Media demo against govt. failure to find killers of journalists

Rajapaksha - Fonseka; we want media freedom

by Zacki Jabbar

Eight media organizations are scheduled to demonstrate at the Lipton Circus in Colombo today (12) against the government’s failure to punish those responsible for the killings and attacks on journalists.

Assistant Secretary of the Free Media Movement Dileesha Abeysundera told The Island that the picket, while protesting against the violation of media rights in general will highlight the killing of Sunday Leader Editor, Lasantha Wickremetunga in broad daylight, while he was on his way to work on January 8 last year.

“The damage caused to MTV studios, in Depanama Pannipitya, by a group of armed men, prior to the killing of Lasantha, and the lack of progress in the police investigations’, will also be drawn attention to.m
The demonstration has been organized by the Free Media Movement, Working Journalists Association, Editors Guild, Tamil Media Forum, Muslim Media Forum, Federation of Media Employees Trade Union, South Asia Free Media Association-Sri Lanka Chapter and the Newspaper Owners Association.

no more lies, bring the killlers to justice

IFJ mission identifies key challenges for media after war’s end

SOURCE: International Federation of Journalists

(IFJ/IFEX) – The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today released the report of a press freedom mission to Sri Lanka, identifying key challenges for the country’s journalists and media at the end of 25 years of internal conflict and the inauguration of a new phase of political contests.

Media stakeholders who met with the mission during its visit to Sri Lanka in November identified the current political circumstances as embodying numerous threats and opportunities.

The entry of a former army commander into the race for the Presidency next year has thrown the contest open and provided an opportunity for local media to create more space for itself. At the same time, the heightened intensity of the political contest may also engender threats.

Certain new flashpoints have emerged in the always fraught relationship between the media and political power-holders. Any form of reckoning with the tactical decisions made during the final stages of the war earlier this year and the humanitarian consequences is actively discouraged. Despite this element of coercion on the media, this issue has been coming up in the campaign debates between rival candidates for the presidency.

The opposition’s common candidate for the presidency, General Sarath Fonseka, has made special mention about the abuses suffered by the media during the years of war, especially in its final stages. If elected, he has committed himself to addressing these abuses in a spirit of candour and reconciliation. The media community is encouraged by these commitments, though certain among them recall his own far from spotless record, especially when it involved media criticism of his war-time role as Sri Lanka’s army commander.

The actual record of addressing past abuses has been dismal, with little progress recorded in the investigation of the most conspicuous cases, including the murder of Lasantha Wickramatunge in January 2009.

The report documents the current stage of the investigations into this and other cases. It inquires into the conviction of J.S. Tissainayagam on terrorism charges and examines the credibility of the prosecution case, especially in view of the unconditional discharge of two of his co-accused.

In a climate of intolerance, several journalists are being induced to give up efforts to obtain redress for violations of their rights. The mission observed that journalists are being required to withdraw applications under the fundamental rights provisions of the Constitution merely to be set at liberty after prolonged periods in wrongful detention. In the judgment of the mission, this is a grossly unequal exchange.

Recent moves by the Government to revive a coercive form of media regulation, embodied in a 1973 legislation, have been opposed by journalists and publishers, who have renewed their commitment to a code of self-regulation.

The mission report concludes with recommendations that would set the relationship between the media and the Sri Lankan state on a different course. These include the return of all exiled Sri Lankan journalists, the unfettering of state media institutions so that they are able freely and fairly to report on the ongoing election campaign, the conversion of these institutions into a public service trust, the enactment of right to information legislation, and the addressing of all past abuses in a spirit of truth and reconciliation.

The mission report will soon be released in Sinhala and Tamil.

