Continuing attacks against journalists who stood up to the thuggery of Government MP

28th February 2008, Colombo, Sri Lanka: In yet another serious blow to media freedom, the Free Media Movement (FMM) is appalled to learn that a four-member gang allegedly attempted to harm a journalist attached to the State owned TV broadcaster Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC). 

The journalist, Assistant Director News Camera Priyal Ranjith Perera, was involved in videotaping the infamous incident on 27th December 2007 when Government MP and Minister of Labour Mervyn Silva wreaked havoc inside SLRC along with a gang of thugs, some of whom were drug dealers, murderers and underworld criminals.

The unidentified gang threatened journalist Perera on the evening of 27th February while he was in his residence in Pitakotte.

According to the journalist four persons clad in black arrived at his home and asked for a deal to film a wedding ceremony. “They came and rang the bell of my home. While I was opening the door I got suspicious by the look of them. I am used to taking precautions after the December 27 incident. So, I told them that those doing such video work are not here right now.” At that point, he said, one of the gang had pulled out something that looked like a knife from his trouser pocket and tried to harm him. “I shut the door with a bang and shouted saying thieves had broken into my home. My neighbours having heard me screaming and rushed to see what was wrong.” According to eye witnesses the attackers fled in a three-wheeler. Journalist Perera went on to say that “I suspect a link between the December 27 melee and this incident. My staff filmed the mayhem that day. Since then I have been under threat”.

Meanwhile, residence of another journalist who has published critical stories on minister Silva’s intrusion into SLRC has been visited by suspicious group in motor cycles on 27th February. The group has inquired about his whereabouts and left as he was not at home.   He has received suspicious phone calls on 13th and 17 Februray. FMM is concerned that he also may also be a target of unruly elements related to SLRC incident.

The FMM notes with dismay that this is the third and forth confirmed cases of a journalist who has been threatened or attacked after standing up to the thuggery of MP Mervyn Silva. Many more have been threatened and are fearful of coming out in the open. Twenty-one journalists of SLRC have been questioned to date on the incident.

Not a single thug who accompanied MP Mervyn Silva has been brought to book. Not a single investigation or disciplinary hearing on MP Mervyn Silva has been conducted. Promises made by the SLFP Central Committee to hold the deranged MP accountable for his actions have not borne any fruit. The Police have yet to even question the Minister. Enjoying the spoils of the proximity to absolute power, the MP is free to do as he sees fit while journalists today are under threat and in fear of their lives from criminal and underworld gangs in the service of the Minister. 

The President of the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association  Sanath Balasuriya  told FMM that  “the authorities concerned can dispel our deep concern about the safety and security of our colleagues in SLRC only through an urgent, open and meaningful investigation to identify the perpetrators who threatened journalist Priyal Ranjith Perera. At this point those who witnessed the December 27th incident should be united to overcome the present challenges”.

It is a stance that the FMM stands by and fully endorses.

Confiscation of PC belonging to NGO head raises questions on the freedom of expression in Sri Lanka

25th February 2008, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Free Media Movement (FMM) is both surprised and disturbed to learn that the CID has taken into custody a computer used by Dr. Rama Mani, the former Executive Director of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES), to check for “controversial” correspondence, as reported by The Sunday Times on 24th February 2008.

The events leading up to and surrounding Dr. Mani’s forced and hurried departure from Sri Lanka and other matters of organisational administration internal to ICES are not our concern here. Our interest is to strengthen the open exchange of competing ideas that we strongly believe and affirm are a cornerstone of a vibrant democracy. Dr. Mani had an inalienable right to hold her own opinions and ideas, to articulate them, to promote them and discuss them with friends, colleagues and associates in Sri Lanka and internationally. This is fundamentally the freedom of expression.

Further, the FMM has for years called for Right to Information legislation that holds all public bodies, including NGOs, accountable for their actions and transparent in their initiatives. Sadly, this regime has clearly indicated that it will not countenance such legislation because it would place it in a spot of bother if the public were allowed scrutiny into its familial workings. Given the absence of such legislation and that even “controversial” ideas fall under the rubric of democracy, we find the confiscation of Dr. Mani’s PC by the CID to be entirely absurd and an action that can only be interpreted as a thinly veiled tactic to intimidate civil society in Sri Lanka.

