The state-controlled weekend newspaper 'The Sunday Observer' has been taken over by the SLFP/SLPP affiliated trade unions and all prominent stories on its front page indicate support to President Maithripala Sirisena and his Prime minister-appointee Mahinda Rajapaksa. 

The top story of the week, taking a strong pro-Rajapaksa line, says 20 UNPers will cross over to the SLFP-SLPP alliance to support Mahinda Rajapaksa's appointment as the Prime Minister. 

Meanwhile, the UNP's politically appointed Editor of the newspaper, Dharisha Bastians, tweeted, "Today I had to leave Lake House unable to carry out my editorial duties. I was asked to cede editorial control of @observerlk by #SLPP unions inside the premises, supported by an MP who called my staff."

"[ I ] Was not willing to be coerced into towing an editorial line, and I am therefore unable to take responsibility for tomorrow's edition," she also tweeted. 

Bastians, a close ally of UNP Minister Mangala Samaraweera, was appointed to the position by Krishantha Cooray, the Chairman of the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL) and a Working Committee member of the UNP. 

"Cooray's editorial meetings were all about government propaganda. He explicitly told us, on several occasions, that Lake House must do 'effective government propaganda' and nothing else. Cooray was strongly associated with Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera's political agenda. When Mangala's views were in contrast with the government's opinion on certain issues, he wanted the Lake House newspapers to follow Mangala's line and this created the false 'independent outlook' of the newspaper. There was no independent, non-partisan coverage on any other issue," a senior Editorial member, who still works for the newspaper group, said, adding that Bastians, a political appointee, was handpicked for her position by Cooray and Samaraweera. 

"To bring Bastians in, Cooray forced her predecessor,  the former Editor of the newspaper and a senior journalist, to accept a position the 'Group Business Editor'. She refused. A few days later, the journalist was forcibly transferred, overnight, against her will. It was a callous and inhuman act," the editorial member explained. "It is pathetic that a political appointee now talks about her unwillingness to follow 'editorial lines."

Commenting on the matter, former Media Ministry Secretary Charitha Herath, a close associate of Mahinda Rajapaksa, said, "Bastians was a politically appointed editor and her ‘editorial line’ has always been politically biased to the masters! Leaving lakehouse or continuing depends on her decision, but she is a politically appointed worker to the ANCL."

"Why is anyone surprised by this? Happens every time with state media when there is change in government. Rewind to Jan. 2015 & see the editions on the day of poll and day after. The whole concept of state-controlled media is wrong," Chandani Kirinde, a senior independent journalist, tweeted, expressing her views on the matter.