WITH MEDIA GAGGED OR THREATENED, NO PROGRESS FOR FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

 

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WITH MEDIA GAGGED OR THREATENED, NO PROGRESS FOR FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2012.

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 timelineJournalists 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 andLankaWayNews – 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 journalistDharmeratnam 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.

Vaiko asks PM not to support Sri Lanka at UNHRC

 Chennai: MDMK chief Vaiko on Tuesday termed as shocking a Sri Lankan official's claim about New Delhi's backing of Colombo in the ongoing UNHRC session and urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to support it. 

"It is shocking that Mahinda Samarasinghe, the chief Lankan negotiator, has stated that India will support Sri Lanka in the crucial voting at the ongoing session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) at Geneva," Vaiko said in a letter to Singh.

Samrasinghe, who is leading the Lankan delegation at the UNHRC, had earlier claimed that Sri Lanka has received India's full backing against the US sponsored motion on alleged human rights abuses by its army during the war against LTTE. 

Vaiko said India's envoy to Sri Lanka had also reportedly assured President Mahinda Rajapakse of New Delhi's support. 

"If it is true, that will be the ever unpardonable betrayal by the Indian Government against the Tamils of Sri Lanka. 

"I would request you that the Indian government should not support the racist Sri Lankan Government in the UNHRC in Geneva," Vaiko, who has been consistently charging the Congress-led UPA with aiding Colombo militarily in its fight against LTTE, said. 

PTI 

Tamil returnee claims torture in Sri Lanka

 27 February 2012

UPDATE: the order made by the Upper Tribunal is now available.

A Tamil failed asylum seeker forcibly returned from the United Kingdom to Sri Lanka on 21 February 2012 has claimed that he was tortured on arrival. He was later interviewed by British officials. A medical examination arranged by the British High Commission in Colombo showed fresh abrasions on the man’s legs, where he claims that he was kicked by Sri Lankan officials who were questioning him. The man had several other scars and marks that he said were unrelated to the incident, adding some credibility to the case.

A full description of the incident can be found in a new letterwritten pre-emptively by Home Office lawyers to an official at the High Court in London in preparation for a number of legal claims made to prevent removals on a charter flight to Sri Lanka scheduled for 28 February 2012 at 3pm. The letter is being relied on in Home Office efforts to discredit the claims of torture of returned failed asylum seekers made most recently at the weekend by New York based monitoring body Human Rights Watch.

Any physical abuse of a detainee is likely to be deemed at least inhuman and degrading treatment in breach of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights because of the ‘particular vulnerability’ of those in detention: Ribitsch v Austria 18896/91 [1995] ECHR 55 at paragraph 36. Ribitsch is an old case predating the landmark decision in Selmouni v France 25803/94 [1999] ECHR 66. These days abuse of a detainee is more likely to be considered plain torture.

At least one fresh asylum claim is thought to have been heard today, 27 February. The claim was heard in the Upper Tribunal by Judges Storey and Jordan and was rejected. The Home Office letter was produced at this hearing. It is thought likely that other similar fresh claims against removal on the scheduled charter flight will also be rejected.

The Council underlines the need for the Human Rights Council to maintain its focus freedom of expression

Monday, February 27, 2012

The Foreign Affairs Council meeting held on 27 of February adopted its conclusions on the EU priorities at the UN Human Rights Council. The EU reaffirms its strong support to the Human Rights Council and states its intention to present a resolution on the situation of human rights in Burma/Myanmar.

European Ministers on Foreign Affairs agreed into the latest Council meeting held in Brussels, the conclusions regarding the EU priorities at the UN Human Rights Council. Among the decisions adopted, the EU is determined to continue contributing strongly to the important work of the Human Rights Council, in cooperation with all other stakeholders, and stands ready to engage and cooperate with countries from all regions to work together to this end.

On the other hand, the Council also appreciate the readiness of the Human Rights Council to address urgent cases of human rights violations. In this respect, the EU welcomes and supports the leading role of the Human Rights Council in addressing over the last year developments and human rights concerns in North Africa and the Middle East, in particular Libya, Syria and Iran, but also in the case of Belarus. In August 2011, the EU already called for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to resign.

