“Wimal can’t go anywhere, he can only go to jail” – President

Sunday, 05 May 2013

The President has recently told several of his friends that Minister Wimal Weerawansa cannot go to any other political party due to the large number of robberies he has been engaged in. The President has added that Weerawansa could only go to jail given his actions.

Minister Weerawansa has been making statements against certain actions of the government and carrying out a continuous attack against Finance Ministry Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera. The President’s friends have told him that the comments made by Weerawansa against the holding of Northern Provincial Council elections and the increase of electricity tariffs have affected the government’s popularity.

The President has said that Weerawansa was attacking the government and PB with his knowledge and that he cannot go anywhere else but only go to jail.

Weerawansa had booked a large number of rooms at the Suisse Hotel in Kandy during the first week of April and invited teachers who had taught him to a felicitation programme. Weerawansa’s family had spent the time in the hotel’s Rajasinghe suite. The President’s friends have said that the bill was footed by Weerawansa’s ministry.

The President had responded saying that Weerawansa had informed him of the felicitation ceremony and that the rooms were booked on a 50% discount offered by the hotel on a request made by the junior Diyawadana Nilame of the Dalada Maligawa, Krishantha Hiswella. The President has said that he was also aware that Weerawansa had personally paid the bill for the felicitation programme.

“He engages in million rupee businesses. A hotel bill is something very small to him,” the President has added.

Karaoke girls get red carpet treatment after deporting a foreigner with a tattoo

Sunday, 05 May 2013 

Immigration and Emigration Controller, Chulananda Perera who immediately deported a British national as a religious extremist because he had a picture of the Lord Buddha tattooed on his arm has extended a red carpet welcome to karaoke girls and prostitutes from China, Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal, Philippines and India. In fact he has even introduced an easy way for these girls to extend their visas.

Owners of karaoke bars have decided to employ local girls to their bars due to the continuous raids carried out by the police to crack down on the foreign girls. The immigration and emigration controller after hearing this move had called the karaoke bar owners and has asked them to employ foreign girls and that he would personally ensure visas to them.

In return he has asked the karaoke bar owners to send him a Chinese, Thai or Filipino meal for him to enjoy once a week.

The owner of Pier 3, Nuwara Eliye Wasantha is a close relative of the immigration and emigration controller. The karaoke girls are provided with their necessary facilities by the immigration and emigration controller through Nuwara Eliye Wasantha and Mal Kade Priyantha.

President’s friend threatens Water Board Chairman

Sunday, 05 May 2013 

One of the President’s close friends, Eshana de Silva is continuously threatening and harassing the Chairman of National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Karunasena Hettiarachchi, a trade union activist said.

The trade union activist said that when the Board has shortlist the best bids to carry out the Anuradhapura South water project, Eshana de Silva had forcibly entered the Chairman’s office and asked for form for him to bid as well. When the Chairman had refused to give him a form saying the bids have been short listed, de Silva had shouted at him and immediately telephoned the Presidential Secretariat and informed of the incident.

Accordingly, an official from the Presidential Secretariat had telephoned the Chairman when de Silva was in his office and asked that a form be given to him.

It is this Eshana de Silva, who is local agent for the Norochcholai coal power plant that has broken down 19 times so far.

The Garrisoning Of The Indian Ocean

By Malinda Seneviratne -May 5, 2013 

Malinda Seneviratne

A leaked draft MoU between the governments of the USA and the Maldives indicates that plans are afoot to set up a US military base in the Indian Ocean.   While the US Embassy in Colombo has pooh-poohed the said document as a ‘Status of Forces Agreement’ (SOFA) of the kind that exists with respect to some 100 other countries, and that there is no intention of ‘setting up a military base’, the wording is more than adequate to sanction such designs at any given moment.  The document, if signed, would allow arms bearing troops and the bringing in unspecified amounts of unspecified material, in effect everything that makes a ‘military base’ apart from the name; another critical piece of Obama’s ‘Asian Pivot’ strategy.

Maldivians should do what is in their best interest of course and by the same token if this latest move in the USA’s pretty consistent and relentless strategy of garrisoning the planet is seen as a threat, then other countries (like Sri Lanka) must likewise decide what’s best in their national interest.

