Sri Lanka:

Sri Lanka: An Attack onPress Freedom

Murdered Media Professionals2004

1. Aiyathurai A. Nadesan

–

Journalist / 31 May2. Kandaswamy AiyerBalanadaraj

–

Writer / 16August3. Lanka Jayasundera

–

PhotoJournalist / 11 December

2005

4. Dharmaratnam Sivaram

–

Editor / 28 April5. Kannamuttu Arsakumar

–

Media worker/ 29 June6. Relangee Selvarajah

–

Journalist / 12 August7. D. Selvaratnam

–

MediaWorker/ 29 August8. Yogakumar Krishnapillai

–

Media Worker / 30September9. L. M. Faleel (NetpittimunaiFaleel)

–

Writer / 2December10. K. Navaratnam

–

Mediaworker / 22 December

2006

11. SubramaniamSuhirtharajan

–

Journalist /24 January12. S. T. Gananathan

–

Owner /1 February

Culture of Impunity

ATTACKS ON MEMBERS OF THE PRESS GO UNPUNISHED

Since 2004, there have been 34 murders of media professionals within Sri Lanka. All 34murders are unsolved.Since theinauguration of the currentGovernment of Sri Lanka there has been apronouncedincrease in harassment,intimidation, and detention of mediaprofessionals. Police have failed to investigatethreats to journalists, particularly those whocover elections or expose corruption. To thisday, every single murder of a journalist hasgone unsolved and unpunished. The effect of such inaction has brought about a culture of impunity for those who wish to harass,attack, or even kill journalists in Sri Lanka.The Government of Sri Lanka continues tosuffocate anynews reporting that attemptsto accurately reflect the growing nature of corruption and rights abuses.AnInternational Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression Mission to Sri Lanka (2007),consisting of a number of international pressfreedom organizations (including ReportersWithout Borders) reported a

“culture of

impunity with no accountability for verbal abuse and physical intimidationagainst journalists coupled with an increasing and systematic policy of interrogation of journalists with threats of legal action

”

Anti-terrorism legislation was used toimprison Tamil journalist J.S. Tissainayagamfor publishing a critical magazine. Anotherexample of this suffocation of press freedomcan be seen in the actions of the DefenceMinistry, which has repeatedly publishedstatements on its own website condemning journalists by name or by naming theiraffiliated group. The Defence Ministrychooses to label the work of critical journa

lists as ‘traitorous behaviour’,

thusserving to legitimise the actions of thoselooking to intimidate and attack members of the press.

Freedom of expression

is a core human right

Lasantha Wickramatunga

Editor of the Sunday Leaderand prominent governmentcritic. Assassinated in broaddaylight in a high-securityzone regularly patrolled bythe army

–

8 January 2009.

Mylvaganam Nimalarajan

BBC journalist. Shot dead bygunmen through the windowof his study despite beingwithin aSri Lanka Armyhighsecurity zone in Jaffna

–

October 19, 2000.

ParanirupasinghamDevakumar

Jaffna correspondent forNews 1 and one of the lastremaining journalists left inthe Jaffna peninsula. Hiscriticism of both the LTTE andthe Government made himunpopular on both sides. Hisdeath in a knife attack can beput down to both sides

’

desire to create a warwithout witnesses. His deathwas blamed on the LTTE butreliable sources haveinformed our campaign thatDevakumar was killed byEPDP paramilitary under theinstruction of militaryintelligence attached to theJaffna base

–

28 May, 2008.This climate of fear not only affects the rightsof journalists. The Sri Lankan people aredeprived of their right to information as journalists are forced to practice anunprecedented level of self-censorship.

This climate of fear resonates throughout theNorth and the East of the country, wheredaily life is policed and scrutinized by a heavyand imposingmilitary presence. Itremains almostimpossible for journalists to workin the publicdomain. The localpopulation are tooafraid to speak to journalists; and journalists are likewise afraid of reprisals fromthe security forces. No formal mechanism forwitness protection exists for those wishing totell the truth about crimes committed duringthe final stages of the conflict. The formerwarzone still remains almost impenetrable toindependent journalism

–

stifling any efforts toreport on the true nature of the conflict and theissues facing those currently subjected to tightmilitary controls.

