Rajapaksa is reportedly unhappy over Daily Mirror reports on Karuna activities

Five media organisations; Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), Federation of Media Employees Trade Union(FMETU), Sri Lanka Muslim Media ForumSLMMF), Sri Lanka Tamil Journalists Alliance(SLTJA), and Free Media Movement (FMM) have jointly issued a statement of condemnation to show their protest.

Defence Secretary Gotabhya Rajapaskse has threatened over the phone the editor of Daily Mirror not to publish news related to Karuna faction.

Champika Liyanarachchi was threatened over recent articles published in Daily Mirror.

Defence Secretary, Rajapkse had drawn the attention of the news editor, Liyanaarchchi to a article published on 16.04.2007 under the headline "Armed Karuna faction running its writ in Pottuvil", and said it provoked anger of Karuna faction and written against the government, the statement said.

He had also said that he would not be surprised if Karuna faction took any violent action against her, it said.

The media organisation say that these statements by the defence secretary are unacceptable, and it shows the challenge faced today by the media freedom in Sri Lanka.

Government denies

The Defence Secretary, younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was reportedly unhappy over reports on Karuna faction's activity in the east.

Daily Mirror published series of articles on Karuna groups activities and the fate of the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the east.

I do not know the details of the particular incident. But I don't think he (Gotabhaya Rajapaksa) gets involved in such an incident Lakshman Hulugalla

But the Sri Lanka government strongly denied the accusations.

Lakshman Hulugalla, head of Media Centre for National Security (MCNS), told bbcsinhala.com that he did not believe that Defence Secretary ever threatens journalists.

"I do not know the details of the particular incident. But I don't think he gets involved in such an incident," Hulugalla said.

Press freedom 'threatened'

International media watchdogs have accused Rajapaksa administration of intimidating media that criticises the government.

Paris based press freedom group, RSF, has accused the government of exerting pressure on the media group that publishes Mawbima and Sunday Standard.

The papers were forced to suspend publication after the publication group's accounts were frozen by the government.