In any event, Sri Lanka can but object in word but that’s about it. Sri Lanka doesn’t have the guns or the bucks to do much more.  India can, but probably won’t.

As of now, what is proposed is a ‘Llily pad’; small, secretive, inaccessible facilities with limited troop presence, Spartan amenities and prepositioned weaponry, one of over 50 set up by the USA since 2000, from Djibouti to Hondurus, Mauritania to the Cocos Islands.  Lily pads are easily transformed into comprehensive and pivotal military bases, like the approximately 1000 such US facilities in 150 countries, complementing of course the 11 aircraft career task forces (floating bases).

It all sits well with the strategic shift from full-scale invasion to special operations, proxy armies, militarization of spying and intelligence, drones, cyber-attacks and ‘joint operations’.   Add to this long-range air and naval power; humanitarian and disaster relief missions that serve military intelligence, patrolling and ‘hearts and minds’ operations, and we have a global thug whose declining economic power can be swiftly mitigated by outright theft by way of sanctified resource extraction and market-fixing.  All in the name of democracy, civilization, human rights and good governance, of course and yes, the media does the consent-manufacturing exercise well.

For decades now, the USA has tried to get a foothold in the Indian Ocean that’s a bit larger than Diego Garcia.  Sri Lanka has a love-hate relationship with the USA, with the ‘love’ part probably being insignificant to wrest from the political leadership a Sri Lankan version of the Maldivian SOFA comfortable enough for the US Marines to recline upon.  Perhaps this explains the ‘hate’ part evidenced by US moves in the UNHRC against Sri Lanka.

On the other hand a US-Maldive SOFA can be a lily pad from which something more potent than frogs can jump out, if deemed necessary.   India is a strategic partner and is too complex a political riddle to untangle, a necessary precondition for setting up military bases in that country.  Given global political realities, there is no way that the US would move in on the Maldives without the blessings of Manmohan Singh.

The USA will do what’s in its best interest.  If invasion is necessary, we can expect invasion.  It is far more cost-effective to purchase submission, with bucks or threats.  If these don’t work then come the guns, but even guns work better when there are ‘friendly forces’ within the country.  This is why there is a thing called ‘espionage’. This is why the US Embassy’s politicking must be checked and all movements of Embassy and other staff be closely monitored.  Spies can operate in I/NGOs, disguise themselves as journalists or students like the ‘BBC’ team that went to North Korea, and often come dressed in local skin with local name.

The Government cannot do it alone. The citizenry must be vigilant too. Only the Government can obtain the citizen’s support but only a government that has the trust of the citizen can do so.  The trust-gap is widening.  It amounts to a window-of-opportunity for intervention.  Regime-haters might salivate, but they are part of the citizenry that will have to pay the heavy price of intervention and accompanying anarchy.   It is subjugation and not the source or name or national identity of the subjugator that counts.  Either way, there’s a nation that is under threat.  In the end, palming necessary battles to outsiders never bring relief.  We have to fight our battles by ourselves and part of that battle is to keep outsiders outside.  Vigilance is called for.

*Malinda Seneviratne is the Chief Editor of ‘The Nation’ and his articles can be found at www.malindawords.blogspot.com