We are also concerned by the reporter’s point that “initial investigations into the files contained in all the other computers at ICES have not found any reference to R2P and hence the CID has now taken Dr. Mani’s computer into its custody.” This peculiar reasoning raises the question as to whether mere reference to R2P is now enough in Sri Lanka for the CID to interrogate members of civil society? By extension, we are compelled to believe that media and civil society can no longer openly debate and promote issues related to the concept of R2P or other “controversial” ideas, lest the CID confiscates all PCs, mobile phones and notepads belonging to them.

We note with deep regret and concern that Sri Lanka today is the third most dangerous country in the world for media personnel and journalists. It is the worst ranking Sri Lanka has received to date on not one, but many press freedom rankings. There is no media freedom left to speak of. With total impunity, the Government openly names and shames journalists and civil society activists as traitors and terrorists and openly calls for tighter State censorship. Physical violence against media personnel and journalists occurs with total impunity. Tragically, the Sri Lankan Police themselves have been implicated in attempts to abduct senior journalists and are themselves responsible for undermining media freedom. Government MPs who run amok in media institutions go scot free, while journalists who courageously stand up in the face of intimidation are violently attacked, threatened and are subject interrogation by Police.

In such a context, the confiscation of equipment on the incredible basis of searching for references to “controversial policies” smacks of the worst kind of overt State censorship – control by fear and violent intimidation. Dr. Mani’s case joins the astonishing number of other incidents, documented by the FMM and other local and international rights groups, related to journalists, civil rights and media trade union activists and others who have been systematically and repeatedly threatened, attacked and silenced over the past two years. The regime’s unwillingness to listen to and acknowledge these significant concerns is a clear indication of a disturbing and continuing complicity in the significant erosion of the freedom of expression, media freedom and democratic governance in Sri Lanka.

It is in this light that the FMM expresses its serious concern that the action by the CID to take into custody Dr. Mani’s computer is an indicator of a vicious witch-hunt against those who hold, articulate and promote ideas contrary to those sanctioned by a regime uninterested in democratic governance and the freedom of expression.

Sri Lankan police assault TV journalist covering bomb blast in Colombo

24th February 2008, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Free Media Movement (FMM) is appalled to learn of treatment meted out by a Senior Inspector of the Sri Lankan Police to a journalist who was on the scene of a bomb blast in Colombo. On 23rd February, Sugath Dharmapriya, a news producer of the Derana TV channel covering the bomb blast on a bus in Mount Lavinia, a suburb of Colombo, was abused and assaulted by a Senior Inspector of the Mount Lavinia Police, Mahesh Perera.

The FMM unequivocally condemns this reprehensible behaviour by the Senior Police Officer.

Inspector Mahesh Perera had first abused Sugath Dharmapriya by throwing him out on to the street, loudly proclaiming that the journalist had to be summarily chased out from the scene. Inspector Mahesh Perera’s contemptible action forced the journalist to leave scene for his safety.  The FMM is aware of TV footage of this incident that serves as evidence of the senior Police Inspector’s incredible behaviour. What is even worse, the Mount Lavinia Police refused to file a complaint lodged by Sugath Dharmapriya on the incident on the grounds that they do not entertain complaints against their superior officers! The journalist was forced to lodge his complaint at the Special Crimes section of the Mirihana Police Station.

We note with dismay that this same senior Police Officer verbally abused another TV journalist, Aravinda Sri Nissanka a month ago and detained him for over two hours without any valid reason.

Inspector Mahesh Perera’s manic behaviour is a telling marker of the significant deterioration of law and order in Sri Lanka. It is of serious concern to the FMM that the Police now openly and with total impunity undermine and threaten the safety of journalists who seek to report in the public interest on events that have a bearing on national security, war, peace and governance. At a time when media personnel and journalists are under growing fear for their lives in a country that has been repeatedly noted as one the most dangerous places for journalists in the world, actions by those such as Inspector Mahesh Perera demonstrate quite clearly the inability and unwillingness of State authorities to respect and strengthen media freedom.

In light of the complete silence by the Inspector General of Police to these concerns repeatedly raised by the FMM over a period of time, we ask all local and international democratic forces to impress upon the State and the Police that this behaviour is intolerable and that stern and urgent action needs to be taken against all those who undermine fundamental rights including the freedom of expression.