Apart from the IFJ, the mission team included representatives of the International Press Institute, Vienna (IPI) and International Media Support, Copenhagen (IMS). The financial support of the European Commission and the IMS is acknowledged.

http://www.ifex.org/sri_lanka/2009/12/23/sri_lanka_mission/

Protest against abduction style arrest of editor

Platform for freedom held a protest campaign to demad the rlease of N.Vidyatharan, chief editor of Sudaroli who was abduct- arressted on 26th Februray 2009. Currently he is being questioned at Colombo crime Division, Dematagoa,  Colombo. Leaders of the platform for freedom Dr. Nimalaka fernando, Dr. Wikramabahu Karunarathna, Sirithunga Jayasuriya, Attony at law Sudarshana Gunawardana were among the participants.

release Sudaroli editor

drop chargerNimalka Fernando at the protest

Release the editor Vidyatharan

- Release Vidyatharan

Vidyadaran’s spared from disappearing since the relatives followed the white van

(Lanka-e-News, 01.Mar.2009, 9.15AM)

Committee for Investigating Disappearances says that it vehemently denies police procedure regarding arresting Sudar Oli newspaper Editor-in-Chief N. Vidyadaran.

Issuing a press release, the committee says that it has received complaints that the abductions were conducted by persons in uniforms as well as civilian clothes.

The press release further mentions, We believe that the Editor-in-Chief of Sudar Oli newspaper N. Vidyadaran was spared from disappearing since his relatives followed the white van that was abducting him. Therefore, the authorities had to say that Vidyadaran was arrested formally.

We do not challenge the legal formality of arresting a person under suspicion for an incident. But we protest the police conduct of not respecting rights of a suspect until the person is proved guilty legally.

Police does ‘last rites’ in funeral arrest

The protest statements and comments made to date, of Sudar Oli editor N. Vidhyatharan’s arrest last Thursday, have focused attention on one aspect: the mode and manner of his arrest, mainly on the failure to follow accepted legal procedure and on the use of excessive force. They have failed to take into account the fact that, the arrest was made during the funeral of his close relative.

The statement of the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) states, “If the editor was needed by police, for purposes of an investigation, he or, indeed any other citizen, should have been told why he was required, shown the Magistrate’s warrant permitting the arrest, and taken away without the rough handling that was evident. The method used was, to say the least, deplorable.”

The legal procedure to be followed by the police, when arresting a person under Emergency Regulations, was laid down by the Presidential Directive titled Protecting “Fundamental Rights of Persons Arrested and or Detained”, issued on July 7, 2006, which says that, the arresting officer should identify himself to the person to be arrested, stating reasons for the arrest.

Those acquainted with Sri Lanka’s recent history are aware such directives are issued to silence international criticism of Human Rights (HR) violations and not for implementation. That had been the practice since J.R. Jayewardene’s time. I have personally experienced that strategy during President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s rule, when I was associated with the Government Information Department, to do one of his projects.

An international outcry broke out over the manner in which Premadasa curbed the JVP revolt, and the matter was raised at the UN HR Commission in Geneva. Premadasa, who sent a high powered delegation to defend the government, decided to provide it with a document, to help the delegates present their case. The Information Department was given the task of preparing the report. I was a member of the group that prepared that report titled: “Status Report: HR situation in Sri Lanka”.

The report gave the history of HR in Sri Lanka, beginning with what the four major religions, practised in Sri Lanka, say about them, how they are guaranteed by the Constitution, the legal enactments which protect them, and the regulations and presidential directives which guide their implementation. We also included the pious presidential pronouncements on HR.

We gave the final document to Premadasa for his approval. He went through and said, “Excellent.”  Then he said, “You have not answered the question they are going to ask in Geneva.”  We looked at him, perplexed.  He said, “They will ask what action the government had taken against the police officers who had been accused of committing the excess.”

“But the government has not taken any action against anyone” we answered.

He smiled and gave the names of those who were under criticism, and said, “Take it down” and dictated the answer. “The government will soon initiate action against the police officers accused of committing excesses. Instructions have been given to the law officers to explore the possibility of instituting action against them.”

The paragraph was added to the document and was carefully leaked to the international news agencies. They published the story of the government exploring the possibility of taking action against the errant officers. The international criticism was silenced and the status report was quietly forgotten.

