With media gagged or threatened, no progress for freedom of information

 

Reporters Without Borders calls on all members of the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council, which began its 19th session yesterday, to pass a resolution condemning the Sri Lankan government’s violations of freedom of information and to demand an end to threats and violence against news media and human rights defenders in Sri Lanka.

“For more than a year we have been seeing new forms of censorship and a deterioration in journalists’ ability to work although the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) officially ended in 2009,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Rather than wait until the Universal Periodic Review to make recommendations, the Human Rights Council’s members should adopt a resolution now urging the government to take measures to improve freedom of information.

“The number of cases of physical attacks, death threats and imprisonment may have fallen in 2010 and 2011, but the authorities continue to prevent the media from enjoying real editorial freedom and many journalists are still in exile. Sri Lankan and foreign media are still unable to cover the issue of war crimes, which will be at the centre of the Human Rights Council’s discussions during the 19th session.

“An immediate reaction is needed to the obstruction of journalists who want to cover the activities of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and to self-censorship on this subject for fear of reprisals. The Human Rights Council must remind the Sri Lankan government of the importance of the media’s role as a critic and urge it to respect freedom of information. We call on the government to accept constructive questions from civil society and to stop branding its critics as ‘conspirators’ and ‘LTTE accomplices’.”

January – February 2012 timeline

Journalists and media defenders have been the constant targets of violence, threats and propaganda. The censorship of websites, especially those based abroad, has increased since the beginning of 2011. The events of the past two months amply illustrate the way the government is treating journalists.

Since 25 February: Distributed Denial-of-Service Attacks (DDoS) have been disrupting web traffic of TamilNet.com. The service provider is struggling to keep the website online.

23 February: The supreme court held its third hearing on the blocking of news websites. Access to four leading independent news websites – SriLankaMirror, SriLankaGuardian, Paparacigossip9 and LankaWayNews – has been blocked since 6 November on the orders of the information ministry, which announced on 5 November that all news websites with “any content relating to Sri Lanka” needed to register with the ministry.

16 February: The defence ministry posted an article on its website accusing Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS), an exile organization, of “treachery and conspiracy” against the government and security forces on the eve of the Human Rights Council’s 19th session.

15 February: Prasad Purnimal Jayamanne, a freelance journalist working for the BBC’s Sinhalese service and a member of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), was attacked and badly beaten while filming a demonstration by fishermen in Chilaw, 100 km north of Colombo, in protest against the death of a fisherman at the hands of the police and the injuries sustained by others. Jayamanne had to be hospitalized.

8 February: The state-owned daily Dinamina accused the Free Media Movement of obstructing democracy and freedom in Sri Lanka, giving the country a bad image, and inciting separatism and terrorism.

26-27 January: Media minister Keheliya Rambukwella accused journalists of collaborating with the LTTE and with foreign media and NGOs in order to smear Sri Lanka’s image. He said he had a list of journalists working against the government, including the organisers of the “Black January” campaign, which was based on the fact that there were major press freedom violations every January during the past three years. They included Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunge’s murder in January 2009 and political cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda’s disappearance in January 2010, which have become symbols of violence against the media and the impunity enjoyed by those responsible.

25 January (and following days): After the Alliance of Media Organizations in Sri Lanka held a “Black January” demonstration (which had to be moved to a different location because of a counter-demonstration by government supporters), some of the demonstration’s organizers were followed by unidentified individuals for several days.

10 January: The government accused the Free Media Movement of collaborating with the political opposition and organizing a campaign to get the European Union to suspend Sri Lanka’s preferential trade status under the GSP+ accord.

5 January: The start of the trial of a man accused of the April 2005 murder of journalist Dharmeratnam Sivaram was postponed by Colombo high court judge P. Surasena after the prosecutor said he was unable to proceed because six prosecution witnesses, including two policemen, had failed to show up. The judge also dissolved the jury. Sivaram was kidnapped in Colombo and his body was found near the parliament building the next day.

January (start of the month): When state-controlled Independent Television Network (ITN) broadcast footage of media freedom activists demonstrating during the September 2011 session of the UN Human Rights Council, it accused them of being LTTE members.

 By – rsf.org

CPJ condemns killings of 3 journalists in besieged Homs

Colvin and Ochlik. (AFP)

New York, February 22, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the killings of three journalists who died today and Tuesday as Syrian forces continued intense shelling of the besieged city of Homs. The acclaimed international reporter Marie Colvin and the French photojournalist Rémi Ochlik were killed this morning when their makeshift press center came under fire, while local videographer Rami al-Sayed died while covering a bombardment on Tuesday. At least three other journalists were reported injured.