LASANTHA WICKRAMATUNGA

The Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickramatunga wasshot dead by gunmen on motorcycles as he drove to workin a high security zone of the city suburbs of Colombo.Wickramatunga was a high profile critic of thegovernment and was subject to a number of libel casesvilification of journalists such as Wickramatunga, hascreated an atmosphere that has legitimized and inspired

attacks against media professionals. Wickramatunga’s

assassination remains unsolved and, like the 33 otherunsolved murders, are all evidence of the state createdculture of impunity that should provide an indictment of

the Government of Sri Lanka’s iron grip on press

freedoms.brought against him.Reporters WithoutBorders released astatement shortly afterhis assassination, holdingthe government directlyresponsible;

“

becausethey incited hatred against him and allowed an outrageous level of impunity to develop asregards to violenceagainst the press.".

TheGovernmen

t’s

13. Bastian GeorgeSagayathas

–

Mediaworker / 3 May14. Rajaratnam Ranjith Kumar

–

Media worker / 3 May15. Sampath Lakmal de Silva

–

Journalist / 2 July16. Mariadasan Manojanraj

–

Media worker / 1 August17. PathmanathanVismananthan

–

Singerand musician / 2 August18. Sathasivam Baskaran

–

Media worker / 15 August19. SinnathambySivamaharajah

–

Mediaowner / 20 August

2007

20. S. Raveendran

–

Mediaworker / 12 February21. SubramaniamRamachandran

–

Mediapersonnel / 15 February22. Chandrabose Suthakar

–

Journalist / 16 April23. Selvarasah Rajeevarman

–

Journalist / 29 April

Attacks on Wickramatunga &Sunday Leader

•

7th Feb 1995

Lasantha and his wife werebadly beaten by thugs ontheir way home.

•

17th June 1998

Lasantha’s house came

under grenade attack

•

16th Oct 2005

Sunday Leader printingpress set on fire.



Jan 2006

Rajapaksa made an abusivephone call toWickramatunga

–

“I treated

you well all this while. Now Iwill destroy you. You don'tknow who MahindaRajapakse is. You watchwhat I will do to you!"

•

November 2008

Defence SecretaryGotabhaya Rajapakshaobtains an injunctionstopping the Sunday Leadernewspaper from writinganything critical of him.

•

28 December 2008

Journalists

’ protest

sprevents the Governmentfrom arresting Lasantha on afalse charge.

•

8 January 2009

Lasantha Wickrematunga isshot dead by unknowngunmen.

PRAGEETH EKNELIGODA

Sri Lankan journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda has beenmissing for over a year and a half. Prageeth wasabducted on 24 January 2010 and has not been heardfrom since. Ekneligoda was an outspoken supporter of Gen. Sarath Fonseka, who ran for the opposition againstthe government in the 2010 elections. There is still nonews of his whereabouts or fate and his abductors arestill at large. There has been a distinct lack of a thorough

and credible investigation into Prageeth’s disappearance.

His wife Sandhya has received almost no response to herrepeated requests for information about her husband'sfate.Ekneligoda is mentioned in a United Nations Committeeon Missing Persons report. The very fact that his case isknown to the United Nations would, in most casesaround the world, mean that a high profile investigationwould take place.

“No other profession calls on its

practitioners to lay down their lives for their art save the armed forces -and, inSri Lanka,journalism. In thecourse of the last few years, theindependent media have increasingly come under attack. Electronic and print institutions have been burned,bombed, sealed and coerced.

Countless journalists have beenharassed, threatened and killed. It has been my honour to belong to all those categories, and now especially

the last.”

Lasantha Wickramatunga

,in an article published 3 days after hisdeath.

This is, unfortunately, not the case in Sri Lanka; wherethe Government continues to ignore the calls forinvestigations into any of the increasing number of journalist disappearances and murders.The reluctance of the Government of Sri Lanka to carryout an investigation into a case

such as Ekneligoda’s,

raises suspicion as to whether this is part of a strategy tocover up their own involvement.