Sri Lankan Journalists to Protest Outside Maldives High Commission in Solidarity Against Media Control Bill

Sri Lankan journalists will hold a peaceful protest in front of the Maldives High Commission in Colombo on Tuesday at 3 PM, standing in solidarity with their Maldivian colleagues who are resisting the recently passed media control bill.

The demonstration, organised under the banner #SL4MVJournos and #JournalismIsNotACrime, comes in response to the Maldivian Parliament’s approval of the so-called “CTRL Bill” last week. The law, rushed through by the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), dissolves the Maldives Media Council and the Broadcasting Commission and replaces them with a new state-controlled Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission (MMBC).

Organisers in Colombo said the protest is meant to show that attacks on press freedom in one country are a threat to journalists everywhere. “What happens to our colleagues in Malé affects us all. Silencing the press sets a dangerous precedent for the region,” one Sri Lankan media activist wrote on X.

Journalists in the Maldives have been protesting for weeks against the legislation, which they say strips away self-regulation and hands sweeping powers to a government-backed commission. Riot police have violently dispersed demonstrations in Malé, leaving several reporters injured and raising further alarm among international watchdogs.

The media control bill has been condemned by local and international journalist associations, who warn its vague provisions such as obligations to uphold “national security” and the “legitimate government” will be weaponised to crush dissent. A petition signed by 151 Maldivian journalists calling for the bill’s withdrawal was dismissed by Parliament before the vote.

Despite the government’s insistence that the bill protects citizens from defamation, journalists argue it is designed to intimidate reporters and enforce self-censorship. International rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have already described the bill as a blatant attack on freedom of expression.

The law now awaits ratification by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who has been urged by journalists and press freedom advocates not to sign it. Tomorrow’s protest in Colombo is expected to add regional pressure on his administration to reconsider.

For Maldivian journalists, the support of their Sri Lankan colleagues sends a clear message: the fight for free expression in the Maldives is not an isolated struggle, but part of a larger regional battle to defend democracy against authoritarian control.