“Our colleagues Marie Colvin, Rémi Ochlik, and Rami al-Sayed gave their lives to report a story of grave importance, a story the Syrian government has sought to choke off from rest of the world,” said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney, speaking from Cairo. “The deaths of these local and international journalists illustrate the escalating dangers to independent journalists working in Syria and the unacceptable price our colleagues are being forced to pay.”

Colvin, an American reporting for The Sunday Times of London, and Ochlik, a freelance photojournalist, were killed when a building being used as a makeshift media center was bombarded, news reports said. Jean-Pierre Perrin, a journalist for the Paris-based daily Liberation, told the British newspaper The Telegraph that he and Colvin had been advised a few days ago to leave the city because Syrian forces might target the impromptu press center, which had limited but precious electricity and Internet access. Perrin said the two left the city, although Colvin later returned. The interview did not specify who had advised them to leave. News reports raised speculation that Syrian forces could have identified the location of the makeshift press center through the reporters’ satellite signals.

At least three other journalists working in the press center were wounded in today’s shelling. Paul Conroy, a Times photographer, and Edith Bouvier, a reporter for Le Figaro, were being treated for leg wounds, news reports said. William Daniels, another photographer for the Times, was slightly injured, according to news reports.

Al-Sayed, a videographer whose work appeared on a live streaming site and was picked up by international news organizations, died in a local hospital on Tuesday after being wounded that day, according to news reports. Al-Sayed transmitted video of events in the Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr to the live streaming site Bambuser, and had uploaded hundreds of videos to his YouTube channel. His footage was used by several international and regional news organizations, news reports said. He was the cousin of Basil al-Sayed, a videographer killed while working in Baba Amr in December.

By controlling local news reports and expelling or denying entry to dozens of foreign journalists, the Syrian government has sought to impose a blackout on independent news coverage since the country’s uprising began almost a year ago, CPJ research shows. But along with the intensity of the conflict, the dangers to the press have risen dramatically in recent months–both for independent citizen journalists such as the al-Sayeds and the international journalists who have smuggled themselves into Syria at extremely high risk. In her last article for the Times, Colvin wrote that like many other foreign journalists, she had snuck into Homs along a smuggler’s route.

New York Times reporter Anthony Shadid died Thursday from an apparent asthma attack as he was leaving Syria following coverage of the conflict. Four other local and international journalists have died since November.

Colvin, 55, was considered one of the world’s preeminent international journalists. She lost an eye covering the Sri Lankan civil war a decade ago, one of numerous dangerous assignments from the Balkans to Chechnya that she had covered during her distinguished career. Ochlik, a freelancer, covered the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions and the war in Libya, according to his website. Born in 1983, his website said, Ochlik had work published in Le Monde, VSD, Paris Match, Time, and The Wall Street Journal.

 

By – CPJ

වෙබ් අඩවි වාරණයට එරෙහි නඩුව, ලබන මාර්තු 29ට කල් යයි

වෙබ් අඩවි වාරණයට එරෙහිව නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරය ගොණුකර ඇති මූලික අයිතිවාසිකම් පෙත්සම අද(23) ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයේදී කැඳවූ අවස්ථාවේ නැවතත් ලබන මාර්තු 29ට කල් දමා ඇතැයි වාර්තා වේ.

නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරය වෙනුවෙන් නිතීඥ ජේ. සී. වැලිඅමුණ මහතා ප්‍රමුඛ නීතීඥ මණ්ඩලයක් මෙම මූලික අයිතිවාසිකම් නඩුව වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටී අතර මෙම නඩු විභාගය නිරීක්ෂණය භාෂණයේ හා තොරතුරු දැන ගැනීමේ අයිතිය වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටින පුරවැසි කණ්ඩායම් පැමිණ සිටි බවට ද වාර්තා වෙයි.

Marie Colvin in her own words – our mission is to report the horrors of war

Marie Colvin gave the main address at St Bride’s church in 2010 at a service to commemorate journalists, cameramen and support staff who had lost their lives during conflicts.

Marie Colvin, who was killed in Syria on Wednesday morning, gave the main address at St Bride’s church in 2010 at a service to commemorate journalists, cameramen and support staff who had lost their lives during conflicts.

The address was made in front of a congregation including editors from across the news industry and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall.

Her words, which we run in full below, explain the motivation of the war correspondent and the importance of the job they do.

“Your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen, I am honoured and humbled to be speaking to you at this service tonight to remember the journalists and their support staff who gave their lives to report from the war zones of the 21st Century. I have been a war correspondent for most of my professional life. It has always been a hard calling. But the need for front line, objective reporting has never been more compelling.