The hurting aspect of the Vidhyatharan incident was that the police chose to arrest him while he was at the funeral of a close relative. According to eyewitness accounts, Vidhyatharan and his family reached the funeral parlour of Mahinda Florists at 9.30 a.m. They joined Sudar Oli publisher, E. Sarawanapawan, who was standing by the body, when three armed policemen entered. Vidhyatharan is Sarawanapavan’s brother-in-law.

One of them started pulling Vidhyatharan out of the funeral parlour. What followed has been fairly well documented in the Tamil and English newspapers.

The fact that the police chose the funeral house to arrest Vidhyatharan, particularly, when the last rights were about to commence, is what hurt the sensitivities and sentiments of the Hindus. I wish to highlight the general feeling among the Hindus, that their sensitivities are not taken into account by the government and its officials. They ask: Will the police choose a Buddhist funeral to make an arrest?

Ignoring Hindu sensitivities began in 1958, with the burning of the Hindu priest of Panadura Pillayar Kovil. Since then, several temples have been destroyed, priests arrested and detained, their holy thread (Poo Nool) pulled out and thrown away, some were forced to commit the sacrilege of eating meat,  Hindu women were ordered to remove their thai during searches, and several such indignities are being committed.

As Jehan Perera correctly pointed out, in an article, the support for the LTTE is a state of mind. Ignoring religious sensitivity is one of the factors- a serious factor- that created that state of mind. In Tamil Nadu, which go to polls on May 13, the fact that the Tamils are ignored by Delhi, in its foreign policy considerations, is getting ingrained in the collective mind of the Tamil people. Film director Seeman gave vent to that feeling in his recent speeches, and has been arrested for speaking against the unity of India.

Tamil people are also voicing the opinion that Sonia Gandhi is seeking to take revenge against Prabhakaran for murdering her husband Rajiv. Kollatur Mani gave vent to that sentiment by justifying the murder of Rajiv Gandhi. He too has been arrested. Arrests never erase sentiments like the ones Seeman and Mani expressed. They may silence the others, but create fertile ground for their growth and spread

IFJ Demands End to Mistreatment of Editor Detained in Sri Lanka

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) demands that Sri Lankan authorities end the mistreatment and possible torture of N. Vidyatharan, a Tamil newspaper editor detained on February 26 and held since then on a vague and undefined pretext.

Vidyatharan, the editor of the Tamil language newspaper Sudaroli published from Colombo and Uthayan published from Jaffna, was snatched from a family ceremony by unidentified persons in a kidnap-style operation. The Sri Lankan police initially said he had been abducted, before clarifying almost three hours later that he had been taken in for questioning in connection with an insurgent air raid in the capital, Colombo.

The accusation was reiterated by Sri Lanka’s Minister for Media and Information, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa.

Vidyatharan’s family has had only sporadic contact with him since his detention. They report that he has been beaten severely in detention and has suffered injuries to his head and legs.

“It is beyond belief that a newspaper editor could have been involved in this lethal air operation that killed three and injured several,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said.

“The IFJ learns that Vidyatharan may have been detained on the basis of certain telephone contacts he had with the northern Wanni area of Sri Lanka during and after the air raid.

“We believe these contacts fall within the scope of legitimate journalistic activity, and do not disclose any motive other than to uncover facts and information about events of public concern.”

In the absence of credible charges, the Sri Lankan authorities have launched a public campaign of vilification against Vidyatharan. A posting on the Sri Lankan Army’s website accuses him and his newspapers of following the “terrorist line” of the Tamil Tiger insurgents. It observes that despite its printing press being set ablaze some years back, Sudaroli has “continued its publication unhindered”.

Apparently with the intent of heightening the fear psychosis within the community of Tamil journalists, the police have called in senior office-holders of the Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance (SLTMA) and questioned them about contacts with Vidyatharan.

“Vidyatharan’s detention and the campaign of innuendo that has followed represent an alarming escalation in the war on journalism in Sri Lanka,” White said.

“The IFJ calls on the Sri Lankan authorities to release him forthwith and account for the police actions in a transparent fashion.”