In addition, the Council announced that the EU will work closely with Japan in order to secure the extension of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Democratic People’s Republic of Koreato address the continued critical human rights situation in the country. The EU also announced that it will present a resolution on the situation of human rights in Burma/Myanmar, which will fully reflect the important recent developments in the country and also recognize that serious human rights concerns, particularly in ethnic areas, remain. Furthermore, the EU will support efforts aimed at keeping the issue of accountability in Sri Lanka on the agenda of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), as announced by the Ministers. The EU will encourage the Government of Sri Lanka to fully implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission as a first step.

Sri Lankan protests – from street to Tweet

Hashtags took on traditional banner-wavers over the issue of Sri Lankan human rights Monday, both in Colombo and in cyberspace.

By Richard Walker

While pro-government supporters crowded the Sri Lankan capital’s main thoroughfare, multi ethnic and pressure groups organised a tweet shower aimed at undermining the Sri Lankan government’s appearance Monday at the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva.

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Colombo's primary goal at the world’s highest human rights forum is to thwart a resolution championed by the US asking Sri Lanka to do more to bring about meaningful reconciliation in the bitterly divided north and east of the country. It also wants to convince HRC members that it needs more time to implement recommendations from its own “Lessons Learned and Reconciliation” report, a document criticised by Amnesty International in October as a delaying tactic betraying an intention to do nothing.

Sri Lanka’s bitter 30-year civil war came to a bloody end in 2009 with the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) suffering a crushing military defeat. A subsequent UN investigation, as well as several journalistic probes, have levelled accusations of war crimes at both sides--something the present government refuses to accept.

How they Tweet each other

Activists’ use of Twitter makes for a contrast with today’s street marches in Colombo. “We’ve chosen to use Twitter so that we can react in real time to what the government of Sri Lanka is saying at the HRC today,” Fred Carver from ‘Sri Lanka Campaign’ told RNW.
“We’ll hear a rose-tinted view from them, or we’ll hear them ask again for more time… The comments we’ll be making are from anonymous but real Sri Lankans who are too afraid to speak their minds for fear of reprisals.”

Sri Lanka’s independent media is used to being harassed and monitored by shadowy, often violent, groups of men operating from mini-vans or motorbikes believed by victims to be in the employ of the police. Some believe the level of media monitoring is becoming more sophisticated. “The govt will clearly monitor those behind the hashtag campaign and record the output for future reference, and possibly even extra-judicial or punitive action after the end of the [HRC] sessions in late March,” Sanjana Hattotuwa, of the citizens journalism website ‘Groundviews’, told RNW.

But today’s appearance in Geneva is more about the world stage and influencing international opinion than domestic media freedoms. “Ultimately, the governmentt will ride the tide of hashtags this week and rely on its diplomacy to dilute or defeat the US-led resolution. The issue, however, will not go away,” said Hattotuwa.

UN pick ‘n’ mix

As the Sri Lankan government stands in the UN’s human rights chamber today to defend its record on its treatment of the Tamil minority since the end of the civil war, it continues to refute claims by the UN Secretary General’s expert panel, which wants an investigation into allegations of rape, executions and the bombing of civilian hospitals. The EU is as unimpressed by Colombo’s lack of reaction to these charges as the UNSG.

In statement made last week the European Union said: “The EU regrets that questions raised in the report of the expert panel of the UN Secretary General have to a large extent not been reflected. The EU recalls that the issue of accountability is an essential part of the process of national reconciliation and implies inquiries into specific responsibilities for possible crimes committed by the regular forces as well as by the LTTE.”

In other words, a proper investigation is expected and required by segments of the international community. Activists say Colombo’s efforts in Geneva today are aimed at preventing that.

Congressman Kingston’s Irresponsible Letter on Sri Lanka

February 24, 2012

U.S. Representative Jack Kingston (R-GA) recently submitted a bipartisan letter to President Barack Obama. The short note is heavy on rhetoric and light on reality.

By Gibson Bateman

U.S. Representative Jack Kingston (R-GA) recently submitted a bipartisan letter to President Barack Obama. Cosigned by eleven other members of Congress, it effusively praises the Sri Lankan government for all of its accomplishments since end of the country’s twenty-six-year civil war.

The short note is heavy on rhetoric and light on reality. It talks about the enormous potential for a strengthening of US-Sri Lankan relations, going on to use words like “post-conflict,” while congratulating Rajapaksa’s semi-authoritarian regime for doing such a good job of resettling IDPs, among other misperceptions. Perhaps the most absurd part of the letter is the following:

“In addition, we are encouraged by the ongoing negotiations with minority political parties and the strengthening of the democratic process. We welcome Sri Lanka’s willingness to preemptively report on its civil conflict by establishing a politically diverse and independent Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. As Sri Lanka pursues these positive steps, it should know it has a friend in the United States.”

