SLFP suspends disciplinary action against members

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has decided to suspend disciplinary action against errant party members because of the lack of support from the party hierarchy for such action, a senior party source said yesterday.

He said the main reason for this decision was the failure to take disciplinary action against controversial minister Mervyn Silva.

“It is more than two weeks now since the party’s Central Committee called for an explanation from Minister Mervyn Silva on his public utterances embarrassing President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the party. He is still to respond to our letter and it seems it will never come. Therefore, we have decided to suspend all disciplinary proceedings against party members until a decision is taken against Minister Silva,” the source said. He said the remarks that had been reportedly made by Minister Mervyn Silva that no one could take action against him as long as President Rajapaksa was the President of this country was uncalled for and highly damaging to President Rajapaksa and the party.

The source, who is also a senior member of the SLFP, said the party headquarters had received several complaints against party members, SLFP members of Pradeshiya Sabhas, Urban Councils, Provincial Councils and Parliament.

He said the complaints relate to corruption, fraud and violation of party regulations but the Central Committee was not in a position to take action on these complaints because of the Mervyn Silva factor though a majority of these complaints were well substantiated. The source said not only SLFP members but almost all United People’s Freedom Alliance ( UPFA) members have been embarrassed by the untoward actions and controversial remarks of maverick minister, who gives the impression that he has been given a free hand to behave in this manner.

He said ministers were regularly questioned at news briefings about Minister Silva’s behaviour and they found themselves extremely helpless on these occasions.

“Even the government spokesmen have been thoroughly embarrassed on several occasions when responding to questions about this minister’s behaviour,” the source said and added that given this background and until the controversy surrounding Minister Silva is cleared up, the party would not resume disciplinary action against any other SLFP member because it would be an act of injustice should the party go ahead with disciplinary action against them.
BY SANDUN A. JAYASEKERA
Source: Daily Mirror – Sri Lanka

Now criminal white Van trails behind artistes

Two of Sri Lanka’s popular artistes have been subjected to death threats , according to reports reaching Lanka e news.

One of them who received threats is an artiste who had participated in a number of electronic media programs and is popular for being candidly critical of the political situation in the country. He had received a number of death threats by phone over the last several days. The caller’s number however could not be identified. The murderous callers have warned him against taking part in the programs , and that if he does not desist , he would have to face the white Van and its criminals.

The other artiste under death threat is , a son of a doyen (a senior artiste ) in the same field. He is employed in a State media Institution. When the regime had asked the senior artiste to create a drama on ‘nelum pokuna’ (lotus pond) – ( a white elephant of a drama ), he had replied that if only the present ‘army administration’ is eliminated , he could produce the requested drama .The regime which was provoked and enraged over this , had started maneuvering to axe this artiste , and after ‘pumping’ money towards the other artistes, had pretended that its ‘lotus pond’ project is a success. Thereafter , the criminal white Van had been sent by the Idi Mahin regime to trail behind the son of this senior artiste.

It is learnt that these two artistes are now keeping a low profile after getting security detail to protect themselves.

May we recall , when the Idi Mahin brutal murderous regime was abducting the Tamils in its infamous criminal white van and when the victims went missing , the artistes remained silent calling the victims , ‘they are tigers’. Subsequently when the Muslims were abducted , they said , ‘those thambys are being abducted because they must have supported the Tigers’ and kept quiet. Thereafter when ‘criminals’ were abducted , they alleged ,’ those are heroin peddlers’, and remained quiet . When the media personnel were abducted and they were caused to disappear , they dismissed it saying ‘ those are the media which wrote in support of the NGOs’. Even when attempts were publicly made to abduct the SLFP Mayor of the Govt. itself elected on people’s votes at local polls , they ignored it saying , ‘after all , he was not abducted , hence why worry’. Now , the white Van has started coming after the very artistes who didn’t care two hoots when the white van was abducting others. Now , are the artistes going to say , ‘nothing to worry they are after only those two artistes, not us’? . Are the religious leaders , the intelligentsia and the law abiding citizens also going to stand idle and watch all these heinous crimes being committed in their own midst before their own eyes with complete impunity , and continue saying selfishly,’after all when we are safe , why worry’.
LeN

Halt the Slander Campaign Against Sri Lanka’s Journalist Union Leader

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins partners and affiliates in condemning a campaign of slander and vilification that has been launched against the leader of the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA) through state-controlled media.

