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Stephen Sackur

HARDtalk: Sri Lanka Part 2 - Democracy Sri Lankan-Style

08/06/2010

Sri Lanka Part 2 - Democracy Sri Lankan-Style

BBC News Channel - HARDtalk, Sri Lanka Part 2 - Democracy Sri Lankan-Style

Stephen Sackur talks to journalists who live with the threat of intimidation and murder.

Stephen Sackur asks if Sri Lanka's ruling family has replaced democracy with authoritarian rule, talking to journalists who live with the threat of intimidation and murder.

Sri Lanka is now at peace after decades of civil war. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has consolidated his power by winning both the presidential and parliamentary elections. However, there are serious questions about his government's commitment to the rule of law and to human rights. 

In the second of Hardtalk's exclusive series of programmes in Sri Lanka, Stephen Sackur talks to journalists who live with the threat of intimidation and murder. He talks to the opposition presidential candidate, former General Sarath Fonseka, who is now in detention facing court martial.   He also meets the powerful brother of the president, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and asks if Sri Lanka's ruling family has replaced democracy with their own authoritarian rule.

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