Covering a war means going to places torn by chaos, destruction, and death, and trying to bear witness. It means trying to find the truth in a sandstorm of propaganda when armies, tribes or terrorists clash. And yes, it means taking risks, not just for yourself but often for the people who work closely with you.

Despite all the videos you see from the Ministry of Defence or the Pentagon, and all the sanitised language describing smart bombs and pinpoint strikes, the scene on the ground has remained remarkably the same for hundreds of years. Craters. Burned houses. Mutilated bodies. Women weeping for children and husbands. Men for their wives, mothers children.

Our mission is to report these horrors of war with accuracy and without prejudice. We always have to ask ourselves whether the level of risk is worth the story. What is bravery, and what is bravado?

Journalists covering combat shoulder great responsibilities and face difficult choices. Sometimes they pay the ultimate price. Tonight we honour the 49 journalists and support staff who were killed bringing the news to our shores. We also remember journalists around the world who have been wounded, maimed or kidnapped and held hostage for months. It has never been more dangerous to be a war correspondent, because the journalist in the combat zone has become a prime target.

I lost my eye in an ambush in the Sri Lankan civil war. I had gone to the northern Tamil area from which journalists were banned and found an unreported humanitarian disaster. As I was smuggled back across the internal border, a soldier launched a grenade at me and the shrapnel sliced into my face and chest. He knew what he was doing.

Just last week, I had a coffee in Afghanistan with a photographer friend, Joao Silva. We talked about the terror one feels and must contain when patrolling on an embed with the armed forces through fields and villages in Afghanistan … putting one foot in front of the other, steeling yourself each step for the blast. The expectation of that blast is the stuff of nightmares. Two days after our meeting Joao stepped on a mine and lost both legs at the knee.

Many of you here must have asked yourselves, or be asking yourselves now, is it worth the cost in lives, heartbreak, loss? Can we really make a difference?

I faced that question when I was injured. In fact one paper ran a headline saying, has Marie Colvin gone too far this time? My answer then, and now, was that it is worth it.

Today in this church are friends, colleagues and families who know exactly what I am talking about, and bear the cost of those experiences, as do their families and loved ones.

Today we must also remember how important it is that news organisations continue to invest in sending us out at great cost, both financial and emotional, to cover stories.

We go to remote war zones to report what is happening. The public have a right to know what our government, and our armed forces, are doing in our name. Our mission is to speak the truth to power. We send home that first rough draft of history. We can and do make a difference in exposing the horrors of war and especially the atrocities that befall civilians.

The history of our profession is one to be proud of. The first war correspondent in the modern era was William Howard Russell of The Times, who was sent to cover the Crimean conflict when a British-led coalition fought an invading Russian army.

Billy Russell, as the troops called him, created a firestorm of public indignation back home by revealing inadequate equipment, scandalous treatment of the wounded, especially when they were repatriated – does this sound familiar? – and an incompetent high command that led to the folly of the Charge of the Light Brigade. It was a breakthrough in war reporting. Until then, wars were reported by junior officers who sent back dispatches to newspapers. Billy Russell went to war with an open mind, a telescope, a notebook and a bottle of brandy. I first went to war with a typewriter, and learned to tap out a telex tape. It could take days to get from the front to a telephone or telex machine.

War reporting has changed greatly in just the last few years. Now we go to war with a satellite phone, laptop, video camera and a flak jacket. I point my satellite phone to South Southwest in Afghanistan, press a button and I have filed.

In an age of 24/7 rolling news, blogs and twitters, we are on constant call wherever we are. But war reporting is still essentially the same – someone has to go there and see what is happening. You can’t get that information without going to places where people are being shot at, and others are shooting at you. The real difficulty is having enough faith in humanity to believe that enough people be they government, military or the man on the street, will care when your file reaches the printed page, the website or the TV screen.

We do have that faith because we believe we do make a difference.

And we could not make that difference – or begin to do our job – without the fixers, drivers, and translators, who face the same risks and die in appalling numbers. Today we honour them as much as the front line journalists who have died in pursuit of the truth. They have kept the faith as we who remain must continue to do.”

by – sunandadeshapriya.wordpress.com

 

State media continues its attack the press freedom watch dog – NfR

[NfR - Net working for rights in Sri Lanka -Exile network for media and human rights in Sri Lanka]

Press release/ 08 January 2012

Sri Lankan state media which are directly controlled by the president’s office continue to slander the press freedom watch dog, the Free Media Movement and its leading activists.

 

In a response to FMM statement to prove state media allegation that FMM is working with the Tamil National Alliance state media has unleashed another round of false allegations. State media has miserably failed to prove any of its allegations but their hate campaign gets huge state media coverage.

 

It is clear that GOSL is trying to salience the FMM by these dangerous allegations.