The FMM also requests the National Police Commission to look into these incidents as a matter of priority.

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To read articles in Sinhala and Tamil, click here to download a Sinhala Unicode font or click here to download a Tamil Unicode font. An alternative Sinhala UNICODE font, Sarasavi, can be downloaded from the University of Colombo website here.

Installing the fonts

• On any recent GNU/Linux distribution make a folder called .fonts under your home folder. Copy the font file there and just type fc-cache on a terminal.

• The easiest way on Windows XP is to copy the font file from the location you downloaded it to the Fonts directory residing under the Windows directory. Alternatively, you can go to Control Panel -> Fonts -> File menu -> Install Font -> select the location where you downloaded the font(s) -> Install.

If you have any problems, please visit Fonts.lk. You may also find the University of Colombo Sinhala UNICODE resources useful.

ජනමාධ්‍යවේදී සම්පත් ලක්මාල් ඝාතනය – පොලීසියෙන් අලුත් විග්‍රහයක්

පුවත්පත් නිවේදනය – 2008 පෙබරවාරි 20 
 
2006 ජූලි 02දා ඝාතනය කරන ලද ජනමාධ්‍යවේදී සම්පත් ලක්මාල් යුද හමුදාවෙන් වැටුප් ලද ඔත්තුකරුවකු යැයි පසුගිය 17 දින සති අන්ත ඉංග්‍රිසි පුවත්පතකට රහස් පොලිස් ප්‍රධානී නියෝජ්‍ය පොලිස්පති එච්. ඩබ්. ප්‍රතාපසිංහ  විසින් කරන ලද ප්‍රකාශය නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරයේ විමතියට හේතු වී තිබේ. මෙම සොයා ගැනීම සඳහා රහස් පොලීසයට මාස 18ක් ගත වීම ඊටත් වඩා ඇදහිය නොහැකි ය.
 
2006 ජූලි 02 දින නි.ම.ව්‍ය.නිකුත් කල ප්‍රකාශයෙහි  මෙසේ සදහන් විය: 
‛‛ජනමාධ්‍යවේදීන් ක්‍රියාකාරී පක්ෂ දේශපාලනයෙහි  හෝ හමුදාමය ක්‍රියාකාරිත්වයන්හි යෙදීම නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරය අනුමත කරන්නේ නැත. සම්පත් ලක්මාල් ඝාතනය නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරය හෙළා දකින්නේ ජීවිතයට ඇති අයිතිය සහ තොරතුරු රැස්කිරීමට සහ ඵල කිරීමට ජනමාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට ඇති අයිතිය සළකා ගනිමිනි.’’
 
සිය මව සමඟ ඔහු ජීවත් වු නිවසින් දුරකථන ඇමතුමක් දී බැහැරට කැදවා ගන්නා ලද සම්පත් ලක්මාල්ගේ වෙඩි වැදුනු සිරුර 2006 ජූලි 02 දින අලුයම කොළඹට නුදුරු දෙහිවල දී හමුවිය. මරා දමන විට ඔහු සත්දින සතිපතා පුවත්පතෙහි නිදහස් මාධ්‍යවේදියකු ලෙස සේවය කළ අතර ඊට පෙර පුවත්පත් ගණනාවකම පූර්ණකාලීන සේවයෙහි යෙදී තිබුණි. ඔහුගේ මව වන විශ්‍රාමික ගුරුවරියක වන රූපා ද සිල්වා මහත්මිය ඒ මාරක රාත්‍රියෙහි සම්පත් ලක්මාල් පිටතට කැදවා ගෙන ගිය කුමාර නම් හමුදා නිලධාරියාගේ නම පොලීසියට ලබා දුන්නේ ය. නඩු වාර 8ක් ම පවත්වා ඇති නමුත් එම නිලධාරියා අධිකරණය හමුවට ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට හෝ ඔහුගෙන් ප්‍රකාශයක් ලබා ගැනීමට හෝ පොලීසිය ක්‍රියා කලේ නැත.
 
