Several well-known writers, thinkers and filmmakers are backing a boycott led by Reporters Without Borders of Sri Lanka's main literary festival.

Arundhati Roy, Ken Loach, Tariq Ali and Noam Chomsky have added their names to a campaign by the organization protesting the country's restrictions on free speech.Author Lawrence Hill is one of several Canadians taking part in the festival. (Lisa Sakulensky/HarperCollins Canada)

"[It's] highly disturbing that literature is being celebrated in this manner in a land where cartoonists, journalists, writers and dissident voices are so often victimized by the current government," said a release from Reporters Without Borders this week.

The Galle Literary Festival, now in its fifth year, has a roster of workshops, writer discussions and performances. It is co-curated by Canadian writer Shyam Selvadurai.

Canadian authors participating in the festival include Judy Fong Bates, Lawrence Hill and Randy Boyagoda. While the festival had a Jan. 20 launch, a majority of events are concentrated between Jan. 26 and 30.

BBC News reported Friday that award-winning novelists Orhan Pamuk and Kiran Desai, who are a couple, have pulled out of the festival. Festival organizers say their no-show is due to India re-entry visa regulations and not because of the boycott. According to the rules, if Pamuk went to Sri Lanka he would not be allowed to re-enter India within two months.

Journalists killed, cartoonist kidnapped

Human rights groups say at least 17 journalists have been killed in Sri Lanka in the last decade, while others working in the media been threatened, imprisoned or fled the country.

Galle festival founder Geoffrey Dobbs says the event is important as a platform for free speech.

"The festival is one of the few forums in the country which actively promote lively and spirited discussions," he told BBC News. "We want this to continue … and we will always welcome any writers and journalists to use the festival as a platform to air these issues."

Reporters Without Borders says it's urging all writers and journalists to back their campaign to uncover what happened to political cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda, who was kidnapped in Colombo on Jan. 24, 2010, a few hours before the presidential elections.

Galle, the fourth largest city in Sri Lanka, is located 119 kilometres south of Colombo. Once a Portuguese stronghold, the city was then taken over by the Dutch and in 1796, it was ceded to the British. In 1998, Galle was declared a UN World Heritage Site.