 

Here we produce three such articles published by the sate media in Sri Lanka. This campaign intends to create a fear- psychosis among the press freedom community in the country

 

NfR calls upon all national and international democratic forces express their solidarity with the Free Media Movement and raise the concerns’ with the Government of Sri Lanka

 

Dinamina: Page 1: 06 Feb 2012

Photographs from the Free Media Movement in exhibition against the Motherland organized by LTTE supporters in London

 

Byline: Vijayani Edirisinghe

The Free Media Movement has sent photographs to an exhibition against this country, organized by two LTTE supporter groups. The exhibition was organized by the Global Tamil Forum and the British Tamil Forum at the premises of the British Parliament. In this exhibition, there are photographs that misinterpret even actions carried out by the security forces of our country with good intentions.

 

Among the photographs sent to this exhibition by the Free Media Movement is a photograph of disappeared journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda. This is the same photograph that was displayed at the demonstration of the Free Media Movement held at Lipton Circus a few days ago. The photograph is displayed with the caption Genocide.

 

Dinamina: Page 1: 07 Feb 2012

We are ready to go to Geneva: the Free Media Movement

 

Mr. Sunil Jayasekera, the Convenor of the Free Media movement, says that the Free Media Movement has no hesitation about joining hands with any mass organization or political party that works within the democratic framework to defend media freedom in this country, in the past or present.

 

This fact has been revealed in the Press Release issued to refute the article appearing in the Dinamina of February 3 which had stated that the Free Media Movement is engaged in a conspiracy with the TNA. The statement, bearing Sunil Jayasekera’s signature, also says that if the need arises they will not hesitate to go before not only the Human Rights Council but any international body of which Sri Lanka is a member to state their cause. The Dinamina article had stated that 6 members of the FMM had already left for Geneva together with some TNA  MPs to bring this country to disrepute at the Human Rights Council which is due to start on the 27^th of this month.

http://www.dinamina.lk/2012/02/07/_art.asp?fn=n1202079

 

Dinamina Editorial

08 Feb 2012

 

To the Convenor

It is clear that the Convenor of the Free Media Movement and several others of that Movement have lost their cool.mr. Sunil Jayasekera, who represents himself as the Convenor of the Free Media Movement, has sent a somewhat threatening letter, challenging us and our institution. Their rage and their challenge to us is due to the Dinamina exposing the alliance and the combined conspiracy between the Free Media Movement and the TNA. When the truth is revealed, any Convenor would get enraged. This has happened in history. It is happening today.

 

There are several organizations in Sri Lanka which call themselves the ‘free media’ and which obstruct freedom and democracy in this country. The ulterior motive of these organizations is to place barriers in the way of progress and challenge the unitary nature of this country. Those organizations and individuals that support and encourage separatism and terrorism are their friends. It is against this background that the Free Media Movement allies with the TNA and obtains support from the Tamil diaspora.

 

In his statement Mr. Sunil Jayasekera says that the  government is taking steps to suppress organizations such as the Free Media Movement and that this campaign of publishing untruths is related to that. There is no link between the government and the Dinamina. We do not have any need to publish untruths about an organization like the Free Media Movement. Nor do we accept that they are defending media freedom and democratic rights.

 

Does taking a stand for democracy mean supporting the Tiger terrorists? Supporting separatism? Making false claims on behalf of human rights in Sri Lanka? We are forced to tell the Free Media Movement o seek answers to these questions before they take a stand on democracy. Does media freedom mean going on demonstrations against the government? Organizing pickets? Strengthening NGOs? Becoming their contractors? We are forced to tell the Free Media Movement o seek answers to these questions before they take a stand on media freedom.

 

Nobody in this organization has taken a stand for freedom, peace or democracy in Sri Lanka. This is most clearly borne out by their behavior during the humanitarian operation.  The Free Media Movement and some other organizations were firmly on the side of the Tigers then. We can recall that they used many strategies to undermine the humanitarian operation. The Mahinda Rajapakse regime was successful in defeating all these efforts and destroying the LTTE and separatism. Organizations like the Free Media Movement and some powerful Western countries are not ready to accept the victory of the people and of the government. 

 

Many who were part of the Free Media Movement left the country after the defeat of the LTTE. Most of those who fled the country of their own accord are enjoying a luxurious life in the cold countries of the West. They receive the money and other facilities they need from NGOs and from the governments of those countries. Being thus dependent on foreign aid, they continue to be critical of Sri Lanka. They aim criticisms at the President.  Their entire time is taken up by trying to do something or the other against Sri Lanka.