Editor Arrested and Beaten – HRW

Sri Lanka:
Emergency Regulations Misused Against Journalists Critical of Government

(New York, March 1, 2009) – The Sri Lankan government should either free a longtime newspaper editor arrested on February 27, 2009, or charge him with a credible offense, Human Rights Watch said today. N. Vithyatharan, editor of the Tamil daily newspapers Sudar Oli in Colombo and Uthayan in Jaffna, was arrested without a warrant and, family members said, severely beaten in custody.

A Sri Lankan defense ministry spokesman told the media that Vithyatharan was being held in connection with the February 20 attack on Colombo by two Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) airplanes, which killed three people and wounded 43. The spokesman said that Vithyatharan was being investigated for two reports published in Sudar Oli, on February 6 and 11, but provided no further information.

“Once again the government has arrested a Tamil journalist on allegations that border on the absurd,” said James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch. “And, if the accounts of a beating are accurate, it shows the open contempt the government has for Sri Lanka’s independent media.”

Three uniformed police officers and three men in plain clothes arrested Vithyatharan at a family funeral in Colombo and bundled him away in a white van, family members said. No warrant was presented. A Colombo police spokesman, Ranjith Gunasekera, initially told the media that Vithyatharan had been abducted by an unidentified group in a white van. He later confirmed that the Colombo Crimes Division had arrested Vithyatharan under Sri Lanka’s emergency regulations, which are increasingly being used against government critics.

Vithyatharan is currently in detention at the Colombo Crimes Division headquarters. His brother-in-law, E. Sarwanapavan, told Human Rights Watch:
“After he was taken away, Vithyatharan was blindfolded and beaten severely on the legs and head. (He was beaten) so much that the police had to take him to a hospital to get his head X-rayed. His wife and children have met him twice but have been very disturbed by his condition.”

Staff members of the popular Tamil dailies Uthayan and Sudar Oli, which have been critical of the government’s military offensive against the LTTE, have been repeatedly targeted. Six of the media group’s employees have been killed since 2005, and its offices in both Jaffna and Colombo have been attacked several times.

Vithyatharan’s arbitrary arrest and alleged mistreatment was just the latest in a series of attacks against journalists critical of the government, Human Rights Watch said.

Since 2006, the Sri Lankan government has increasingly tried to intimidate and silence the media, human rights groups, and others with dissenting views on government policies. According to the Sri Lankan media group, Free Media Movement, 12 journalists have been killed in Sri Lanka since August 2005, and 27 are currently in detention.

On January 8, unidentified armed men in close proximity to a security forces checkpoint killed Sunday Leader newspaper editor Lasantha Wickremetunga, a senior journalist acclaimed for his investigative reporting, during his morning drive to work. On January 6, a dozen heavily armed men badly damaged the studios of the private Maharaja Television station on the outskirts of Colombo by detonating an apparent Claymore landmine.

A prominent ethnic Tamil journalist, J.S. Tissainayagam and a Tamil publisher, N. Jasiharan, and his wife, V. Valamathy, were arbitrarily arrested in March 2008 and remain in jail. Their cases, currently before the criminal courts, have raised serious due process concerns.

“As the war in the north appears to be winding down, the government’s repression of the media has been increasing,” said Ross. “Sri Lanka’s reputation as an open and vibrant democracy is increasingly at risk.”

Vithyatharan has previously faced intimidation from government officials.
After the Uthayan office in Jaffna was attacked in August 2006, the government provided Vithyatharan with two police guards at his Colombo home. On August 13, 2006, the security was unexpectedly withdrawn.
Vithyatharan told Human Rights Watch in an interview in early 2007 that he raised the unexpected withdrawal with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at a breakfast meeting of 25 editors on August 16. Vithyatharan said that the president immediately lost his temper and started to shout. Vithyatharan told Human Rights Watch:

“President Rajapaksa suddenly started shouting at me in front of everybody.
He said, ‘I have asked to withdraw your security! No one will come to your place to give you security! You go and ask (LTTE leader) Prabhakaran! You people are praising the law of the jungle! Policemen and security are scared to come to your place since you are LTTE!’ I told him that I am working under your umbrella – it is your duty to give me protection. He started shouting at me again. He said, ‘I am not like Chandrika (former President Chandrika Kumaratunga)! I am a different person! I will hammer you people and teach a lesson to your people in Jaffna!’”