The IFJ learns from sources in Sri Lanka that on March 22, the state-controlled ITN channel carried a news item claiming that it would soon be exposing a “traitor”, while showing pictures of Gnanasiri Koththigoda, president of the SLWJA in the background. The anchor-person referred to a number of journalists forced into exile by the climate of intimidation as “media traitors” and crudely suggested that Koththigoda was through his news reporting in Colombo, aiding the cause of secession espoused by sections of the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.

The SLWJA is an IFJ affiliate of long standing. One of Koththigoda’s predecessors as SLWJA president, Poddala Jayantha, has been living in exile since January 2010 after suffering a brutal assault in June the previous year that has left him with permanent disabilities.

“We are shocked at the continuing violence of the rhetoric employed by government officials and the state-owned media outlets, despite the spirited protests of journalists within Sri Lanka”, said the IFJ Asia-Pacific.

As already noted, the rhetoric began escalating when Sri Lanka’s journalists began a campaign in January demanding accountability for attacks on the press during the country’s long civil war against Tamil separatism. It became shriller still after the U.N. Human Rights Council in March adopted a resolution censuring Sri Lanka for its failure to act against suspected war crimes during the last phase of the conflict.

The IFJ learns that Koththigoda on March 23, took up the matter of the threatening tone of ITN’s coverage with Sri Lanka’s Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene. The minister then reportedly called up ITN’s director for news, Sudarman Raddeligoda, and obtained an assurance that the attacks would cease. Yet the attacks have continued according to IFJ sources in Sri Lanka.

“We learn that the ITN news director was an unsuccessful candidate for parliament on a ruling party ticket during the last general elections in Sri Lanka”, said the IFJ Asia-Pacific.

“His role in unleashing a torrent of abuse against courageous journalists speak up for the cause of national reconciliation, speaks of the complete demolition of institutional autonomy and independence in the atmosphere of triumphalism that has followed the end of the civil war”.

The IFJ urges the Sri Lankan authorities to restrain the strident voices being aired through ITN and other government-controlled media outlets.

“A drastic change in the tone of the engagement between the government and independent media is long overdue in Sri Lanka”, said the IFJ Asia-Pacific.

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0950

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries

Alarming Increase in Hostile Rhetoric, Threats of Reprisals against Journalists in Sri Lanka – IFJ

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly deplores the alarming escalation in hostile rhetoric and the barely concealed threats of reprisals that have been made against some of the country’s leading journalists and human rights defenders by representatives of the Sri Lankan government and by state-owned media outlets.

This follows the adoption of a resolution by the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on March 22, in which the Sri Lankan government was censured for rampant human rights violations during the last phases of the country’s long civil war and urged to initiate urgent measures of reconciliation to ensure a durable peace between the country’s main ethnic groups.

“We observe that state-owned media has in the days since the U.S. made known its intention to table a censure resolution against the Sri Lankan government, been rapidly ramping up the tone of its attacks on the country’s journalists and media freedom defenders,” said the IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park

On January 26, Dinamina, the Sinhala-language daily from the state-owned Associated Newspapers (or Lake House) group, carried a story quoting senior minister, Keheliya Rambukwella, to the effect that exiled journalists who had taken up the campaign for human rights and reconciliation were “traitors” who were bringing the country into “disrepute”.

Later, the English-language daily from the Lake House group, the Daily News, reported that human rights defenders, including journalist and press freedom campaigner Sunanda Deshapriya, were betraying Sri Lanka and continuing to work with the terrorist rump of the defeated Tamil insurgent group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

In an editorial on March 16, Dinamina described human rights defenders as “degenerates” and denounced Deshapriya as a “mouthpiece of the LTTE”. It warned that in a country like Iran, “these kinds of bastards would be stoned to death”.