I seriously doubt Congressman Kingston (or any of his colleagues) is conversant in Sri Lankan politics. If he were, he would know that “ongoing negotiations” with minority parties are not really happening.

Are the Congressmen even aware of the composition of the LLRC? Or how deeply flawed both the commission itself and the overall process were?

More importantly, they would know that Sri Lanka has obviously become less democratic over the past few years.

Simply put, this misguided letter is in defense of free trade, stronger economic ties, jobs and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Most discouragingly, Mr. Kingston actually travelled to Sri Lanka last fall. Doesn’t the Congressman know that there a far fewer military personnel on the streets when foreign diplomats are visiting?  Do the Congressman and his colleagues really think Sri Lanka is smoothly moving towards genuine national reconciliation?

That seems unlikely.

Sri Lanka was recently ranked 163 (out of 179) on the 2011-2012 Press Freedom Index, published by the widely respected Reporters Without Borders. When it comes to media freedom, Sri Lanka is behind Saudi Arabia and only four spots ahead of Cuba. This is not what democracy looks like. Sri Lanka is better described as a pseudo-democracy still brimming with ethnic tension nearly three years after the civil war.

Yet this group of legislators seems to measure Sri Lanka’s democratic credentials based almost exclusively on the fact that the country holds regular elections.

There are two plausible scenarios worth considering. Maybe Congressman Kingston and a few of his colleagues really do think Sri Lanka has made discernible progress towards national reconciliation.

Or, more likely, the missive is an unequivocal political calculation.

Contradictions when it comes to US foreign policy and international human rights are well-known. But, when it comes to Sri Lanka, it appears that President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and others are on the right side of history—pushing for accountability. The US has already announced that it will bring a resolution against Sri Lanka at the next session of UN’s Human Rights Council, which will begin in Geneva later this month.

The case for an international investigation into what transpired during the final phase of the conflictis as clear as it is convincing. Widespread violations of international human rights and international human law were committed by both government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Unfortunately, President Rajapaksa is hostile to even a cursory glance at what transpired during the final phase of the conflict.

Most importantly, Sri Lanka’s perennial lack of accountability for past human rights violations have done nothing but encourage further abuses. As The Economist and other publications have recently noted, disappearances, militarization, media freedom, sexual violence, land issues, corruption and impunity are all significant challenges.

With the 19th session of the UN’s Human Rights Council coming imminently, Sri Lanka is coming under fire for good reason. The Rajapaksa administration still shows no real interest in a political solution or even touching the recommendations of its own LLRC report.

Foreign policy, post-war Sri Lanka and international human rights norms are not particularly hot topics in Georgia, or anywhere else in the US. That is understandable, but that does not mean that shameless acts of hollow diplomacy should be tolerated. Congressman Kingston, a solid conservative, is unlikely to receive much of a challenge in this November’s election.

Nevertheless, this flagrant display of opportunism is reprehensible.

Geopolitically, it is true that the US does not want to “lose” Sri Lanka to China. However, promoting tyranny abroad tends to have consequences which are usually negative for the US at home. Now is not the time for sycophantic gestures and platitudinous remarks on behalf of Washington’s special interests.Of course, whether the Congressman Kingston actually believes what he has recently written is anybody’s guess. But one thing is hard to deny: it is irresponsible, unwise and pathetic for US Congressmen to support a rising autocrat like Mr. Rajapaksa.

DDoS attack disrupts TamilNet web traffic

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 February 2012, 23:14 GMT]
Distributed Denial-of-Service Attack (DDoS), identified by the service provider of TamilNet as originating in an orchestrated way from certain affluent parts of the world, has been disrupting web traffic of TamilNet.com since Saturday. The attack on the independent media reporting to the world on Tamil affairs coincides with the opening of the 19th sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) in Geneva on Monday, where the USA and Sri Lanka have already pitched positions in hijacking the focus of issues concerning the cause of genocide-affected Eezham Tamils. TamilNet has been forced to seek expert services in regularising the web traffic. As a media arguing for Eezham Tamil public to take up the issues into their hands, TamilNet depends on the support of nobody other than the Tamil masses and the alternative world. 

TamilNet Editorial Board

In the past too, TamilNet in its 15-years of web transmission had been targeted to similar web attacks, but in minor scale.

Sri Lanka has been blocking the web traffic of TamilNet inside the island since June 2007. 

