As CHOGM Opens, IFJ Seeks Accountability for Free Speech Violations

Media Release: Sri Lanka 15 November 2013

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) calls on the heads of government and delegations of the Commonwealth countries, who today begin their bi-annual summit meeting in the Sri an!an national ca"ital of Colombo, to lay a""ro"riate stress on the need for the restoration of democratic liberties and media freedom in the host country, after a #uarter century or more when these have been under severe stress$ IFJ affiliates in Sri an!a have already flagged the issue as an urgent "riority$ The Free %edia %ovement (F%%) has issued a fact-sheet on s"ecific incidents in recent times which show that the &overnment of Sri an!a (&S ) is yet to dis"lay any sort of intent to reverse the severe deterioration in the environment for the media and 'ournalism in the country$ (s recently as Se"tember, the climate of threat and intimidation in Sri an!a forced senior 'ournalist %andana Ismail (beywic!rema, co-editor of the Sunday eader, to see! e)ile$ *er husband +omesh (beywic!rema, business editor of the Sunday eader and their twelve-year old daughter also left the country$ This followed an armed raid on their home in (ugust and an effort to rustle through their "ersonal "a"ers in an obvious #uest for some documents that they may have obtained as "art of their 'ournalistic "ractice$ The F%% re"orts that since ,--., when the last "hase of active hostilities in Sri an!a/s long-running civil war began, more than eighty 'ournalists have fled the country$ The F%% has described this as an ongoing 0war against 'ournalism1$ The IFJ and its "artners are es"ecially concerned at the reign of im"unity which continues to "revail for attac!s on 'ournalists and media institutions, and the constant fear that individual media "ractitioners wor! under$ 2ven if overt measures of coercion are less cons"icuous than during the war years, "olitical and financial "ower is being de"loyed to silence dissent$ 3ictims of gross human rights violations during the war years are de"rived of a forum through which they can articulate their grievances and see! redress$ The IFJ and its associated grou"s are worried at the failure of &S to acce"t any firm

commitments for im"lementing the recommendations of a commission a""ointed at the end of the war, as "art of the national reconciliation "rocess$ The recommendations related to free s"eech and the right to information, though modest in number, are dee"ly conse#uential$ 4et, a 05ational (ction 6lan1 (5(6) announced in July ,-7, to give effect to the recommendations of the high-"owered essons earnt and +econciliation Commission ( +C) did not set down any time-line for the "assage of a right to information law and seemed to gloss over the need to dis"el the climate of im"unity for attac!s on the media$ Following the resettlement of the last of the internally dis"laced "ersons (I86s) from the %eni! Farm cam" in the northern "rovince late in Se"tember ,-7,, media "ersons see!ing to travel into the area to re"ort on the #uality of life of resettled communities, encountered numerous obstacles from military officials whose "resence in the area is re"ortedly, overwhelming$ The IFJ and its "artners observe that the &S is in default on three main recommendations of the commission on national reconciliation9 restoration of freedom of movement for media "ersonnel through all "arts of the country: the investigation and "rosecution of all !nown cases involving attac!s on media "ractitioners: and the enactment of a right to information law$ In addition, the IFJ and its "artners have found that state-controlled media, the Sri an!a ;roadcasting Cor"oration, the Sri an!a +u"avahini Cor"oration, Channel IT5 and the a!e *ouse "ublications, have become forums for verbal abuse and vilification of inde"endent 'ournalists and human rights defenders, often with dangerous im"lications for their "hysical safety and wellbeing$ Further, news websites hosting content on Sri an!a have been sub'ect to arbitrary rule changes and fre#uent obstruction with absolutely no legal or constitutional mandate$ The IFJ and its "artners urge the <6+ "rocess in &eneva to "articularly underline the following ste"s as urgent "riorities for the &S to commit itself to9 The restoration of inde"endence and accountability to the state-owned media, if necessary by initiating the "rocess of conversion to "ublic service media: The enactment of a law covering wor!ing conditions of all 'ournalists and newsgatherers, in line with other South (sian countries such as India, 6a!istan, ;angladesh and 5e"al: The enactment of a right to information law: 6rosecution, on the basis of credible evidence, of all who have been guilty of attac!ing 'ournalists and news gatherers in the recent "ast: and (n effort to bring bac! to Sri an!a all the 'ournalists in e)ile, with the assurance that their safety would be guaranteed by the &S $ (s an immediate "riority, the IFJ urges the &S to order a halt to the stream of hostile rhetoric over state-owned media channels$ The IFJ also urges the &S to allow the free movement of national and international media staff all over the island, including the war-torn northern "rovince, to allow the "eo"le who are yet to overcome the trauma of the last years of the war, to s"ea! for themselves and be heard$