 

Convenor Sunil Jayasekera, who says that there is no alliance and no conspiracy between the TNA and the Free Media Movement makes a very interesting statement elsewhere in the Release: the Free Media Movement has no hesitation about joining hands with any mass organization or political party that works within the democratic framework to defend media freedom in this country, in the past or present, and, if the need arises, we reiterate that we will not hesitate to go before not only the Human Rights Council but any international body of which Sri Lanka is a member to state our case. This statement by Mr. Sunil Jayasejkera, the Convenor of the Free Media Movement, is absolutely correct. These organizations have previously worked to support the LTTE. They have also made representations before international organizations. They have done innumerable despicable things against the country. There is a proverb that even if the mouth lies, the tongue does not. Mr. Sunil Jayasekera’s conscience tells him that what we have published in our newspaper is the truth. They will go ahead with their conspiracy with the TNA.

 

The objective of several organizations who present themselves as media freedom organizations is to bring the government to disrepute  by whatever means possible. This is a very strong political hatred. The people will recognize the fraudsters whose actions are driven by this hatred.  On that day Sunil Jayasekera and all the so-called media freedom groups will not have anything left to say.

http://www.dinamina.lk/2012/02/08/_art.asp?fn=e120208

FMM challenges ANCL, Editor Dinamina

Media Release

 

FMM challenges ANCL, Editor Dinamina

 

The Free Media Movement (FMM) unequivocally rejects the allegations and insinuations made in the Dinamina headline story on Friday (03 February) as blatant lies, unfounded, unsupported and unsubstantiated. We further believe, the report was published with the malicious intent of undermining independent media, which is fighting for democracy and freedom of expression, and those who stand for it.

 

The fabricated article refers to a conspiracy between the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the FMM and claims a delegation of TNA MPs and six members of the FMM have left for Geneva to mobilise agitations against the government and cause embarrassment for Sri Lanka during next month’s sessions of the United National Human Rights Commission.

 

We categorically states that neither the Movement nor the individual members have, in the recent or distant past, had any discussion with the TNA on any matter and rejects with absolute contempt, the allegation that six of its members have left for Geneva. These allegations are pure fabrications concocted in the mind of a sick person.

We challenge the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited and the Editor to Dinamina to prove these absurd allegations, and declare with conviction that we will dissolve the Movement and refrain from all associated activities, should the allegations be proven true.

 

However, notwithstanding our challenge to prove the allegations against us, we wish to state with utmost sincerity that the FFM will not hesitate to join forces with any political party or movement functioning within the democratic parameters, to fight for media freedom. It has been so, and it will remain so. If a need arises for us to appear before any international organization of which Sri Lanka is a member, we will certainly do our duty and represent matters honestly and truthfully.

 

A government controlled media organization such as Lake House, through one of its flagship publications like Dinamina, making unfounded and sinister allegations against a well-meaning and honest organization committed to media freedom is, without a doubt inspired and sponsored by the government. It reminds one of the attacks on the media personnel in the past when falsehood were planted in their publications prior to such attacks.

 

We reiterate our earlier challenge to prove these unfounded allegations. In failing to do so we demand an apology to us, published in the Dinamina, as prominently as the original fabrication.

 

 

 

Sunil Jayasekara                                                                Hana Ibrahim

Convener,                                                                                     Secretary

Free Media Movement[FMM]                                                 Free Media Movement[FMM]

 

07 February 2012

ලේක්හවුස් පාලනාධිකාරියට සහ දිනමිණ කතුවරයාට අභියෝගයක්

[මාධ්‍ය නිවේදනයයි]

ලේක්හවුස් පාලනාධිකාරියට සහ දිනමිණ කතුවරයාට අභියෝගයක්

2012 පෙබරවාරි මස 03 වන දා (සිකුරාදා) නිකුත් වූ දිනමිණ පුවත් පතේ ප්‍රධාන පුවත මගින් නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරය පිළිබඳව නගා ඇති චෝදනා සපුරා ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කරමු. මේ ආකාරයේ කිසිදු පදනමක් නොමැති සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම අසත්‍ය පුවත් සමාජගත කිරීම හරහා ආණ්ඩුව උත්සාහ දරන්නේ මෙරටේ මාධ්‍ය නිදහස හා ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය උදෙසා පෙනී සිටින මාධ්‍ය සංවිධාන හා එහි ක්‍රියාකාරීකයන් විනාශ කිරීම සඳහා පසුබිම සකස් කිරීමක් බව සමාජයේ අවධානය උදෙසා දන්වනු කැමැත්තෙමු.

