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In: Signature Tune Begin
Anchor 1
Hello. You’re listening to Panoscope, a fortnightly radio magazine produced byPanos Radio South Asia. In this edition of Panoscope we focus on the escalatingattacks on media houses and journalists in Sri Lanka. Intimidation of journalists isnot new in Sri Lanka. But current trends are alarming. This situation washighlighted during U-N High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour’sOctober visit to Sri Lanka. She noted the absence of the rule of law and theviolations of human rights in the country. Journalists disappear without a trace.They are often arrested without charges, abducted or found dead.
Bridge Begin
Anchor 2
Twenty-three-year-old Arthur Warmanan (WAH-MA-NAAN) of the
Sunday Leader 
was detained recently. His charge: writing a story alleging a minister’smisuse of state funds to pay his wife’s telephone bills. The journalist was taken infor questioning with the minister alleging that Wamaman had tried to blackmailhim. Wamaman, an ethnic Tamil, was also prevented from making his statementto the police in Tamil or in English. He was forced to make it in Sinhala. The National Peace Council is appalled that government officials should seek toharass media personnel and their families on grounds of ethnicity. Thesuspension of license to A-B-C, a popular radio network with five radio stations inthe Sinhala, Tamil and English is another blow to media freedom.More than 15 journalists have been killed in Sri Lanka since 1999 and seven of them killed in 2006 are from the war-torn north. Two journalists are on the‘missing’ list. Three have been arrested. Twelve have been attacked. At leastthree journalists have fled the country. One thread binds them all: They dared toinvestigate and write on corruption, drug trafficking and the ethnic conflict.Panoscope Correspondent Krishni Ifham files this report from Sri Lanka.
Fade In: SFX Protest Campaign.mp3
Anchor 3
Minority communities in the North and East are the worst hit.Recently, senior journalists have also become targets: Vithiyadharan (VEE-THIYA-DHA-RAN), Chief Editor of Tamil publications Sodar Oli and Udayan(UDA-YAN), Lasantha Wickramathunga (WICK-RAMA-THUNGA), Editor of theSunday Leader, Iqbal Athas (ATH-THAS), Defence correspondent of the Sunday
 
Times have all been issued serious warnings. Iqbal Athas was threatened byprotesters in front of his residence after he exposed corruption in the purchaseon MiG-27 fighter jets. The government retaliated by removing Athas’s securitycover. Athas had this to say…
Act 1, Iqbal Athas.mp3 (M - In English)
In August, this year I had occasion to report on the Sri Lankan government’spurchase of four MiG-27 fighter jets from Ukraine. Now, in respect of theprocurements of four MiG-27 aircraft on the 12
th
of August I reported in
TheSunday Times
that even the government of Ukraine had commencedinvestigation as to why monies from the sale of four fighter jets did not arrive inthat country.In May 2005, I returned to Sri Lanka from Hong Kong and the police chief at thattime told me that there was a threat on my life. Journalist Dharmaratnam Sivaramhad been killed and intelligence reports had spoken of moves by the Tamil Tiger rebels to avenge that killing by assassinating me. At that time, I was given aguard of army commandos. They remained with me until I criticized the army inone of my articles. Then the protection was withdrawn.My personal experience should not be viewed as the travails of only oneindividual. The issues that are related to my own problems reflect the conditionsunder which the Sri Lankan media is functioning. But the fact that the state hasbecome a party to intimidating the media and even in some instances by their inactiveness in investigating those responsible for abducting and even killing journalists, a dangerous situation exists in Sri Lanka.
Anchor 4
Tamil Journalists face an even more pathetic situation since 2001.K-P Mohan, Defence correspondent for Colombo based Tamil daily “
Thinakkural 
(THINA-KU-RAL)” was attacked several times by the security forces. Recently,acid was thrown at him. He is still under treatment.
Fade In: SFX Sound of Hospital.mp3 Act 2, Mohan.mp3 (M- In Tamil)
During the last decade, I have faced several problems from the police andsecurity forces. In 2002, I was attacked by the Sri Lankan Air Force. However, sofar, neither the police nor any law enforcement agency has taken any legalaction. If we take legal action against them, they will intimidate us. My family hasleft my house and now live in different places to avoid trouble.
 
Anchor 5
The security forces, the L-T-T-E, Karuna faction, and the paramilitary groups arethreatening journalists, especially in the North and East provinces. Renewedviolence against journalists has become routine. The President and other government leaders have on many occasions have called journalists, whoexpress their frank and sincere views, traitors. Sunanda Deshapriya (DESH-AHA-PRIYA) of the Free Media Movement has to say this…
Act 3, Sunanda 1.mp3 (M - In English)
Media in Sri Lanka is aptly described by the report of the international missionwhich came to Sri Lanka in October 2006. Its title is Struggle for Survival… Therehas been a real struggle if you look at the situation in the North and East.Batticaloa is another Jaffna, in Batticaloa you don’t find any experienced journalist today. All of them had left the city because of threats from many sides.Journalists in Trincomalee and Ampara are also facing a really difficult situation.L-T-T-E, Karuna faction, government military forces everyone wants journalists towrite as they want. 
Anchor 6
 The government says it is encouraging free media and respects it. But actions of some ministers prove to be contrary. Health and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala(SIRI-PAALA) De Silva has compared journalists to rabid dogs and said thatdrastic regulations should be introduced to control them. These comments wereexpressed after journalists exposed major frauds in their ministries.
Daily Mirror 
Editor Ms. Champika Liyanarachchi (LIYA-NARA-CHI) waspersonally threatened and intimidated by Colonel Gotabhaya Rajapaksa (RAJA-PAK-SHE), the Defence Secretary, who is also President Mahinda Rajapaksa’sbrother.
Fade In: SFX Sound of Paper Printing.mp3
Anchor 7
Several Tamil news papers and magazines had been burnt. Newspaper agentshave been threatened against distributing Tamil newspapers. Offices of somenewspapers have been ransacked and burnt, while others have been bombed.These incidents caused immense hardships to journalists to carry out their duties.Scarcity of printing material in Jaffna peninsula has seriously hampered printingactivities in the district. Newspaper companies have drastically reduced the
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