State media launch a campaign to discredit a new newspaper/s

State controlled media has launched a vicious campaign against two newspapers to be re launched in coming months. The two independent news papers Mawbima and Standard Weekly were forced to shut down by the government in 2008.  Now even before the newspapers are re-launched government has launched intimidatory campaign against them. Here is  a  news item telecasted on state controlled ITN TV accusing  the newspapers are linked to war crime campaign.

OPPOSITION MEDIA CONSPIRACY SURFACES  – ITN

Information of a media conspiracy of the Opposition of taking false and vicious propaganda against the country to the world has come to light. Information has been uncovered of a plan by an Opposition Group to launch a so called national newspaper with the prime intention of launching a false propaganda campaign within the country in parallel to the media conspiracy mooted internationally via Channel 4. An LTTE loyal outfit and a political group which receives grants from the world have taken the lead in this move. Informed sources have confirmed that the objective of this weekend newspaper is to sling mud at the Government headed by the President and the Security Chiefs making false allegation through its release.

A group of journalists who had fled the country after going against the motherland in the past are said to be directly involved in its. The same sources have also confirmed that efforts are being made to solicit the support of journalists who are serving in national newspapers by offering lucrative salaries to achieve their ends. Sources affiliated to this newspaper said that persons of certain security sectors which were operative against the country during the last Presidential poll are preparing features to take false propaganda concocting incidents which are said to have taken place during the humanitarian operations. Information has also come to light that some local as well as foreign NGOs were directly supporting this media conspiracy. Informed source said that this media conspiracy had been undertaken with the aim of launching a foreign conspiracy directing the country to a disturbing situation by defeated political forces which cannot triumph through the people’s mandate.

In the meantime another attempt of this group which is working against the country is to further sharpen this conspiracy by utilizing a private TV Channel and a Radio Channel. It has been revealed that the Tamil Diaspora in Europe is extending support to this media conspiracy.
 ITN

Sri Lanka Tamil party says military attacked its poll campaign –

16 Jun 2011/  Reuters
Jaffna, Sri Lanka, June 16 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s main ethnic minority Tamil party on Thursday said the military had attacked its campaign events in the former war zone in the north to create a climate of fear ahead of the first local government polls in 26 years.
Legislators of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which backed the now defeated Tamil Tiger rebels, said supporters were chased away at a meeting in the main town of Jaffna by the military at the start of the first election campaign for 52 local bodies in northern district.

The July 23 polls are the first local government elections in the former war zone in 26 years due to a three-decade war.

“Despite our security guards telling them that we are members of parliament, around 30 military personnel in their uniforms attacked with batons,” E. Saravanabawan, a Jaffna district Tamil legislator told Reuters.

“This is designed to create a fear psychosis among the Tamils to prevent them from attending our election campaigns.”

Saravanabawan said the TNA had lodged a complaint with police at Thellipalai. A police officer confirmed to Reuters that there had been an incident and they had received a complaint.

Two other TNA legislators and three people who were at the meeting confirmed the incident. But Military spokesman Ubhaya Madawela said he was not aware of such an incident.

“There is no point in holding elections if there is not a level playing field,” said Keerthi Tennakoon, spokesman for Campaign for Free and Fair Election, a non-government organist ion which monitors polls in the island nation.

“This proves that there is no environment for people in the north to exercise their political rights freely. There is a semi-military administration in north. The government has a responsibility to allow to have a free and fair election with equal playing field.”

Since the end of the war in May 2009, Sri Lankan government has said it has been doing its maximum to restore normalcy and the current military ruling will be replaced by civil administration in a gradual manner.

However, Northern TNA parliamentarians have complained of violence against minority Tamils, which along with mistreatment by successive ethnic majority Sinhalese governments since 1948 independence from the British colony led to a 25-year civil war.