අදාල පුවතට අනුව ’’නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරය ටී.එන්.ඒ. සංවිධානය සමග සිදුකරන ඒකාබද්ධ කුමන්ත්‍රණයක් පිළිබඳව සඳහන් කරයි. එමෙන්ම ලබන මස 27 වන දින ආරම්භ වීමට නියමිත ජීනිවා මානව හිමිකම් කොමිසම ඉදිරියේ ලංකාවත්, මෙරට ආණ්ඩුවත් අපහසුතාවයට ලක්කිරීම සඳහා නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරයේ සාමාජිකයන් 6 දෙනෙක් ටී.එන්.ඒ. මන්ත්‍රීවරු පිරිසක් සමග මේ වනවිටත් ජිනිවා බලා පිටත්ව ගොස් ඇත’’.

දිනමිණ පුවත්පත දක්වන ආකාරයට නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරය කිසිදු කරුණක් අරභයා ටී.එන්.ඒ. සංවිධානය සමඟ කිසිදු සාකච්ඡාවක් හෝ වැඩපිළිවෙලක නිරතව නැත. එමෙන්ම නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරයේ කිසිදු සාමාජිකයෙක් ජීනිවා මානව හිමිකම් කවුන්සලයේ රැස්වීමට සහභාගී වීම සඳහා මේ දිනවල ශ්‍රී ලංකාවෙන් පිටත්ව ගොස් නොමැත.

ඒ අනුව දිනමිණ පුවත්පත තම ප්‍රධාන පුවතින් දක්වා ඇති පදනම් විරහිත බව හා බොරුවේ බරපතල බව තේරුම් ගත හැකි වන අතර හැකි නම් තම පුවතේ නිරවද්‍යභාවය තහවුරු කරන ලෙසට අප දිනමිණ කතුවරයාට සහ ලේක්හවුස් පාලනාධිකාරියට මෙයින් අභියෝග කරමු. දිනමිණ පුවත සත්‍යයක් බවට සාධක සහිතව ඔප්පු කිරීමට ඔවුන් සමත් වුවහොත් නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරය තම කටයුතු නවතා දමා සංවිධානය විසුරුවා හැරීමට කටයුතු කරන බවද දන්වනු කැමැත්තෙමු.

අදාල පුවතේ අසත්‍යභාවය පිළිබඳ අපගේ අභියෝගය එසේ වුවත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ මාධ්‍ය නිදහස උදෙසා කටයුතු කිරීමේ දී ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී ප්‍රවාහය තුළ කටයුතු කරන ඕනෑම දේශපාලන පක්‍ෂයක් සමග හෝ බහුජන සංවිධානයක් සමග අත්වැල් බැඳ ගැනීමට නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරය අතීතයේ මෙන්ම වර්තමානයේදී ද මැලි නොවන අතර අවශ්‍ය වෙතොත් ජීනිවා මානව හිමිකම් කවුන්සලය ඇතුළුව ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සාමාජිකත්වය දරන ඕනෑම ජාත්‍යන්තර සංවිධානයක් ඉදිරියේ කරුණු දැක්වීමට ද කිසිසේත්ම පසුබට නොවන බවද වැඩිදුරටත් අවධාරණය කරනු කැමැත්තෙමු.

රජයේ පාලනය යටතේ පවතින ලේක්හවුස් වැනි ආයතනයක ප්‍රමුඛ ප්‍රකාශණයක් වන දිනමිණ වැනි පුවත්පතක ප්‍රධාන පුවත ලෙස මේ ආකාරයේ අසත්‍ය හා පදනම් විරහිත කරුණු ඇතුලත් ප්‍රවෘත්තියක් පළ වීම අහඹුවක් හෝ අත්වැරදීමක් ලෙස අපි නොසලකන්නෙමු. රජයේ එකඟත්වය හා උනන්දු කිරීමක් නොමැතිව එවැන්නක් විය හැකියැයි විශ්වාස නොකරන අප ඔවුන් මේ ආකාරයේ අසත්‍ය මත සමාජ ගත කිරීම හරහා උත්සාහ දරන්නේ මාධ්‍ය නිදහස උදෙසා පෙනී සිටින සංවිධාන හා එහි ප්‍රමුඛ සාමාජිකයන් විනාශ කිරීම සඳහා ජන මනස සකස් කිරීම වන අතර පසුගිය කාලය තුළ ඝාතන කරන ලද හා කෲර ප්‍රහාරයන් එල්ල කරන ලද ජනමාධ්‍යවේදීන් හා ජනමාධ්‍ය ආයතන ඉලක්ක කර ගනිමින් ද ආණ්ඩුව මේ ආකාරයේ පූර්ව ප්‍රචාරක උපක්‍රමයන් අනුගමනය කර ඇති බවද මෙහිදී සිහිපත් කරනු කැමැත්තෙමු.