මෙම සන්දර්භය තුළ රහස් පොලිස් ප්‍රධානියාගේ ප්‍රකාශය විසින් ප්‍රශ්න ගණනාවක් මතු කරයි:
 
ජනමාධ්‍යවේදීන් සිය ඔත්තුකරුවන් ලෙස යොදා ගැනීම රාජ්‍ය ආරක්ෂක  සේවාවන් දිගටම කරගෙන යන දෙයක් ද? ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී සමාජයක ජනමාධ්‍යවේදීන් ආරක්ෂක හමුදාවන්හි වැටුපට සේවය කරන ඔත්තුකරුවන් ලෙස යොදා ගැනීම නිවැරදි දෙයක් ලෙස පොලීසිය සළකන්නේ ද? ජනමාධ්‍යවේදීන් ලෙස පෙනී සිටින තවත් ආරක්ෂක හමුදා ඔත්තුකරුවන් වෙත් ද? සම්පත් ලක්මාල් යුද හමුදා ඔත්තුකරුවකු වී නම් ඔහුගේ මරණය පරීක්ෂණයට ලක් නොකළ යුතු දෙයක් ද? ඔහු මිලිටරි ඔත්තුකරුවකු බව සනාථ කිරිමට පොලිසිය සතු සාක්ෂි තිබේද? ඔහුගේ ඝාතනය සහ මෙම චෝදනාව අතර සම්බන්ධයක් තිබේද? නැත්නම්  ඔහු ඝාතනය කරන ලද්දේ ඔහුගේ ජනමාධ්‍ය භාවිතය නිසා ද?
 
රාජ්‍ය ආයතන විසින්  ජනමාධ්‍යවේදී ඝාතනයන්, පහරදීම් සහ අත් අඩංගුවට ගැනිම් සාධාරණ කිරීම පිණිස ජනමාධ්‍යවේදීන් යුද හමුදාවේ හෝ සන්නද්ධ කණ්ඩායම්හි ඔත්තුකරුවන් ලෙස හැදින්වීම නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරයේ මහත් කණස්සල්ලට හේතු වී තිබේ. 2006 නොවැම්බරයේ දී ජනමාධ්‍යවේදිනී පරමේශ්වරී අත් අඩංගුවට ගත් අවස්ථාවේ දී එය සාධාරණීකරනය කිරීමට ඇය සමඟ අත් අඩංගුවට ගත් තවත් තරුණියක මරාගෙන මැරෙන බෝම්බකාරියක ලෙස පොලීසිය විසින් හදුන්වන ලදී. ඔව්න් දෙදෙනාම කිසිදු චෝදනාවක් නැතිව නිදහස් කිරිමට පසුව පොලීසියට සිදු විය.
 
සම්පත් ලක්මාල් ඝාතනය පිළිබඳ පරීක්ෂන ජනමාධ්‍යට විවෘත කරන ලෙසත් මෙම චෝදනාව ඔප්පු කරන ලෙස හෝ ඉල්ලා අස්කර ගන්නා ලෙසත් නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරය රහස් පොලිස් ප්‍රධානියාගෙන්  ඉල්ලා සිටී. ඔහුගේ මරණයේ සත්‍ය හෙළි දරව්වනු ඇත්තේ හැගීම් දනවන කතාන්තර තුළ නොව නිසි ලෙස යුක්තිය පසිඳලීම තුළ ය. අද ශ්‍රී ලංකාවෙහි සිදු නොවන්නේ ද එයයි.
 

නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරය
කැදවුම්කරු – සුනන්ද දේශප්‍රිය (0777-312457) – ලේකම් – සුනිල් ජයසේකර (011-2851672/3)
ප්‍රකාශක – එස්.සිවකුමාර් (0777-315665)

Restrictions Tighten on Media

Amantha Perera
COLOMBO, Feb 20 (IPS) – Gemunu Amerasinghe, a photographer with the international news wire Associated Press, was shooting earlier this month in downtown Colombo for an innocuous assignment — or so he thought.He had just finished taking pictures of students near the Isiphatana Vidayalaya and was about to leave after thanking soldiers stationed nearby, when he was suddenly confronted by members of the Civil Defence Committee (CDC), a vigilante group, at the school.

They threatened him and accused him of working for the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The media accreditation from AP and the Sri Lankan Department of Information, that registers all journalists working on the island, did not impress the CDC.

