Yes, there are problems with the media accurately reporting the situation, but even if they did, I'm not sure the president is reading it. It's almost like a regal, court-like approach. It was quite shocking if you watched the coverage of the press conferences around the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. He seemed genuinely surprised at the questions on human rights, which can only indicate that he's getting very bad advice. That is a typical situation where a leadership gets up to the regal level. People simply can't explain it. It's not safe to say what the actual situation is, so the president's living in almost an alternative reality.
The media could report these things, but the president may still not pay attention to them. There have been so many indications of this kind of personal pursuit of power. Sri Lanka's Parliament has 220 or 230 seats. Somebody will google it and tell me I'm wrong, but I believe there are 80 ministers. The approach to any potential source of dissent is simply to continue. Everybody is brought in. There is no effective opposition in the country, for complicated reasons, not just because they're muzzled but also because of the complicated politics of the country. There is no effective parliamentary opposition.