එබැවින් අප නැවත නැවතත් ලේක්හවුස් පාලනාධිකාරියට හා දිනමිණ කර්තෘවරයාට අභියෝග කරන්නේ එම පුවතේ සත්‍යතාවය තහවුරු කිරීම සඳහා සාධක සහිතව කරුණු ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලෙසය. එසේ නොවන්නේ නම් නිදහස් මාධ්‍ය ව්‍යාපාරයෙන් සමාව අයදිමින් අදාල පුවත නිවැරදි කරන ලෙසය.

සුනිල් ජයසේකර
කැඳවුම්කරු,

හනා ඊබ්‍රහිම්
ලේකම්

(මේ එම පුවතයි)

A Silenced Media

Frederica Jansz

Last week a story on the front page of a daily English newspaper caught my eye.  Not for its content but for the sheer absurdity of such a story having made headlines on the front page of a newspaper.
This was the story: Manioc stolen from Horogolla. The article went on to say that some 475 kilograms of manioc cultivated by Sunethra Bandaranaike had been stolen from the Bandaranaike walauwwa.
Never mind that people continue to get abducted almost every week –  post war, the fact that the Bandaranaikes’ lost manioc from their walauwwa makes front page news.
Even after the fighting has  stopped the media situation in Sri Lanka remains precarious. The government, last year, banned 45 news websites
The government slogan during the war,  “either you are with us or against us”, had been transcended and transferred to the local press who wary of any backlash have instead decided to play – safe. Very safe.
Journalists looking into even the more mundane stories – post war – investigating government corruption or wrongdoing find themselves in dangerous territory.  Journalists are in danger.  Journalism is at risk.
Journalists are still being targeted.  Prageeth Eknaligoda remains missing.  Then in July last year Uthayan news editor Gnasundaram Kuganathan was targeted.  He was subjected to a brutal attack. His perpetrators are yet to be found.
The war and its aftermath are still treacherous subjects to write on.   Journalists speaking on them continue to hide their voices and their identity.  There is a very high degree of self censorship being practiced and still a culture of fear that pervades the print media – preventing it from going into issues that may bring them harm.  That leaves such reporting to foreign news outlets.
Britain’s Channel 4 has been prominent with its coverage on Sri Lankan soldiers allegedly conducting atrocities on Tamil prisoners of war. The coverage has blown government rhetoric that what happened in the north was a clean humanitarian operation. The exposures have had an impact and as a result the West has been accused of being “jealous” of the Sri Lankan government.
For two years since the war ended the internet provided a platform – to a handful of Sri Lankan critics of the war. Through various means the government has been able to control the local media.  On the one hand the government controls its domestic news agenda through its allies while on the other independent senior editors and staff are given financial and political benefits to achieve the same goal by other means.
The general public is reluctant to speak about the travails that affect the media. Or they simply do not care.  Or care enough.
A government having won a civil war in the North is currently in control of its media.  There is a cultural impunity which is damaging Sri Lankan society and as a  consequence damaging the Sri Lankan media.
There are huge issues currently dominating Sri Lanka – yet the media in toto remains silent.  Sri Lanka’s media coerced into silence cannot unite to speak out on issues such as killings and abductions.  Last year, a list was tabled on the killings, attacks and abductions in Jaffna.
A 30-year-old male from Jaffna was found beaten and hanged to death at a playground in Achchuveli Thoappu in Valikaamam East, 20 km northeast of Jaffna city. The victim had been harassed by the Sri Lanka Army intelligence operatives 2 years ago, residents in the area said. So far no suspects have been taken into custody.
Why does the media continue to be silent on the attack on TNA MPs at a local government election meeting?
On June 16, 2011 armed army personnel in full uniform attacked a meeting of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in Alaveddy, relating to the upcoming local authority elections at which 5 TNA MPs were present. This was an internal party meeting that did not require police permission. Several MSD personnel of the MPs were also assaulted. Major General Walgama, who initially met the MPs soon after the incident, requested that the MPs refrain from lodging a complaint with the police, and further, that they ensure that the incident was not reported through the media. The MPs, however, did not agree to this and proceeded to make statements to the Police.
The incident also was reported to both Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe and the President. Major General Hathurusinghe initially issued a statement that this was a minor incident involving the army and the MSD personnel, but later claimed that he had been misquoted and assured the TNA MPs that if this was done by the army, he would take stern disciplinary action.
On June 20, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa confirmed in an interview to the Island newspaper, that in fact the army had stopped the meeting. No action has been taken thus far.
Every activity that takes place in the North and East first requires approval by the Presidential Task Force and the military.
Why does the media not collectively question this?
M. A. Sumanthiran TNA MP has reiterated that lists of beneficiaries for identified projects in the north  have to be sent to the military. Incidents have been reported of the military altering these to include individuals they prefer for such assistance.

