The Free Media Movement (FMM) of Sri Lanka has strongly condemned the killing of journalists and the suppression of Palestinian voices amid the ongoing Gaza conflict.
In a statement, the FMM cited the killing of five Al Jazeera journalists in an Israeli attack on Gaza City, including renowned reporter Anas al-Sharif, who died while covering the recent strike near Al-Shifa Hospital. The FMM described the attack as a “deliberate and premeditated” act aimed at silencing critical reporting.
The organisation expressed deep concern that such attacks violate press freedom, depriving the world of crucial information about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. It warned that the killing of journalists and the targeting of media personnel must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 186 journalists have been killed in Palestine since October 2023. The FMM also noted recent incidents in which international media outlets such as the BBC, Associated Press, and Agence France-Presse were pressured or censored when covering the conflict.
The FMM reiterated its solidarity with Palestinian journalists and its commitment to defending the right to free expression, stressing that silencing media voices is part of a wider attempt to conceal the realities of what it described as “genocide” against the Palestinian people.
