killed in the last two years, just for writing about the existing feeling of fear. We were hoping that after the war, there will be much more freedom. We are disappointed. We hope that it will change."

While speaking about the lack of freedom for her to speak out, she said, "They say it"s not proper for a former President. Perhaps it"s not correct for me to even give my opinion, but I also tell you that even I fear for my life if I speak freely. It"s a govt of my party and I don"t feel free."

These comments are expected to stir up a controversy as the Lankan government has persistently denied human right violations in the country.

This also comes amid the recent instances of restrictions such as the government expelling an UNICEF official for pro-LTTE comments and persecuting journalists for criticising the war against the Tamil rebels.

OneIndia News