Dharmasiri Lankapeli, one of the veteran leaders of the Federation of Media Employees’ Trade Unions (FMETU) has also been targeted by the state-owned media. The attacks have become particularly harsh since the country’s main professional media associations and journalists’ unions joined hands for a “black January” observance this year, to protest against the continuing climate of impunity for attacks on the right to free speech.

The attacks have also extended to social scientists and political commentators such as P. Saravanamuttu, Nimalka Fernando and Sunila Abeysekara, and prominent figures of the church who have argued the cause of national reconciliation and accountability for human rights abuses since the end of the civil war.

The government-controlled ITN TV channel has been a platform for severe verbal assaults against journalists and human rights defenders. Between January 9 and 24, the channel carried no fewer than five programmes in its daily slot titled “Vimasuma” attacking journalists who had been present during the nineteenth regular session of the UNHRC, for having allegedly “betrayed” the country.

The IFJ learns that vivid and graphic photo-montages have been circulated by various political actors, which represent journalists and other prominent human rights defenders as terrorists and traitors, working at the behest of alien forces.

On March 23, Sri Lanka’s Minister for Public Relations, Mervyn Silva addressed a public demonstration against the UNHRC resolution, threatening to “break the limbs” of any of the exiled journalists if they dared set foot in the country again. Among the journalists mentioned was Poddala Jayantha, who suffered a brutal assault in Colombo city in June 2009 that left him with permanent disabilities, and has lived in exile since January 2010.

Silva has been known for several bruising encounters with the media in recent years and was in July 2009, credibly reported as publicly claiming credit for the murder of newspaper editor Lasantha Wickramatunge in January and the assault on Jayantha in June.

Though he later disavowed the statement attributed to him, Silva’s record as a baiter of journalists committed to human rights and free speech, has continued to cause deep unease.

“We fear that the hostile climate created by the stream of rhetoric from government spokespersons and state-owned media, could engender serious hazards to those who dare to speak up in Sri Lanka for peace and national reconciliation,” said Ms Park.

The dangers are clear and imminent and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has issued a public warning against reprisals that target Sri Lanka’s journalists and human rights defenders.

“We call on the top political leadership in Sri Lanka to promptly distance itself from the manner of hostile rhetoric that has been seen and heard over the last three months,” said Ms Park.

“We urge that serious consideration be given to the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission which recently submitted a comprehensive report pointing the way forward for post-conflict Sri Lanka, after being invested with a wide-ranging mandate by the President of the country.”
For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on (+61 9333 0950)

The attacks on human rights defenders is a rejection of the recommendations of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission – FMM

PRESS RELEASE/14.03.2012
About the security of Sunila, Saravanamuttu and Nimalka

The Free Media Movement condemns, without hesitation, the provocative and hate-filled attacks being carried on by the state media, targeting three prominent Sri Lankan human rights defenders.
The reason behind these attacks is that they have participated in the sessions of the UN Human Rights Council  and expressed their opinions with regard to human rights in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan citizens are entitled to the right to hold a dissenting opinion by the Constitution itself, and the right to engage with the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations is internationally recognized.

Over two decades ago, our President and several other political leaders of the government used these rights in order to take a stand on human rights nationally, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations, and internationally, in collaboration including with the United Nations.  The Free Media movement accepts that, then and now, human rights activists are committed to the same objectives.

The recommendations of the Lesson Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), which are the subject of discussion today, affirm that true progress cannot be achieved without first affirming the rights of Sri Lankan citizens to the freedoms of expression, speech and association. The Free Media Movement believes that the frightening and hate-filled propaganda campaign launched by the state media is directly subverting the recommendations of the LLRC, which the government stands committed to implement.