MAHANAYAKES ASKED TO HELP STOP KANDY NIGHT RACES May 5, 2013  The Foundation for the Protection of Kandyan Heritage has requested the Mahanayakes Theras of Malwathu and Asgiri chapters to take necessary steps to halt the ‘Night Races’ scheduled to be held in the historic city of Kandy. A group including the Chairman of the foundation, former parliamentarian Nimal Premawansa, today handed over a written request to the Mahanayakes, Ada Derana reporter said. The motor races are set to take place on May 17 and 18 in the streets of Kandy and its organizers have reportedly received approval from the Kandy Municipal Council. Mr Premawansa says that holding night races on the streets of Kandy would harm the religious and historical condition of Kandy, home of the sacred Tooth Relic. He stated that Mahanayake of the Malwatte Chapter Ven. Thibbatuwawe Sumangala Thera had assured that measures will be taken to send a joint letter to the President regarding the matter, with the Mhanayake of the Asgiri Chapter. Nimal Premawansa vowed to resort to legal action to protect the Kandyan Heritag,e if no solution is provided to the issue People should stop paying their electricity bills: Thera The Sri Lankan population should get rid of its timid nature and should firmly refrain from paying their electricity bills, a prominent Bikkhu organisation said today. Video The United Bikkhu Front General Secretary, Venerable Thinyawala Palitha Thera told a news conference that the Sri Lankan population should get rid of its timid nature and rise up against injustice that was meted out to them.  “There is no other population in the world which is more timid than the Sri Lankan population,” he said. Referring to a judgment which was given by the Supreme Court in response to a case filed by him in the past, the Thera said he had been given the right by the courts to file legal action whenever the electricity tariff was increased. However, he said he was not willing to file action as the people were not showing any interest because of their timid nature.   He therefore urged the people to refrain from paying the electricity bills until the government decided to reinstate the earlier electricity tariff rates. The venarable Thera therefore charged that the tariff concession which was announced on May Day was a false one as the people would get a minimal benefit from it. Throwing a challenge at all ministers the Venerable Thera urged each minister to reveal to the general public as to how much of electricity they consumed at their households and its value. He threw this challenge by stating that a minister pays only Rs 2,000 as their monthly electricity charges no matter how much of power they use. He therefore said the real electricity bill of a minister comes to around Rs 70,000 per month. (YP) Video and Pix by Nisal Baduge

California police questions Mervyn Silva

(Lanka-e-News- 05.April.2013, 12.30PM) When Minister Mervyn Silva visited America , he along with the support of some pro MR supporters in California displayed a video footage of the murders committed by the LTTE. That was on the 27th of last month. Mervyn Silva showed a video footage of the killing of 33 Samaneras (child monks) at Aranthalawa by the LTTE. While this video tape was being played , the US police had arrived and questioned Mervyn. Mervyn who demonstrates his powers before the local police was subdued and meek however before the police of that country. Like a mouse he had answered the police , who had later left the scene .

What is most ridiculous about this drama of Mervyn who thrives in his own excrement like a pig but blabbers he is King Dutugemunu and not from the latter’s pigsty is , this same minister Mervyn sitting side by side at the cabinet assembly with the very murderer who gave direct orders to kill the Samaneras at Aranthalawa – that prime suspect in those murders is none other than Karuna Amman , the erstwhile LTTE army leader who is exalted under this regime and given the position of the regime’s party Vice president , and against whom a warrant has been issued by the Trincomalee courts to immediately arrest and produce before the courts . It is also questionable how those California land crocodilesof MaRa forgot to question Mervyn on all these sordid games of his and his regime while this video footage killings were being shown.

It is also questionable why they forgot to ask Mervyn , how after banning the voting rights of war hero Fonseka , LTTE media spokesman Daya Master is being invited to field as a candidate for elections? 

These California land crocodiles shed crocodile tears feeling sorry for the present dire plight of the country when discussing with others. However , when Ministers like Dr. Mervyn Silva who are responsible for plunging this country into that predicament arrive in that country, they give him a ‘red carpet’ welcome. They reserve rooms for Mervyn who visit them while being fully aware that it is Ministers like Mervyn who are robbing public funds and are ruining the country wholesale. 

Despite knowing all this of Mervyn and his regime , these unscrupulous MaRa land crocodiles in US are spending for Dr. Goo’s Hotel comforts , food , drinks, lodging and even to kiss him when he comes over there, is because they know if Mervyn continues as Minister, somehow, some day they could also get an illicit reward from corrupt Mervyn who is notorious for such kickbacks ,bribes and crooked deals at the expense of the country and people’s funds. 

(photo shows Mervyn being questioned by the California police )

Eezham Tamils among HR defenders shortlisted for Amnesty NZ award

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 May 2013, 00:56 GMT]
Two Eezham Tamils were among the six human rights defenders shortlisted for periodical award by the New Zealand chapter of the Amnesty International this year. Mr. A. Theva Rajan was placed next to the main award winner and Dr. Nagalingam Rasalingam was one of the six finalists. This is the first time Eezham Tamils have been recognized for the consideration of the Defender of Human Rights Award by Amnesty NZ, Eezham Tamil news sources in New Zealand said. 