Human Rights Watch reiterated its concerns about sweeping emergency regulations introduced in August 2006, after the assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgama. The regulations give the security forces expansive powers of search, arrest, detention, and seizure of property, including the authority to make warrantless arrests and to hold individuals in unacknowledged detention for up to 12 months. Most of those detained under the emergency regulations are young Tamil men deemed by the security forces to have LTTE ties. Increasingly, however, the regulations are being used against Muslims and Sinhalese who challenge or criticize the state.

CCD Police interrogates senior Tamil journalists in Colombo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 March 2009, 11:04 GMT]
Colombo Crime Division police in Demattagoda interrogated Saturday and Sunday the President of Sri Lankan Tamil Media Alliance (SLTMA), Vice President and Secretary in connection with Chudaroli Editor Vithyatharan who was ‘abducted’ first and later claimed ‘arrested’ and now detained at the Crime Division of the police in Demattagoda, media circles in Colombo said. Some Tamil journalists working for the English media too have been subjected to similar interrogation, the sources added.

All particulars of the persons including their native place, permanent address, phone number and their relationship with Vithyatharan had been recorded as statements in Sinhalese language with their signatures.

The above interrogations were conducted individually and in a cordial manner, the journalists said, according to media reports in Colombo.

This is the first time senior Tamil journalists have been interrogated with the arrest of one of their fellow journalists.

Meanwhile, Crime Division Police have gone to the office of Uthayan Tamil daily in Jaffna where they had interrogated the news editor of Uthayan, sources in Jaffna said.

Chennai journalists demand Vithyatharan’s immediate release

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 February 2009, 19:34 GMT]
Over a hundred journalists held a demonstration in Chennai near the State Guest House on Saturday to condemn the increasing attacks on the media in Sri Lanka and the recent abduction and arrest of well-known Tamil newspaper editor Nadesapillai Vithyatharan. The participants were from the Chennai Press Club, the Madras Union of Journalists, The Madras Reporters’ Guild, and ‘Journalists against Fascism’.

The journalists, belonging to various organisations and associations of mediapersons, carried placards denouncing the attacks on the media and the killing of journalists and shouted slogans condemning the Sri Lankan government.

The demonstration was also directed against P M Amza, Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner, Chennai, who had issued a threatening legal notice to Tamil bi-weekly ‘Naakkheeran’ for carrying a cover story denouncing Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in connection with the ongoing genocidal war against Tamils. Besides demanding the immediate release of Vithyatharan, the protesters also condemned the blacking out of Tamil television channels such as Makkal TV and Tamizhan TV in an attempt to muzzle the free dissemination of information regarding the large-scale civilian casualties caused by aerial bombing and artillery shelling in the ongoing war, including in designated safety zones and hospitals.

They also demanded action against policemen and lawyers who had beaten up journalists and photographers during the recent clash between policemen and advocates in the Madras High Court premises.

Chennai journalists

Carrying placards saying ‘Don’t kill journalists’, ‘Don’t attack journalists’, the journalists shouted slogans condemning the Sri Lankan government, its military and its mission in Chennai. Carrying large-size photographs of Vithyatharan, they shouted slogans demanding his immediate release.

Speaking on the occasion, senior journalists and representatives of various media associations highlighted the perilous circumstances in which the media was working in Sri Lanka, especially in the aftermath of the brutal murder of the Sunday Leader editor, Lasantha Wickramatunga. Expressing concern over the abduction of Vithyatharan, later described the Colombo police as an ‘arrest’, they recalled that well-known journalist and analyst D Sivaram alias ‘Taraki’ had been abducted and was later found dead. They also referred to other attacks on the media, including Sinhala journalists, and voiced concern over the deterioration of democratic freedoms, especially freedom of expression and the freedom of the media, in Sri Lanka.

Referring to India’s stand that it would not support a ‘dictatorship’ in northern Sri Lanka, they questioned how it was tolerating dictatorship in southern Sri Lanka. They charged that Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa and Army Commander Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka appeared to be calling the shots in the administration and were behind the serious of instances of suppression of dissent.