Sunila Abeysekera, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu and Nimalka Fernando, who are the current targets of the state media, are all three human rights activists who are well recognised in Sri Lanka and abroad as well as within their communities. We can say without reservation that they have played an enormous role, with commitment, in the securing of people’s rights within Sri Lanka. Rupavahini, the state television channel, ITN and the Lake House group of newspapers, all of which are under direct state control, are presently using their photographs and engaging in a violent campaign against them, based on falsehoods.  The Free Media Movement expresses its concern that this contemptible campaign which is portraying these human rights activists as LTTE supporters could result in an actual threat to their lives.

We also want to point out that in the past, members of the Free Media Movement who participated in sessions of the UN Human Rights Council have been subjected to the same kind of violent and false campaign; these threats remain today.
We appeal to the relevant authorities to respect the rights of Sri Lankan human rights activists and to refrain from any actions that could place their lives at risk. We also call on the government to fulfill irs obligations in guaranteeing the safety and security of Sunila Abeysekera, Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu and Nimalka Fernando who are the targets of the hate campaign of the government at this time.

Signed
Sunil Jayasekera                                     Hana Ibrahim (Ms)
Convenor                                                  Secretary
Free Media Movement                       Free Media Movement

Mervyn warns journalists to book coffins

Katunayake (Srilankamirror) – Minister Mervyn Silva has warned journalists, whom he claimed were insulting the president and other important persons, to book coffins for themselves immediately.

He said at a function in Katunayake yesterday (Nov. 20) that he was finding the addresses of such journalists.

The minister said there are lowly so-called journalists who insult important persons.

He asked whether it was the president who should be held accountable for the matter between Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra and Duminda Silva.

Is it the president who should answer, if Mervyn Silva did some wrong? he asked.

The Rajapaksa family that united the nation has now become the culpable.

Sarath Fonseka forgot the past and the country suffers, including attempts to arrest the president, for his doings, he said.

All should unite to face it.

The minister went onto say that certain Buddhist monks had protested against the judiciary, and if not for his being at the Kelani Vihara at that time, he would not have allowed it.
SLM

Death threats against newspaper editor

Reporters Without Borders has written an open letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa urging him to take whatever measures are necessary to protect Frederica Jansz, the editor of The Sunday Leader, and to ensure that those responsible for last week’s death threats against her are arrested.

The threatening letter Jansz received on 27 October was prompted by her 2009 interview with Gen. Sarath Fonseka, a former army commander and presidential candidate in 2010, in which Fonseka accused defence minister Gotabhaya Rajapaksa of ordering soldiers to kill Tamil Tiger rebels who wanted to surrender. This is not the first time Jansz has been threatened.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Temple Trees
Colombo 3, Sri Lanka

31 October 2011

Dear President Rajapaksa,

Reporters Without Borders, an international organization that defends freedom of information, would like to share with you its concern about the threats received last week by Frederica Jansz, the editor of The Sunday Leader.

On 27 October, Ms. Jansz received an anonymous hand-written letter claiming to come from the “Sinha regiment.” It criticized her for her involvement in the “White Flag” trial, in which a verdict is due on 18 November. Ms. Jansz is regarded as a key witness in this trial because of the front page story she wrote for the newspaper on 13 December 2009. It was an interview with former army commander Gen. Sarath Fonseka, in which he told Ms. Jansz that Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had given the order to kill three members of the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) who wanted to surrender. Many officers saw this statement as a betrayal. Gen. Fonseka, who subsequently said his comments were taken out of context, is being tried for making false statements.

The Sinha regiment that seems to be threatening Ms. Jansz used to be commanded by Gen. Fonseka when he was a senior army officer. The regiment is accusing her of providing the judicial system with false evidence.

This is not the first time that Ms. Jansz has been target of such threats. The first threats were received shortly after she had provided the evidence. The Sunday Leader’s journalists are often the targets of all sorts of intimidation. We remind you of the January 2009 murder of the newspaper’s then editor, Lasantha Wickrematunga, which was never properly investigated.

Ms. Jansz filed a complaint with the police after receiving this letter. So far, she has received no protection. As a verdict will soon be issued, we are extremely concerned for Ms. Jansz’s safety during the days and weeks to come.