79-year-old Mr A. Theva Rajan was earlier awarded Queens Service Medal in 2011, in specific recognition of his services to the Tamil community in New Zealand. 

Chronology:

05.05.13  Eezham Tamils among HR defenders shortlisted for A..

14.01.11  Queen Elizabeth honours three Tamils this year

Lal Medawattegedera Is The Winner Of The 2012 Gratiaen Prize

May 5, 2013 |
The Gratiaen Prize for the best work of creative writing in English was awarded to Lal Medawattegedera for his unpublished novel Playing Pillow Politics at MGK on 04 May 2013 at Park Street Mews, Colombo. This year’s winner emerged from a tight contest from a strong shortlist lineup which included poetry, prose and drama. Commenting on the judging process, chairman of the judging panel, Jayantha Dhanapala, commended the quality of the submissions and reflected on the difficult task of judging between different genres such as poetry, drama and prose, all of which have differing aesthetic qualities. Dhanapala also commended the Trust for its committed service to the country’s literary culture and Standard Chartered Bank for its commitment to substantive Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

Celebrating its twentieth year, this year’s Gratiaen Prize has an unbroken history of rewarding literary excellence in Sri Lanka. Themed around “twenty years of Sri Lankan story telling” this year’s awards ceremony had a retrospective segment commemorating past winners. The current value of the prize is Rs 200,000 and the H A I Goonetileke Prize for Translations which offers the same prize money is awarded every other year. The prize was founded by Michael Ondaatje who was the joint winner of the Booker Prize for his novel The English Patient in 1993. Guided by Ondaatje’s vision of promoting Sri Lankan writing in English through a prize devoted to resident Sri Lankan writers, the Gratiaen Prize has supported, encouraged and rewarded Sri Lanka writing continuously for two decades with a number of Gratiaen winners gaining regional and international critical acclaim and popular success.

Mr Anirvaran Ghosh Dastidar, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank, commented, “The bank is very proud of its long affiliation with the award which is now celebrating its 20th year. The prize has successfully provided an impetus to encouraging creative writing in English in the country, and we look forward to seeing even greater enthusiasm as the years progress.”

The judging panel of the 2012 Gratiaen Prize included Jayantha Dhanapala, former career diplomat (chair), Sumathy Sivamohan, academic, writer, dramatist and filmmaker and senior journalist Lyn Ockersz. Speaking on behalf of the judging panel the chairman Jayantha Dhanapala said that the winning entry was an innovative and eclectic mix of realist and allegorical genres which critically reflected on contemporary Sri Lankan society with sustained irony. The other shortlisted works were It’s not in the Stars by Rizvina Morseth de Alwis,Kalumaali  by Ruwanthie de Chickera and Nadie Kammallaweera, Open Words are for Love-Letting by Malinda Seneviratne and The Professional by Saroj Sinnetamby.

Previous winners of the Gratiaen Prize include Carl Muller (The Jam Fruit Tree), the late Nihal de Silva (The Road from Elephant Pass), Punyakante Wijenaike (Amulet), the late Tissa Abeysekara (Bringing Tony Home), Vivimarie VanderPoorten (Nothing Prepares You), Shehan Karunatilaka (Chinaman) Prashani Rambukwella (Mythil’s Secret). Named after the first Chair of the Gratiaen Trust and Sri Lanka’s foremost librarian and bibliographer, the HAI Goonetileke Prize includes in its list of winners, Sunethra Rajakarunanayake’s Nandithya translated as The Chameleon by Vijitha Fernando, a collection of Liyanage Amarakeerthi’s short stories translated as The Hour When the Moon Weeps by Kumari Gunesekere, Eva Ranaweera’s Sedona translated by Edmund Jayasuriya and Simon Navagattegama’s Samsaraye Dadayakkaraya translated by Malinda Seneviratne.

Cameron under fire over decision to attend Sri Lanka summit

SATURDAY 04 MAY 2013
Human rights groups react with disgust to David Cameron's decision to attend the Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka this November, as our Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jonathan Miller reports.