He was handed over to police who released him two hours later, after recording his statement. The CDC and staff of the minister Douglas Devnanda, whose office happened to be located near the school, suspected Amerasinghe of taking pictures of the minister’s office.

“The police said that next time I wanted to take pictures, they will send a constable with me,” Amerasinghe later told IPS only half jokingly. His ordeal is but a mild example of the fast shrinking reporting space in Sri Lanka, according to journalists and activists.

They warn that the media freedom has been on the slide since December 2005 when violence between government forces and the LTTE intensified. With the collapse of a five year ceasefire between the two this January, their fears have now reached panic levels.

“What we have seen is that media freedom has been clearly diminishing these past two years,” Sunanda Deshapriya, convenor of the Free Media Movement (FMM) told IPS. “We have raised this at so many forums, even with President (Mahinda) Rajapakse, but there has not been any improvement. Now with the fear of attacks in public places high, even members of the public have begun to disregard their right to information.”

Official attitudes may best be seen in the Sri Lankan defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s call on Jan. 27 to censor the media and reintroduce criminal defamation laws. Rajapaksa, who is the brother of the Sri Lankan President, told the ‘Sunday Lankadeepa’ that he advocated press censorship, harsh punishments for critical reporting on the military and military expenditures, and a criminal defamation law.

The Paris based media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) describes Sri Lanka as one of the countries where the press is under severe threat. It said that there were serious concerns over the safety of journalists covering the conflict similar to those faced in Chad, Somalia and the Occupied Territories. “The authorities in Sri Lanka systematically blocked investigations into murder cases involving the press. Police made no attempt to probe further when suspects were indicated or vital clues found,” the group said in its annual report released earlier this month.

The lobby said access to conflict ridden areas had been severely restricted forcing the reporters to become mouthpieces for one or the other sides. “Access to conflict zones is virtually impossible for journalists and the war of words and statistics between the government and the LTTE spilled over into the press,” RSF said.

“Since no independent journalist was able to reach the scene, the majority of the Sinhala and English language press in Colombo carried the government account without being able to check it, while Tamil news websites and media carried news and footage put out by LTTE,” RSF said of the reporting of an air raid inside Tiger areas in January. The government said that the raid was on a Tamil Tiger base while the latter said it had targeted civilians.

Two days after Amerasinghe’s run-in with the CDC, hundreds of journalists were joined by civic activists and others in a march in Colombo seeking an end to media repression.

“The people have a right to know the dirty side of the war; it is the job of the journalist to tell the truth. And the people of this country have a right to know, no one can take that away,” veteran trade union activist Bala Tampoe said at the march.

Observers feel that government authorities have turned a blind eye to attacks against the media by groups such as the CDC.

“Reporting has become difficult while clashes between government forces and the Tigers increased, now there is a full war and no access,” FMM’s Deshapriya said. “No access means no information, no information means that the country is in the dark or there is only partial truths available to them.”

On every occasion that the media has come under attack, the FMM and other media rights groups have taken to the streets, now they see a need to widen the campaign and join with other civic groups.

“If the press is muzzled then what happens? People’s right to information is what is being targeted here,” Sanath Balasooriya of the local Working Journalists Association told IPS.

Balasooriya feels that if the campaign for wider media freedom does not garner popular support, their battle will be harder. “Ordinary people have to realise that this affects all of us… they may not see this now, but with time they will,” he predicted.

Since 1999, at least 14 journalists have been killed according to the FMM. Last year a newspaper printing press was set on fire, several journalists fled the country temporarily or suspended their writing for a short time following threats. One newspaper, the Uthanyan, in northern Jaffna Peninsula, was left to print on brown wrapping paper after newsprint ran out.

Members of the Sri Lankan media has shown amazing resilience in the face of heavy odds.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has highlighted Sri Lankan media’s feisty character. “Journalists in countries under duress realise that a free and open society is something grander than journalism. They also know that without journalism — even when it is flawed, or biased, or self-censored — a free society cannot truly exist,’’ it said referring to the situation in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

(END/2008)

Sri Lankan Police conjure up an incredible revelation in the murder investigations of a journalist

19th February 2008, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Free Media Movement (FMM) is very surprised to learn that the head of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Sri Lankan Police claims that journalist Sampath Lakmal, who was murdered in 2006, was a paid military informant. DIG H. W. Prathapasinghe made this statement to an English newspaper on 17th February 2008. The FMM finds it utterly incredible that it has taken 18 months for the CID to make this revelation, even by its own standards.
 
