The move to restore the Press Council, which had ceased operation in 2002, came after months of increased pressure on reporters seen as critical of the government or its war on the Tamil Tiger rebels, which ended last month with the capture of the last rebel stronghold.

During its tenure, the council was deeply criticized as a tool to suppress criticism of the government and an anathema to democracy. Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena confirmed Wednesday that the government is in the process of reactivating it.

In a joint statement sent Monday to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, eight media rights groups protested the restoration of the council, saying “a media culture cannot be based on slapping charges against journalists, fining them or sending them to jail.”

Dharmasiri Lankapeli, a media activist, said the council, first established in 1973, would give the government the legal framework to control the media. The council has the authority to hear allegations of defamation or inaccurate reporting and to fine or jail journalists it finds guilty.

The return of the council comes after a series of deadly attacks on Sri Lankan journalists.

According to Amnesty International, at least 14 journalists and staff at news outlets have been killed by suspected government paramilitaries and rebels since the beginning of 2006. Others have been detained, tortured or have disappeared and 20 more have fled the country because of death threats, it said.

Early this month, Poddala Jayantha, a press freedom campaigner and government critic, was abducted and assaulted while returning from work.

The sudden decision to restore the council could be considered as another step toward suppressing the independent media, Lankapeli said.

But Lakshman, the media minister, said the explanation is more mundane. He said that a parliamentary committee investigating waste found that salaries were still being paid to council officials and office space was still being rented — so it forced the government to reactivate the body.

The government was prepared to discuss any changes to the council suggested by rights groups, he said.