The Prime Minister’s decision comes amid growing alarm over Sri Lanka’s dismal and worseninghuman rights record and fears that permitting Colombo to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will enable the regime to whitewash allegations of war crimes.

The United Nations says at least 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by Sri Lankan government forces in the final stages of the civil war which ended four years ago amid evidence of war crimes. Continued and persistent human rights abuse has been widely documented since then by the increasingly authoritarian regime.

The Sri Lankan government has consistently denied its involvement in war crimes and has dismissed as "fiction" allegations of continued human rights abuse.

The announcement of the British government’s decision to attend CHOGM coincides with thedetention without charge of a prominent Muslim activist.

The Director of the leading Tamil advocacy group said it demonstrated a willingness to "collaborate with evil", echoing comments last week from the Canadian Foreign Minister who said that allowing Colombo to host CHOGM would be "accommodating evil". Canada’s Prime Minister has announced that he will be boycotting the summit.

'Tough message'

But a Downing Street spokesman told Channel 4 News that Mr Cameron would be deliverying "a very tough message to the Sri Lankan government that it needs to make concrete progress on human rights, reconciliation and political settlement". He said that the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary had jointly decided that this could be better achieved by Mr Cameron’s attending the summit than by boycotting it.

I am disappointed as a British citizen and I am embarrassed for Britain that David Cameron is unable to muster a fraction of Canada’s leadership on this. Jan Jananayagam

Jan Jananayagam, who heads Tamils Against Genocide, told Channel 4 News: "I am disappointed as a British citizen and I am embarrassed for Britain that David Cameron is unable to muster a fraction of Canada’s leadership on this. I think we will will look back to regret this as an historic error. It is a sort of death knell for the Commonwealth."

Suren Surendiran of the Global Tamil Forum said: "British Tamils are disgusted that our Prime Minister would even contemplate being in the company of the Rajapaksa family, members of which are being accused of being war criminals."

The Director of the London-based Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice, Fred Carver, said: "David Cameron has shown that he is not interested in the Commonwealth being a community of shared values; what possible meaning can being in the Commonwealth have if it is headed by [Sri Lankan President] Mahinda Rajapaska?"

In the six weeks since the Queen signed the new Commonwealth Charter promoting the 54-member organisation's "shared values" – which include democracy, human rights, good governance and freedom of expression – there have been calls to move the venue of the summit from Sri Lanka.

In March, two former foreign secretaries – one Labour, one Conservative – told Channel 4 News they thought it would be "grotesque" for the Queen to be required to attend the meeting in a country many of whose leaders remain tainted by uninvestigated war crimes allegations and which is accused of persistent human rights abuse, including the disappearance, torture and murder of government critics.

Last month, the Commonwealth Lawyers Association passed a unanimous resolution calling for Sri Lanka’s suspension from the Commonwealth altogether, following the unconstitutional impeachment of the Chief Justice in January. The CLA President, Mark Stephens, told Channel 4 News that permitting Sri Lanka to host the summit "rewarded miscreant behaviour".

Last week, however, a Commonwealth ministerial steering committee confirmed that the CHOGM would be going ahead in Colombo. The Commonwealth Secretary Geneneral Kamalesh Sharma said in a news conference he was fully persuaded that Sri Lanka was sincere in subscribing to and following Commonwealth values.

This means that Sri Lanka will not only host the summit but will assume the chairmanship of the Commonwealth for the following two years.

The Canadian Foreign Minister, who attended the steering committee, responded by saying that he was "appalled". Canada’s Commonwealth envoy, Senator Hugh Segal, who had just returned from a fact-finding tour of Sri Lanka, said that in his view the human rights situation was "getting worse and not better".

We are a strong supporter of the Commonwealth and we believe it can continue to be a force for good in the world, promoting values such as freedom, democracy and human rights.Downing Street spokesman

Canada is alone among Commonwealth member states to say that its head of government will not be attending. Canada’s decision was backed by Yasmin Sooka, who was asked by the UN Secretary General to investigate allegations of war crimes. She told Australia’s Channel 9 last week: "Sri Lanka is quite frankly descending into a state where the rule of law no longer holds sway."