In its alert on the day of his murder the FMM said:

FMM do not condone any involvement of journalists in active party politics or military type of activities. FMM condemns this murder on the grounds of right to life and journalist’s rights to gather and disseminate information.
 
Journalist Sampath Lakmal was lured out from his house where he lived with his mother on 2nd July 2006 and shot dead in early morning hours.  He worked as a freelance journalist for the Sinhala weekly Sathdina at the time of his death. Before that he worked as a full time journalist for a number of media institutions.  Mrs. Rupa de Silva, his mother and a retired schoolteacher provided the Police with name of the military officer who requested Sampath Lakmal to join him that fatal night. Although the court has taken up the case 8 times so far, the Police have failed to produce any suspects or even to record a statement from the military officer. 
 
This statement by CID head poses very important questions that have to be answered by police/state military agencies:
 
Is it a common practice for state security agencies to employ journalists as paid agents? Is it right for military to engage journalists as their paid agents in a democratic society? Are there any more military agents posing as journalists?   If Sampath Lakmal was a military agent cum journalist does it mean that his death should not be investigated?  What is the proof that police can produce evidence to prove that he was a paid agent? Is there any relation between his killing and being an agent? Or was he killed because of his writing? 
 
The FMM is deeply concerned that State agencies are accusing journalists as agents of military/LTTE to cover up extra judicial killings, assaults and arrests.  When female Tamil journalist Parameshwari was arrested in November 2006, it was linked to arrest of another Tamil female who the security forces labeled as a suicide bomber. Both of them were released without any charges only after they filed fundamental rights cases against the police.
 
The FMM demands that the CID and Police prove these allegations and open the investigation of Sampath Lakmal’s murder to media. We believe the truth behind his killing is not to be found in sensational revelations, but in the due course of justice that we note with concern is significantly vitiated in Sri Lanka today.

Public Performance Board chair removed

 (lwww.ankadissent.com)      
  Renowned author, critic and novelist Prof. Somaratne Balasuriya has been removed as Chairman of the Public Performance Board.

A decision taken by Balasuriya regarding ‘Aksharaya’, a film by Asoka Handagama, prompted the move, Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs G.L.W. Amarasinghe said.

Attorney Ashoka Serasinghe, former Chairman of the State Film Corporation will be the new head of the PPB, according to Amarasinghe.

When contacted, Balasuriya told ‘Lanka Dissent’ that the Cultural Affairs Ministry had telephoned and informed him about his removal.

Despite a request to show reasons for the decision, a letter sent to him yesterday (Feb. 18th) only mentions that he had been removed from the PPB.

Balasuriya said that as a free thinking and liberal-minded person, he would treat this move indifferently.

Responding to a question as to whether he expected independence at the PPB when accepting the position, Balasuriya said that he had been promised a free hand.

He said that in the beginning, he was allowed to function independently, but things changed later on.

According to Balasuriya, he had been able to bring about a change in certain inflexible approaches of the PPB during his office to help several newcomers to make high-quality creative work.

The attitude of the Cultural Affairs Ministry to force upon its ideas on creative work is having an adverse impact on the local film industry, he added.

Recently, veteran film director Dharmasena Pathiraja was removed from the chair of the National Art Council, after his attempt to make the institution independent met with stiff opposition from the Cultural Ministry Secretary.

It appears that Balasuriya was also in the bad books of the Cultural Ministry Secretary.
  
 
 
 

Media freedom benefits all – editorial Daily Mirror

   
As correctly articulated by journalists at the ‘Movement Against Media Suppression’ protest march held on Thursday, media freedom is important not only for media personnel and institutions, but for all sections of our society since free expression is correctly described as the mother of all freedoms. It is, therefore, right and proper that other organized sections of society such as trade unions and other civil organizations also participated in the event. 
It is the media that gives meaning and substance to the fundamental right to freedom of expression as spelt out in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that says, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Our own Constitution also, like those of other constitutions of democratic countries in the world, provides for this right in Article 10 and Article 14 (1) (a) of the Constitution.

