Dharisha Bastians, the New York Times Correspondent in Sri Lanka, has been appointed the Editor of the Sri Lanka government propaganda newspaper, the Sunday Observer. 

The Sunday Observer, the weekly English newspaper published by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited, is owned by the Sri Lankan government and operates under the Ministry of Finance and Media. 

Krishantha Prasad Cooray, a Working Committee member of the ruling UNP, is the politically appointed Chairman of the newspaper company. 

The newspaper company and all its newspapers were taken over by the government through a special parliamentary act in 1973. 

The state newspaper company has remained a highly politicized entity since its takeover. 

A senior journalist attached to the newspaper said the appointment was effective from the third week of February, although the newspaper company remained rather 'low key' about its new Editor . 

Bastians, a journalist based in Sri Lanka, has worked for the Daily Mirror, the Ceylon Today and the Nation newspapers. She has previously won several journalism awards for independent and unbiased reportage. 

She is also an active member of the Foreign Correspondents Association (FCA) of Sri Lanka.