The conflict that ended with the total defeat of the rebels, who fought for a separate state in the country’s north and east, killed more than 100,000 people and Sri Lanka government is now under heavy pressure by the United Nations and Western nations to set up an independent probe into war crimes committed during the conflict. (Reporting by N. Parameswaran in Jaffna and Ranga Sirilal in Colombo; Writing by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Jon Boyle)
Reuters

Living in clover

Many may sing hosannas to the gods following a little celebrated local government poll in which the ruling party claimed a victory which was hailed by their supporters and media propagandists in familiarly superlative if now slightly wearying terms. But surely did an election claim such little interest among the general public in recent times as did this one?

Inability to be shocked

This time around too, we had Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake, (besides quite amusingly characterizing this as a ‘pleasant election’), castigating government politicians for abusing state resources. Mr Dissanayake should conserve his energies and refrain from even making such statements when it is patently clear that he intends to do nothing about it.

A courageous and principled Commissioner of Elections would have acted very differently at a point long time ago. It is clear that there is neither courage nor principles involved here in any sense whatsoever. But it is also clear that the situation will not be very different even if we had an Elections Commission, given that its members would be appointed under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution on the President’s sole dictates with little effective intervention by a proverbially toothless Parliamentary Council.
Read the full article here

 

Police target Illicit radio stations

By Damith Wickremasekara

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has been called into investigate the operation of illicit radio stations, after a series of detections in various parts of the country, head of the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRC) Anusha Palpita told the Sunday Times yesterday.

He said that six illicit radio stations have been detected and there reports that several more of them are operating in various parts of the country including in the Eastern Province. “We have released a frequency, to be used for broadcasts in schools and at functions, with a radius of one kilometre. This is the frequency which is being illegally used”, Mr. Palpita said.

He said that the broadcasts were being used for various purposes including commercial purposes, and religious and political propaganda. “They sometimes operate for a few hours or sometimes late at night to avoid detection”, he added. The latest detection of an illicit radio station was made in Matale late last month. The station operating from a Kovil in Matale, had a transmitter to broadcast to a radius of one kilometre. Sub Inspector Sunil Yatawatra who led the raid, told the Sunday Times that investigations have revealed that an engineer of the State Radio had sold the transmitter to the person who operated the station.

“We are now investigating as to how this engineer had obtained the equipment”, he said. The station was operating from a room within the shrine room of the Kataragama Devale on a hill. The radio station operator, Alaguraj Rajendran, 43, owns a communication centre and has a diploma in transmitters. He was arrested and subsequently released on bail. Investigations revealed that the station which operated under the name “Om-Shakthi’, was mainly broadcasting commercials relevant to the area. Earlier, the TRC and the Police raided illicit radio stations in Beruwala and Puttalam.
The Sunday Times

Misuse of state resources including media regrettable – EC

EC Disanayaka

The Elections Commissioner issuing a statement regarding the recently concluded Local Government elections stated that it was regrettable how some political parties and groups conducted themselves both before and during the polls and stated that the misuse of State Resources and State owned media was also regrettable.

However he added that concluded polls were conducted in a “fairly pleasant atmosphere when compared to polls in previous local authority elections”.
Daily Mirror

SL Policeman, claiming EPDP, threatens Tamil daily in Jaffna

Uthayan daily has been targeted several times over last decade

A Sri Lankan police constable, claiming to be a EPDP man, entered the building of Uthayan daily in Jaffna Wednesday afternoon and warned the daily over an item it had carried in its Tidbits column involving a school principal recently. The SL Police constable, Ratnathas Pradeepan from Achchuveali, intimidated the press workers threatening to set fire with a cigarette lighter he was holding, the paper said. Publishing a photograph of PC Pradeepn, the paper also said that he was “selected” for SL Police when the police recruited 500 personnel for training.

SL Police Constable Pradeepan from Achchuveali, photographed by Uthayan
When the security police deployed at the building confronted him, Pradeepan phoned one “Comrade Barath” of the EPDP. When there was no favourable response, he made another call and wanted the policemen at the site to have a chat with the “Minister” through his cell phone. But, the policemen on service declined the offer and handed him over to Jaffna police.