Those who spoke on the occasion included R Mohan, K Venkataramanan, S Murari, T Arul Ezhilan, M Gunasekaran, Prakash, Bharathi Tamizhan, Susi Thirugnanam, Paa Krishnan, Durai Karunanidhi and P Thirumavelan. Participants included journalists drawn from various media houses, including Dinakaran, Ananda Vikatan, Junior Vikatan, Nakkheeran, Kungumam, Tamizhaga Arasiyal, Makkal TV, Tamil Osai, The Times of India, The New Indian Express, Deccan Chronicle, The Week, among other publications

Breaking News on Vidyatharan

(SL  01st   March )

26th March:
10.12 am-Chief Editor of the Sudaroli newspaper N. Vidyatharan was abducted by an armed group while he was attending a function this morning- Daily Mirror

10. 12 am- Editor of the Sudaroli newspaper N Vidyatharan has been kidnapped around 10 a.m today while attending a funeral in Mt. Lavinia – staff official – Ada Derana

10. 25 a.m Editor of Sudaroli newspaper N. Vidyatharan abducted by a group in a van while at a funeral in Mt. Lavinia, police say Sudaroli MD – JNW

12.05 pm- Editor of the Sudaroli newspaper N. Vidyatharan was abducted by a gang who came in a white van says Police Spokesman – Ada Derana

12.22 pm- Editor of the Sudaroli N. Vidyatharan was arrested by the police in connection with the recent LTTE air attack on Colombo – Director General MCNS – Ada Derana

12.23 pm- Sudaroli Chief Editor N. Vidyatharan was not abducted as earlier suspected but was taken in for questioning by the police – Police Spokesman.

RSF defends Vidyatharan

In a news release on February 27, Reporters Without Borders claims it is stunned by government claims that N. Vidyatharan, the editor of the Tamil daily Sudaroli, helped the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels carry out a suicide air strike on Colombo on February 20.

To help refute the allegations, Reporters Without Borders offers the following statement by the head of its Asia Desk, Vincent Brossel, who met Vitdyatharan in Colombo last October.

“I was with N. Vidyatharan in the centre of Colombo on the night of October 28  to discuss the situation of his newspaper when the LTTE launched an air raid on the capital,” Brossel said. “I can state that Vidyatharan was as surprised and scared as I was by this air strike and by the shots fired by the Sri Lankan air defence. He had not made or received any phone calls or shown any sign of nervousness prior to the attack.”

A government minister and several state-owned news media have said the police suspect Vidyatharan of helping the LTTE carry out its  February 20 air strike.

“If these allegations are based on the phone calls Vidyatharan received from the Wanni  or from LTTE leaders, they are grotesque,” Reporters Without Borders said. “A good journalist is supposed to be in contract with all the different parties to a conflict. And if he receives phone calls, he is in no way responsible for the identity of the people wanting to give him information.”

The press freedom organisation added: “Despite the assurances we obtained from the media minister, we continue to be very concerned for Vidyatharan’s safety and we call for his immediate release.” His wife has been able to visit him twice in police custody since his arrest. He had visibly been injured during his arrest.

This is an abduction – Mano Ganesan

Colombo District legislator and Convenor, Civil Monitoring Commission (CMC), Mano Ganesan said what happened on Thursday morning was by all means an abduction. “Unidentified persons travelling in unidentified vehicles with a special vehicle registration denotes something different. Eyewitnesses said men in police uniform bearing arms assaulted bystanders. That is not a legal arrest,” he argued.

Ganesan said Vidyatharan was a respected Tamil newspaper editor and the country should have ‘zero tolerance’ for abductions.

“Any lawful arrest is acceptable. Such arrests can also be challenged in a court of law. There are norms and regulations that govern democratic societies but in Sri Lanka, these norms and regulations are now swiftly fading away.”

He said that the abduction has now turned into an arrest and the culture of impunity in the country was alarming.