In the long struggle of Eezham Tamils, in the pre-Internet era, regimes in Colombo were jamming broadcasts including those of the Tamil services of the BBC and Radio Veritas. Full story >>

Government misleading the public on UN resolution- Tissa

Monday, 27 February 2012

United National Party (UNP) today accused the government of misleading the country’s people regarding the resolution to be moved against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva.

UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said that there has been no official announcement that action will be taken against Sri Lanka through the resolution, However, by conjuring up false propaganda claiming that individuals including the President will be dragged to the electric chair and through protests, there is an attempt to divert the public’s opposition towards the government, he pointed out.

Speaking to a daily newspaper and stated that the said resolution calls for the implementation of the recommendations made by the LLRC report.

Without reaching the solutions to these matters through discussions and by provoking the public to protest the government is making them forget their problems and is directing their attention in other redirections, he said.

“Even if this resolution is moved, and if it is passed or not there are several other problems internally in Sri Lanka that need solving,” Mr.Attanayake added.

Claiming that the government had gathered people to protest though issuing circulars, the General Secretary also stated that the people who attend these protests at the expense of the government should actually protest against the methods of the government, he added.

Mahinda Samarasinghe at the UNHRC

Monday, 27 February 2012

The following is the full text of the speech by Mahinda Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka’s special Human Rights envoy, at the 19th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Not checked against delivery.

I am honoured and privileged to be able to once again share with this august body, Sri Lanka’s experience in promoting and protecting the human rights of its people, in accordance with universally accepted standards.

In the 2 years and 9 months since the end of the armed conflict against terrorism and the onset of peace, Sri Lanka has made significant progress towards recovery and achieving reconciliation, by incrementally overcoming many challenges posed to the nation and its people by almost 30 years of conflict.  The rollback and eventual abolition of emergency regulations in August 2011, in tandem with the gradual improvement in the country’s law and order situation in the post-conflict phase, has led to further consolidation of peace.  It has also demonstrated to the world Sri Lanka’s genuine aspiration in its approach to achieving a peace that is stable and sustainable.
Read more...

Parcel of food and a Rs. 1000/- given to ‘fight’ against foreign invaders- MaRa regime’s rescuers flop at village level

Monday 27 of February 2012

(Lanka-e-News-27.Feb.2012, 11.45PM) The MaRa regime which had heaped unbearable economic burdens and hardships on the people thereby provoking their monumental resentment and opposition, found in the present Geneva human rights conference an escape route from people’s bitter hostilities against it . The regime by launching the campaign, ‘people’s group against foreign invaders’ directed against the UN human rights conference is diverting the attention of the abysmally suffering people from their dire woes currently besetting them. In any event , according to our outstation correspondents , this campaign had been unsuccessful at village levels.

In most areas , the Govt. employees at District Secretariats and Govt. offices have been forcibly brought to participate in the protests . Yet these protests have not lasted more than half an hour, reports say. In some regions a parcel of lunch and a Rs. thousand had been given as an inducement to make them join in the protests.

Nishantha Ubeywansa ,the Dep. Director General of National Rupavahini TV channel has personally gone to various places and had forced outside workers also to take part in the protests, and threatening them that , otherwise they stand the risk of losing their jobs. This Director General had conducted himself in a manner that is worse than that of an underworld unlawful criminal who threatens the law abiding citizens if they lawfully report him to the police. Dayaratne Ratgedera and present Chairman Mohan Samaranayake, who held a post in the UN formerly, have also begun running wild in all directions in search of people for the campaign claiming there is not enough crowd for the demonstrations.
It is view of the majority that the notification issued by the Three Maha Nayakes to rescue the MaRa regime at this juncture is a most grave insult inflicted on the Buddhist people of this country , because this notice has been issued , despite the fact that the Maha Nayakes whose eyes and ears are open being fully aware of the raging lawlessness in the country and atrocities committed on the people by the MaRa regime including the following :

Suspects brought to courts being abducted by the White van even while they are within the court precincts; Judges are attacked on the middle of the roads ; while the people who provide the public funds to run and fatten the regime are plunged into starvation and hardships , the regime ruthlessly imposing unending burdens – introducing a recent 40% fuel price hike among other hikes; the son of regime’s ‘Maharaja’ taking part in car races in showy luxurious Lambogini car in ‘mahajara’ manner while people are struggling even for a square meal a day ; and MaRa regime shooting at and killing people who are abysmally suffering and therefore protesting .