The Downing Street spokesman told Channel 4 News: "We are a strong supporter of the Commonwealth and we believe it can continue to be a force for good in the world, promoting values such as freedom, democracy and human rights.

"Our position is that we can use the visit to see the situation in Sri lanka. When world leaders go, the world’s media goes too and it shines a light on the country and what is happening there."

OBSERVING Press Freedom in Sri Lanka

May 3 World Press Freedom Day

The valour of the pen during self-censorship
T homas Jefferson in a letter to James Currie on January 28, 1786 wrote “our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost”. Although this golden age of freedom of expression has been abridged by the practical needs of economy, individual rights and evolving legal constraints—the freedom of the media still remains an important tenet of democracy. At a time when Sri Lanka is attempting to rebuild and reconcile links that were lost and destroyed through years of suppression, the media plays a large role in facilitating a dialogue of understanding. However due to the various constraints placed on the media from outside sources, and the even more stifling fetters it places on itself; the public loses out on an unbiased and informed discourse that could bring about real amity between communities as well as between the government and the people. On World Press Freedom Day, which falls today, Daily Mirror sought the views of prominent media personnel. “Independence is merely a theoretical concept”Sam Wijesinghe
Chairman, Dispute Resolution Council of the Sri Lanka Press Complaints Commission

We live in a dependent world, so this whole concept of independence is a theoretical concept. A newspaper is published by an individual or company, what is the motive behind this? What is the motive behind most people? It is profit, so when a man starts a newspaper he wants to make a profit out of it. How does a newspaper get an income? Mainly through advertisements; so the owners are dependent on the advertisers.

Media play a big part in government and governments are mostly elected by people. Abraham Lincoln said in 1864 that democracy is government of the people, by the people for the people. But this is not the case today; it is a government of the rich for the rich.

Almost every country calls its self a democratic or socialist entity or both. What do these words mean? If Sri Lanka was called “the Republic of Sri Lanka” it may be the same thing. In most democracies, when there is a crisis one man comes to power. If you take the 1939-1945 war, Chamberlain could not handle it by himself therefore, Churchill was called in and he was given immense power to fight the war.

Those who get elected are in debt; their primary objective when they are elected is to repay debts. We are all familiar with how they repay these debts. President Bush invaded Iraq, ruined it and gave 10 American companies the contracts to rebuild it and they are still trying to rebuild it.

Even in this country, the President knows that most members in his government are in debt and he devises new methods of helping his MP’s to repay their debts.

Like I said at the beginning we cannot have a completely independent press.

 “The world knows what is happening but that does not mean we are safe”

I think that today press freedom in the country is decreasing rapidly, things are getting worse everyday. There are increasingly more forces that are attempting to curtail the voice of the media.

In the past, attacks on the media were tolerated for the sake of national security – when the war was going on – however, today there can be no such excuse yet things are much worse than during the time of the war. The situation in Jaffna is terrible; we have all heard of the attacks on Uthayan.

One thing that we can be happy about today is that at least the outside world knows of what is happening. In the past when the Indian Peace Keeping Forces first came to Sri Lanka they attacked two presses, but this was revealed to the world only two years later. When I worked at Uthayan we had to publish the paper while the IPKF was within our premises. However recently, when Uthayan was attacked the diplomatic community found out about the incident and international media reported on it—this caused the people and the international community to raise a voice against it. The world knows what is happening to the media in this country—but that does not mean we are safe. I think, for there to be reconciliation and true peace and amity in this country and between communities, there needs to be press freedom. I think if the government has a will to ensure press freedom in this country, they will find a way to do it.

 ‘Accept dissent’ – Editors’ Guild tells government

Siri Ranasinghe President, Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka

This is the 20th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day which is recognised by the United Nations in commemoration of all those who have made sacrifices to their lives, limbs, liberty, and the wellbeing of their families to defend the Freedom of the Press and to honour those who continue to do so all over the world.

Sri Lanka has a very poor record of Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression. In the world index, we are embarrassingly low down the order of countries that respect both the Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Expression.

Freedom of the Press is not an inanimate matter. It is not something that concerns only publishers and practitioners. It is something that is at the very root of Democracy and the exchange of ideas in an enlightened and healthy society that the people of this country have inherited for decades.