FMM calls for action

Spokesperson, Free Media Movement (FMM), Sunil Jayasekara whilst condemning the   kidnapping of the senior journalist, called upon the IGP to take immediate action.

He said the abduction has taken place in a high-security zone, in a city surrounded by police and army personnel. ” The people involved in this incident have used force and carried weapons, forced the editor into a white van,” he said.

Police Spokesperson says abducted, then arrested

Police Spokesperson, SSP Ranjith Gunasekara told The Sunday Leader that the Editor, Sudaroli newspaper, N Vidyatharan was still being questioned by the CCD.

Upon being asked as to the reason for the initial confusion as to whether Vidyatharan was abducted or arrested, Gunasekara said, “There is no confusion. The relatives (of Vidyatharan) went to the police station and said that he had been abducted. Upon investigation it was found that he had not been abducted, but arrested.”

On Thursday, Gunasekera was widely quoted as having stated that an armed gang abducted Vidyatharan.

He later reversed the version and claimed the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) was questioning the editor.

Dehiwela and Mt Lavinia confused

Following Vidyatharan’s family members lodging complaints with both Dehiwela and Mt. Lavinia police stations, the two police stations appeared confused about the entire matter.

When contacted, officers from the Dehiwela police station denied Vidyatharan being arrested in their jurisdiction. Spokespersons from the Mount Lavinia police station refused to comment on the issue.

Not arrested as a journalist – Media Minister

Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa commenting on the arrest said that Vidyatharan was arrested by police on suspicion and not due to his role as a journalist.

He said once the investigations and examinations are concluded, he may be charged if there is any cause for pressing charges.

He continued, “He is a suspect in the eyes of the investigating officer. When they arrested him, they didn’t know he was an editor or a journalist. They only acted to find out clues with regards to any issue or crime. Everyone is equal according to the law. This could happen to you, me or anyone.”

Yapa further said that Vidyatharan was not arrested due to being a journalist and as such, it was not an issue concerning the media.

Uthayan under attack

The Uthayan Group has suffered untold hardships since commencement, from physical elimination to threat and intimidation.

While Vidyatharan was forcibly taken away, simultaneous telephone calls were being made to Uthayan workers threatening them with dire consequences if they do not leave the country.

Uthayan and Sudaroli have repeatedly been the targets of violence. Six of the group’s employees have been killed since 2006 and its offices  both in Jaffna and Colombo have been attacked several times with bombs and grenades.

War on journalists in Sri Lanka – IFJ

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on Thursday stated that the Uthayan Editor’s kidnap style arrest was part of the ongoing war against journalists in Sri Lanka.

“We condemn this display of thuggish tactics against journalists in Sri Lanka,” said IFJ General Secretary, Aidan White.

“The harassment of media has now reached unprecedented levels and the world needs to speak out against the government’s reckless behaviour.”

“Vidyatharan was snatched from a ceremony without being served an arrest warrant or any reason being given for his arrest,” added White. “His arrest and the official justification for it are consistent with the growing intolerance within the Sri Lankan government of critical and dissenting voices among the journalistic community.”

Journalists arrested

Arthur Wamanan of The Sunday Leader in Mt. Lavinia on October 24, 2007

J.S. Tissainayagam, editor of Outreach website in Colombo by the TID on March 7, 2008

Asoka Fernando of The Sunday Leader arrested and granted bail on November 28, 2007.

K. Kumarathas of Uthayan in Jaffna on June 23, 2007.

Nagalingam Kennyoodsan, ITN producer in Dehiwela on August 26, 2008.

Gemunu Amarasinghe of AP by the Civil Defence Force in Colombo 5 on February 12, 2008 and released shortly.

S. Sivakumar, FMM spokesperson arrested by TID on March 8, 2008 and released.

Indian journalist Ali Ekram at Galle Cricket Stadium while on coverage on July 30, 2008.

Pinsiri Perera of Derana TV in Dehiwela on November 30, 2008.

A.R. Vaamaloshanan General Manager  – by the TID on November 2008 and released with no charges being framed.

N. Vidyatharan, Editor of Sudaroli arrested in Mount Lavinia on February 26, 2009.