Opposition leader Ranil Wikremasinghe with Presidnet Mahinda Rajapakse

In a public statement on Wednesday, the Free Media Movement (FMM) says that the Leader of Sri Lanka's parliamentary opposition has disappointed them by calling to use parliamentary privileges against Journalists.

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe has stated in parliament on Tuesday that editors should be "summoned to Parliament to be questioned under the Parliamentary Privileges Act".

FMM says that this "sorely disappoints" them.

The FMM says that the statement by the opposition leader was against newspapers that did not publish "vital remarks, as he saw them, made by Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle on a Supreme Court decision limiting security provided to former President Chandrika Kumaratunga".

"There is no law that says all proceedings in parliament should be carried by media", adds Free Media Movement.

Media spokesman for the UNP,Gayantha karunathilleke said that the leader of the opposition emphasised the need to in form the public on parliamentary proceedings and by no means attempted intimidate journalists.