Sri Lankan Senior Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Northern Province Gamini Silva has temporarily suspended Pradeepan from service, SL Police said.

Before getting selected to SL Police, Pradeepan has been a strong supporter of the EPDP and was spotted at the EPDP office in Achchuveali, the paper further said.

Uthayan daily, in a news item on Thursday questioned whether the threat posed by the police constable was directed against paper itself or against the founder of the paper, E. Saravanapavan, who is now a TNA parliamentarian.

TamilNet

Political rivalry behind Police arrest of Batticaloa journalist

Editor Ramathulla has been assauked several times ( 2007 photo)

Sri Lanka Police Tuesday morning arrested Puvi Rahumathulla, Chief Editor of “Vaara Uraikal”, a weekly magazine published from Kaathankudy in Batticaloa district, at the instigation of a Deputy Minister in the Sri Lanka government who charged that Rahumathulla was carrying out election propaganda after the deadline on Monday midnight violating the instruction of the Commissioner of Elections. Rahumathulla is currently being detained in the Kaathankudy Police station and is expected to be produced before the Batticaloa Magistrate, sources said.

Civil sources said the arrest of the journalist is due to political rivalry.

The “Vaara Uraikal” magazine has been publishing news reports about alleged irregularities and corruption in development works carried out in the Batticaloa district by state agencies.

Read the full story here

EU is concerned of pre election violence

The EU Heads of Mission based in Sri Lanka are deeply concerned by the pre-electoral violence in Sri Lanka which has already caused two deaths and numerous injured.
A statement by the EU office in Colombo said that the EU believes a peaceful environment is an essential pre-requisite for free and fair elections.
The EU Heads of Mission call on all Parties in Sri Lanka to support a peaceful environment where the people of Sri Lanka can chose their political leadership in a free, fair and unbiased elections, the statement said.

Incidents of pre-poll violence had been reported in a few places while the vehicle of UNP MP Sajith Premadasa had also come under attack recently. A grenade attack was also carried out on the vehicle of TNA MP S. Sridharan this week but it was not clear if the attack was polls related.
News Now.lk

Anger against Mervyn

Minister Mervin the threatening politicians

The opposition United National Party (UNP) and the JVP expressed outrage today over comments made by Minister Mervyn Silva that he will not allow the UNP and JVP to erect their flags in the Kelaniya electorate. UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya responding to a question posed by News Now.lk said that no one can impose restrictions other than the Elections Commissioner when it comes to election propaganda in any district.

Minister Mervyn Silva was quoted in the media today as saying that he will not permit the UNP of JVP to erect their flags in the Kelaniya electorate. Jayasuriya said that there cannot be two laws when it comes to election propaganda and if what Minister Silva says is true then that is an abuse of election laws.

Meanwhile JVP MP Vijitha Herath told News Now.lk that Kelaniya was once a sacred place but now it has become a place for the devil with so many restrictions being imposed by a dictator with no law and order.
Asked if the JVP will lodge a complaint with the Elections Commissioner over the issue the JVP MP said there is no point in complaining but he added that the JVP will carry out its propaganda activities in Kelaniya despite the warning.
Ada  Derana

Three JVP offices attacked, polls violence increase

At least three JVP election offices came under attack last night and today morning as polls related violence increased with more than 100 incidents recorded by the election monitoring groups.

A spokesman for the JVP said that their offices in the Mirigama, Kribathgoda and Biyagama areas came under attack by persons believed to be supporters of the UPFA. Clashes between supporters have increased over the past week with less than three weeks for the local government polls.

Elections in 64 councils have been postponed as petitions challenging the rejection of nominations have been filed by parties or independen groups. Election monitors said that the clashes among UPFA supporters also have shown an increase compared to previous elections where clashes between rival supporters were high.

The Sunday Times