Significantly, political parties in this country, without exception, declare their highest commitment to protecting and promoting these freedoms. However, while in opposition they faithfully adhere to their commitments. They begin to love media freedom so much that they vow even to lay down their lives for protecting this freedom. But once ensconced in state power they begin to develop disenchantment with the media conduct. This antipathy increases as media begin to highlight weaknesses and the  failure of ruling parties to redeem their election pledges.

Of course, the state media personnel that obsequiously pander to the interests of the rulers become their favourites. These persons and institutions become ideal exponents of media freedom in their view. Their distortions, misrepresentations, and vilification of opponents are often encouraged and even enjoyed by the ruling party. This is the duplicitous way in which political parties conduct themselves.

It is not surprising, therefore, that certain sections of the media too emulate their conduct. The fact that media personnel and institutions in this country are today subjected to much vilification, harassment and intimidation is incontrovertible. True, these features were there in the past too. But in recent times there has been a marked increase in these incidents. The fact that 14 journalists and media workers had been killed in the past two years and several others have been harassed, intimidated and humiliated cannot be denied. The infamous issue of a minister attempting to interfere directly in the affairs of a media institution still remains unresolved.

Since this is a country where good governance still remains confined only to glib talk, abuse of power, position and privileges continue unabated in most fields of activity. Media too cannot remain unaffected. The responsible media, however, should be able to take the country’s present situation into serious consideration in conducting their activities.

There are democratic ways in which the authorities could tackle suspected instances of abuse. No media organization would then oppose such action.  It is the illegal and undemocratic manner in which such situations are tackled that irks these organizations. The authorities often take cover under security concerns to check the media in their attempts at exposing corruption and other administrative wrongs. The government, in fact, need not worry much about what they regard as inaccurate reporting and unfair criticism.

If the government’s conduct is above board, unfair allegations and criticisms will eventually be demolished.  When the opposition parties criticized the government about its campaign in the East, for example, some sections of the media too echoed it, either because of their loyalty to opposition parties or because of their own convictions. Now that the true picture has emerged, the public could judge the validity or otherwise of the earlier criticisms. What is important, therefore, is the flawless and transparent conduct of the administration.

The operation of the free media could be compared to a stream where the good, bad, ugly and dirt float freely while the public on the banks could watch and make their own judgement. If the areas through which the stream meanders are unpolluted the bad could be reduced to a minimum. Similarly, if the media are to be flawless the political environment has to be kept clean. So the attempt to clean up the media would be fruitless if the environment in which they operate is allowed to remain putrid
 18th Feb. 2008

Suspicious Watch On TV News Director In Sri Lanka – IFJ

 

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is alarmed at reports that Susil Kedelpitiya, the news director of a popular television channel, is at risk after a series of suspicious incidents indicating he is under surveillance.

Kindelpitiya, of Sirasa Television, told the Free Media Movement (FMM), an IFJ affiliate, that he noticed a group of unknown people watching his home and car on the morning of February 14. He was later threatened by a driver in a pick-up vehicle and was followed by a hostile group that forcibly opened his car in an apparent attempt to harm him.

Kedelpitiya lodged a complaint with police headquarters in Colombo. However, he again reported the presence of suspicious figures outside his home on February 17.

According to the FMM, Sirasa, the Sinhala language channel of MTV-MBC network, is a leading outlet for news coverage and investigative reporting in the public interest. The FMM believes that attempts to intimidate or harm Kindelpitiya are related to his work on the Action TV news program, which recently aired several reports on corruption allegedly involving powerful figures.

“Exposing corruption is one of the ways that investigative journalists can ensure that the public is informed about the misuse of power,” said IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park.

“As the conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) intensifies, the people of Sri Lanka are relying on journalists to provide accurate and balanced information that is in the public interest.

“Threats and intimidation tactics used against individual journalists for their courageous reporting show an entrenched lack of interest or support for press freedom in Sri Lanka, which is an obstacle to the country’s democratic progress.”

The IFJ joins the FMM in unequivocally condemning all attempts to intimidate, harm and harass journalists, including Susil Kedelpitiya, and any acts by public officials or members of the public to undermine the safety and security of journalists and media personnel who dare to report the country’s inconvenient truths.