Although more than two years have gone by since the army’s victory over the Tamil Tigers, media freedom and pluralism have not improved in Sri Lanka, as The Sunday Leader’s precarious situation shows. The chairman of the TNL media group, Shan Wickremesinghe, and its general manager, Sudath Jayasundara, have also received death threats from individuals with close connections to your government. We are worried about the safety of Sri Lankan journalists, who are working in an increasingly fraught environment and are caught between the different forces – political and non-political – operating in your country.

We therefore urge you to give orders for these threats to be properly investigated and to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure that they stop. The Sri Lanka authorities should also be ready to provide proper protection to Ms. Jansz or any other journalist if they desire it.

I thank you for the attention you give to this letter.

Sincerely,

Jean-François Julliard
Reporters Without Borders secretary-general

RSF

Network chairman, general manager receive death threats – FMM

The Free Media Movement (FMM) is deeply concerned about the death threats made against TNL Chairman Shan Wickremesinghe and the network’s general manager, Sudath Jayasundara, by individuals with close connections to and business links with the government and demand that the authorities conduct a proper, in-depth investigation into the incident and bring the culprits to justice.

Wickremesinghe is a respected media professional and is credited with introducing television to Sri Lanka. Subjecting him to death threats and verbal abuse is contemptible and a further indication of the perils faced by people who work in the media, in an environment where media freedom is under serious threat.

Wickremesinghe, in a complaint lodged with the police, has identified a recent programme aired by Isira Radio, exposing the connection between the drop in the share market and the drug mafia in the country, as the most probable reason for the death threats. Isira Radio is part of the TNL network and has earned the respect of the media for frequently debating contentious issues that are of public concern. Subsequent to the airing of the programme, a number of prominent business persons with well-established connections to the government contacted Wickremesinghe and Jayasundara over the phone, criticized the programme and threatened to kill them for airing it.

Given the deteriorating media freedom situation in the country, where notorious politicians, high-profile government officials and various state-sponsored elements have carried out a number of attacks against media personnel and media houses in the past, it is alarming to note that even the private sector institutions and their top officials who have business and other links with the government, have resorted to using terror tactics to keep the media subjugated and docile.

The FMM believes that government attempts to suppress media freedom, and the prevailing culture of impunity where suspects are often given state patronage, has paved the way for situations such as death threats against media personnel by those affiliated with the government. The situation, the FMM believes, has also been exacerbated by the failure or unwillingness of law enforcement officials to properly investigate past attacks against the media or to bring culprits to book.

The FMM condemns the incident and demands that authorities conduct a proper investigation into the incident and ensure that neither Wickremesinghe nor Jayasundara are harmed or subjected to further threats.

For more information:
Free Media Movement
No 96, Kirula Road
Colombo 5
Sri Lanka
fmmsrilanka (@) gmail.com
Phone: +94 115 353 635
Fax: +94 115 335 500
http://freemediasrilanka.wordpress.com/

Five media condemns threats to TNL TV/Radio

Five local media organizations have strongly condemned death threats to TNL chairman Shan Wickremesinghe and general manager Sudath Jayasundara

In a statement, they say the threats were made by several individuals with business connections with the government.

The organizations urge authorities to conduct an impartial and extensive investigation and bring the culprits to book.

The most immediate reason for the threats being issued is TNL’s Isira Radio having carried a programme on the collapse of the stock exchange and the drug mafia’s connections to it.

The five media organizations also urge the authorities to ensure the safety of Messrs. Wickremesinghe Jayasundara.

SLM

Fredericka says faces death threats

Editor of ‘The Sunday Leader’ Fredericka Jansz complained to Mirihana Police around 7.30 last night (Oct. 27) that she has been threatened with death.

According to police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana, the complainant says she has received an anonymous letter threatening her with death.

She is the main witness in the ‘white flag’ case, of which the ruling is due on November 18.

Also, she has strongly criticized the government over the killing of presidential advisor Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra.
SLM