The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has accused the Russian Embassy in Colombo of attempting to limit freedom of expression and the public’s right to information in Sri Lanka over demands to remove photographs related to Russia’s war in Ukraine from the World Press Photo exhibition currently on display in the country.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Dutch Embassy said the Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka visited the exhibition during the weekend of March 7–8 and demanded that photographs related to Russia’s war against Ukraine be removed. The ambassador had also warned that a protest could be staged if the organizers failed to comply.

The 2025 edition of the World Press Photo Exhibition was officially opened on February 27 at One Galle Face by Deputy Minister of Mass Media Dr. Kaushalya Ariyaratne and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Wiebe de Boer.

The exhibition is jointly organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Sri Lanka Press Institute, and the World Press Photo Foundation.

According to the Dutch Embassy, the Russian Embassy has also approached Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting that the same photographs be removed from the exhibition scheduled to be held in Kandy from March 13 to 17 at Sahas Uyana.

The Dutch Embassy said the same exhibition is currently being held in countries including the United States and Germany and is displayed worldwide without censorship.

It added that the photographs in question are also freely accessible online through the World Press Photo website.

“The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands deplores attempts by any party to compromise the people’s right to know and their right to freedom of expression,” the statement said, adding that such attempts could amount to interference in the host country’s sovereignty.

The embassy further assured that the exhibition in Kandy will proceed with its full content and without censoring any photographs.

The exhibition will be open to the public free of charge from March 13 to 17 at Sahas Uyana in Kandy. (Newswire)

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