On our part, we have taken our responsibilities very seriously. We have established a self-regulatory mechanism in the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka that accepts complaints and provides redress to the public for erroneous publications in the National Press; we have set up a College of Journalism for school-leavers and mid-career journalists; we have an Editors’ Code of Professional Practice that provides guidelines for ethical reporting; and we have a Sri Lanka Press Institute that looks into raising the standards of journalism in Sri Lanka.

On the government’s part, we expect it to respect media professionals who have a duty cast upon them to keep the citizenry informed. We urge the Government to accept dissent as part of a democratic and liberal society. We urge the Government to safeguard the lives of working journalists and to permit them to engage in their legitimate profession as provided for in the country’s Constitution.

Several media unions including publishers, editors, journalists, media activists and workers have jointly and separately called on the Government to introduce media law reforms in accordance with the Colombo Declaration on Media Freedom and Social Responsibility of 1998 (revised in 2008). These include the repeal of the Press Council Act, the introduction of a Right to Information Act and the enactment of a Contempt of Court Act as a priority. We sincerely hope the Government would give ear to these longstanding requests from the Sri Lankan media.

Permit me to salute those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defending the Freedom of the Press and the Freedom of Expression over the years; those who have been victims of ‘hit squads’ that have been permitted to function with impunity in recent years; and those who steadfastly continue to uphold the right to Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Expression, as we commemorate this significant day worldwide, including in Sri Lanka.

 “Reflecting public opinion  does not mean arousing  communal hatred”

Giving the latest news and articles on those subject matters for the enlightenment of the reader are not only the most important duty of a newspaper. A newspaper in a democratic set up should also have access to mingle among the people and learn their problems and publish them, so that public opinions could be created and solutions put forward.

Creating public opinions does not mean rabble-rousing or creating communal hatred, but when a certain category of people are being discriminated in their fundamental rights, the newspaper should certainly take a stand and express its opinions and try to set aright the misgivings of the affected people.

Publishing a news paper in a province and that also in an area where predominantly Tamil-speaking people live cannot keep its eyes closed to the plights and problems faced by them.

So necessarily and usually when a provincially established newspaper tries to air out the grievances of the people and forward their opinion to those concerned for solutions, does not mean creating communal hatred as some people try to establish.

The UTHAYAN newspaper and its journalists are being targeted by the pawn that may be at some instances termed as unidentified gangs only for the above reason – since it has largest circulation in the North.

Free expression of opinion is guaranteed in the constitution and the U.N. Charter also affirms it. So expressing grievances of the people and calling for solutions are surely not contrary to the Human Rights Charter.

In a democratic setup, curbing the expression of opinion is tantamount to throttling the very fundamental rights of the people. And this kind of situation will ultimately lead the country to a dictatorship.

In view of the Provincial Council elections round the corner, the Government law-enforcing authorities and also the political parties should make it a point to confirm the norms of our Constitution and International standards.

 “Obsolete laws still stifling media freedom”

Lasantha Ruhunage
President, Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ Association

Journalists are celebrating world press freedom day in the backdrop of a lot of intimidation and harassment to themselves and the media organisations; there are a number of reasons for the formation of such a precarious situation for the media.
There have been very violent attacks on the media during the past few years; media personnel go missing, they are abducted, and they are assaulted and threatened.  This leads us to the conclusion that the attacks on the media take place with the blessing of the government or the government willingly turns a blind eye to the intimidation of the media. We find it hard to believe that the Police are unable to bring these perpetrators to task, because they have shown acumen in capturing criminals of all sorts in the past few years.

“Media practices self-censorship for the sake of security”

Sunil Jayasekera
General Secretary, Free Media Movement

This year as we celebrate World Press Freedom Day; the Sri Lankan media is facing a dire situation and a crisis of faith. I have two reasons for saying this; firstly, the media today is faced with a series of very threatening external forces. Media institutions, personnel and activists are being threatened and intimidated or they are being attacked outright. If you take the number of media persons who have been attacked as a proportion of our population, it is a very scary statistic. Therefore it is almost impossible for the free media to function in an environment of this nature. What is worse is that there is no justice, for all the men and women who have been attacked and for all the institutions that have been attacked.