Several families are unable to return to their homes due to the official and unofficial High Security Zone (HSZ) restrictions in areas in the North and East. Large areas of land have been taken by the military for camps and ad hoc HSZs in Thirumurigandi, Shanthapuram and Indupuram, covering the districts of Mullativu and Killinochchi. These HSZs also prevent/severely restrict, access to an unfettered livelihood.
Churches and private property are being occupied by the military in Jaffna, Mannar, and Mullaitivu.
Regular checking by the military takes place in many areas in the Jaffna, Killinochchi and Mullativu districts. Are not these issues for the local media to highlight consistently ? Are these not what make front page news and NOT the fact that the Bandaranaike waluwwa lost 475 kilograms of manioc?
Most advertisements/signboards on the A9 road from Omanthai to Jaffna are in Sinhala. 28 Buddhist statues were brought into the Palaly High Security Zone. Not news?
A significant number of Buddhist stupas/temples have come up on the A9 road, Paranthan, Kilinochchi, near the 561 division, next to Iranamadu tank, etc., What is wrong with us? Can we not see that we are trampling – stomping on the dignity of Tamils – post war? Why are we silent? Are we not supposed to be the watchdogs of this nation?
Sumanthiran maintains that Sinhalese fishermen are occupying padus belonging to Tamil fishermen in Vadamaarachchi East, thus denying them access to it.
Tiles and door frames of houses belonging to those who have been resettled in Vadamaarachchi East after the conflict, have been taken and used in Navy camps. So it is alleged.
The navy is occupying lands in Mullikulam, Vidathaltivu, Silavathurai, and Sannar, preventing people from resettling there. Approximately 200 families are affected due to this in Mullikulam alone. 3524 Acres of land has been taken for the Army camp at Sannar.
The other places where the Army has taken over land are, Paapamoddai, Parappukkadanthan, Nindavil, Kalliyadi, Savarikulam and Kovilkulam.
Similarly, the Police has taken over lands in Iluppaikkadavai, Adampa, Vidathaltivu, Paapamoddai, Vellikulam and Paaliyaru
Why do we, the press remain silent on these issues?  Has Mahinda Rajapaksa been this successful in beating the media into submission? Clearly, the answer is a softly whispered – Yes.
Name boards with new Sinhala names have been fixed in several streets in Kilinochchi. When travelling from Jeyapuram to Pallavaraayankattu, near the Jayapuram junction, there are 2 streets named ‘Mahinda Rajapakse Mawatha’ and ‘Aluth Mawatha’.
These are only 2 examples of several such name boards. Police posts are situated near these boards to ensure they are protected. These boards are situated in the back streets of Kilinochchi to prevent the media from being alerted to this trend.
Buddhist symbols were buried in the area in which the Kilinochchi market used to be. Claims are now being made that they are archeological finds from over 2000 years .
There have been several attempts to both create various ‘societies’ and to stage Sinhala cultural events in the area.
The military is in occupation of several areas in Pooneryn. This includes the Pooneryn hospital. Why is this not an issue for the press?
Are these not matters of national importance that should dominate the pages of our newspapers, and radio and television broadcasts? Is the label of ‘traitor’ too terrifying to be called to take on these issues that we as the media are only duty bound to do so? What of the issue of land grabs? Not only is it rampant in the North and East – namely places like – Batticaloa, Sampur, Vavunathivu, Chenkalady and Vaharai where  almost 1050 acres of land belonging to the Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation is being utilized for the purpose of establishing a naval base, but it is happening right here in Colombo too. Right under our noses. If only we care to look . For example 680 perches of prime land at Bauddhaloka Mawatha has been allocated to the Russian Embassy to build a new complex in a mafia style case where the land has clearly been forcefully taken from its rightful owners. Read more on that story, as well as another land grab in the Kotte Municipality, in these pages next week.
We need to focus more on the economy. Elsewhere on these pages today we carry an article which highlights a multi billion rupee borrowing – nearly 400 billion rupees of it already spent – a part of loans obtained from the Chinese state-owned Export-Import bank.
Sri Lanka has come at a dismal 163rd  in the Press Freedom Index 2011/2012. It has dropped from its previous position at 158 in 2010.
In a nutshell this is what it means. The latest world press freedom index contains sombre realities and confirms certain trends.  Unlike  before, it is clear that in Sri Lanka economic development, institutional reform and respect for fundamental rights do not necessarily go hand in hand. The defence of media freedom is at stake with a dormant and pliant media refusing to do battle.
That is President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s biggest triumph next to winning the civil war. He has beaten to the ground the local press who will no longer voice the oppression and injustices that continue to take place in this island nation.

By – SL