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Violence
threatening press freedom in Lanka
The Media Monitor 2004 contains country reports on Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Afghanistan. Journalists were reminded of the sacrifices made by their colleagues throughout the world and of the threats that many faced both in Sri Lanka and abroad. As many as 71 journalists were killed in America, Africa, West Asia, Europe, Central Asia and Asia last year, one of the worst years for journalists world-wide. World Press Freedom Day was being commemorated in Sri Lanka in the immediate aftermath of the abduction and assassination of free lance journalist and political commentator Dharmaretnam Sivaram alias Taraki. Speaking on the occasion Press Complaints Commission, Dispute Resolution Council member Javid Yusuf said violence had threatened press freedom in Sri Lanka and the threat is not limited only to media practitioners, but goes down to the very root of democracy. Mr. Yusuf, a former principal of Zahira College and former ambassador to Saudi Arabia said it was the duty of the press to report factually correct information and provide space for diverse opinions. " Sri Lanka is at a crucial stage in its contemporary history with numerous complicated problems. There is a need to provide the benefit of informed opinion from various sectors so that policy makers can take correct decisions and the public be properly informed", Mr. Yusuf said. President of the Editors' Guild and editor of the Lankadeepa Siri Ranasinghe said the right to access of information for journalists should receive legal recognition. The word 'journalist ' must be enshrined in statutes relating to freedom of information for press freedom to be meaningful in Sri Lanka. He said in advanced democracies in Europe, journalists were given special rights in laws relating to freedom of information, which is now considered a human right in those countries. Mr. Ranasinghe said there was greater information available now than in the 1980s and 1990s especially when the broadcast media was limited to the State, and the print media faced newsprint quotas compelling newspapers to limit circulation despite increasing demand for news by the people. He said he was proud to be the President of the Editors' Guild, which had been in the forefront of the battles for press freedom with social responsibility in Sri Lanka during the past decade. Chief Executive Officer of the Press Complaints Commission Manique Mendis outlined the work of the self-regulatory mechanism that prevails in Sri Lanka and added that press freedom cannot be enjoyed without responsibility. She said October 2003 will be recorded as a landmark in Sri Lanka's media history with the adoption of the Press Complaints Commission which was set up by the press itself in line with the self-regulatory systems in the UK and Sweden. She said the relative degree of press freedom that exists in Sri Lanka today has been won through the relentless struggles of brave journalists and editors over recent years. Mr. Johan Romares, the Representative of FOJO, the Swedish Institute for Further Education of Journalists which is assisting the newly set up College of Journalism functioning under the aegis of the SLPI said the killing of a journalist is the last resort of forces opposing open discussion and democracy. He said that as Sri Lanka commemorates World Press Freedom Day, it was incumbent upon the authorities to bring the killers of journalist Sivaram to justice. Mr. Romares said the defence of press freedom was very much part of the journalist's responsibility as well. He said that irresponsible journalism itself was a threat to press freedom and the profession should be on the watch for forces that exploit it. He said the lack of resources and editorial censorship as well as the vulnerability of journalists to bribery due to their low incomes were other factors that made inroads into press freedom. The SAFMA Media Monitor reported the killing of veteran Tamil journalist Iyadurai Nadesan, the harassment of Lankadeepa journalist W.G Gunaratne at the hands of UNP MP Sagala Ratnayake, a 12 member Human Rights Commission slamming the Government of Sri Lanka for restricting the right to freedom of expression of Ravaya editor Victor Ivan, the killing of photo-journalist Lanka Jayasundara by a grenade attack on the popular Indian mega-star Shahrukh Khan's concert in Colombo, and the harassment of Tamilnet editor D. Sivaram by the police searching his house prior to his killing last week. At the launch, participants observed a minute's silence in memory of the slain journalist. President of the SAFMA Sri Lanka chapter Lakshman Gunasekera said the objective of the Media Monitor was to protect the rights and freedoms of all journalists and to monitor them in the South Asian region. " SAFMA that has members from all SAARC countries except from Nepal and Bhutan hopes to build up journalism in the region by making sure there is accurate and unbiased reporting. In the meantime it strives to make sure that journalists can do their duties without any hindrance or threat to their lives," he said. The Media Monitor 2004 which was formally launched on Tuesday is an annual report which records attacks on the press and other media institutions in the South Asian region. The objective of the Media Monitor is not to malign any Government or party, but to attract their attention to the need to safeguard the lives of journalists as they face great threats in their line of duty, a SAFMA official said. |
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