A media rights group says Sri Lanka's government has sabotaged a training program for online journalists for the third time in three months.
Umbrella organization Action Committee for Media Freedom said a training workshop was to have been held at a resort in the seaside town of Negombo during the weekend but plainclothes police officers warned the resort owner of dire consequences if it was allowed.
The owner has returned the advanced payment to the Professional Web Journalists Association who organized the workshop. The group says the government's move is to frighten independent journalists and stifle the media freedom.
A police spokesman today denied any involvement. The government was accused of disrupting workshops in June and July by intimidating hotel owners and launching military-backed protests.
