The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to bring to your urgent and immediate attention the serious situation faced by journalists in Sri Lanka.
In a letter received by the AHRC addressed to the Secretary of Defense, Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksha, it is reported that Mr. Rajapaksha summoned and reprimanded Mr. Sanath Balasooriya and Mr. Poddala Jayantha, the President and General Secretary of Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA) over a protest campaign organised by five media organisations against the abduction and brutal assault of Mr. Keith Noyahr, a journalist working for The Nation.
Mr. Noyahr was abducted on 22 May 2008 on his way home from work. He returned home the next day after being severely assaulted. Mr. Noyahr is the deputy editor and defense analyst of the English language weekly, The Nation. Mr. Noyahr’s reporting was critical of high-ranking military officers and the government’s approach to, and the conduct of, the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). According to family sources, threats earlier directed against him had forced him to take precautionary measures.
Balasooriya and Jayantha were summoned by the Secretary of Defense on 28 May 2008, through Mr. Bandula Padmakumara, the Chairperson of The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL). The ANCL is commonly referred to as Lake House in Sri Lanka. The Director of the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS), Mr. Lakshman Hulugalla, who was also present during the meeting of the journalists with the Secretary of Defense later in a press conference on the same day justified the action of the Secretary of Defense and also further reiterated that journalists like Balasooriya and Jayantha have no right to criticise government policies or actions.
Freedom of speech, assembly, association and movement are fundamental rights guaranteed in Article 14 (1) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
The Secretary of Defense is the brother of the President of Sri Lanka Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksha. It is further reported that the Secretary of Defense, while reprimanding the journalists using abusive language, threatened them by saying, repeatedly, that their lives will be in grave danger should they continue to defend the right to independent reporting and criticise the government.
The letter received by the Asian Human Rights Commission, dated 28 May 2008, was jointly prepared by Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), Federation of Media Employees Trade Union (FMETU), Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF), Sri Lanka Tamil Journalists Alliance (SLTJA) and the Free Media Movement (FMM).
Given the fact that such threats in the past have materialised into actual practice, the latest being the abduction and torture of Mr. Noyahr, and the very fact that the Secretary of Defense has threatened two senior journalists of the country, it is imperative that unless a consolidated effort is made from all corners to save the situation, the lives of independent journalists in Sri Lanka are at great risk. It is equally important that international mechanisms like the United Nations and its subsidiary organs engage the Government of Sri Lanka to take immediate steps to ensure the safety of the journalists working in that country.
A similar and equally important role is required to be played by the governments who are concerned about the security situation in Sri Lanka, particularly concerning independent journalists who often play the role of the eyes and ears of the world in a situation as it exists in Sri Lanka.
A copy of the letter received by the AHRC is annexed for your information and kind perusal.
Yours sincerely
Basil Fernando
Executive Director
Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong
Annexure: Please see here the letter received by the AHRC which is mentioned above.
