In 1999, the government continued to run several refugee camps and welfare centers in the Vanni. In June, Reuters reported that authorities had forced some 10,000 Tamil refugees living in Madhu back to their homes or to welfare centers in advance of annual pilgrimages to the town s Catholic shrine. In 1994, Kumaratunga campaigned on promises to respect press freedom, but her government has filed criminal defamation charges against several editors, and authorities have occasionally harassed, threatened, and assaulted journalists, particularly Tamils. The government continued to limit journalists access to war zones, and in November 1999 reimposed censorship on local media reporting on the civil war. Restrictive legislation further chills press freedom.
Print media are both public and private.
The government controls Lake House Group, the largest newspaper chain. Radio and television are predominantly state-owned, and political coverage favors the ruling party. Unknown gunmen murdered an editor of an outspoken newspaper in September. Women hold only 4.8 percent of parliamentary seats and face unofficial discrimination in education and employment opportunities. Rape and other violence against women remain serious problems, and authorities weakly enforce existing laws.