Media Under Threat Again!

• Two attacks on Uthayan within 10 days
• MTV/MBC personnel under threat

By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema-Sunday, April 21, 2013

“Governments that block the aspirations of their people, that steal or are corrupt, that oppress and torture or that deny freedom of expression and human rights should bear in mind that they will find it increasingly hard to escape the judgement of their own people, or where warranted, the reach of international law.” – William Hague

The threats faced by the country’s Fourth Estate is once again on the rise with a second attack on the Jaffna based Uthayan newspaper within 10 days and threats received by media personnel of the MTV/MBC Networks.

Three armed persons around 5 a.m. on the 13th had forcibly entered the press of the Uthayan newspaper in Jaffna and set fire to the press, newsreels and newspaper copies after firing several shots to scare the staff. A few days earlier, on the 3rd, the Uthayn newspaper’s distribution office in Kilinochchi was attacked in the morning.

The Uthayan attack is the fifth incident of an attack on the media since January this year.
Meanwhile, media personnel of MTV/MBC Networks lodged a complaint with the Slave Island Police last week stating that they had received information that the network office and personnel in Ratmalana and Colombo faced a threat of an attack while some of the journalists in the network were under surveillance and targeted.
The Uthayan newspaper has since its inception faced 25 attacks so far and the MTV/MBC Networks has come under attack on several occasions in the last few years.

The MTV/MBC studio in Depanama was set ablaze on January 5, 2009 and just three days later, founding editor of The Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge was assassinated in Attidiya on January 8, 2009 when he was on his way to work.
The Sri Lankan media has been continuously under threat with the period of the final stages of the war being the peak.

Whenever an attack is carried out against the media, it is the government that is in power that holds the responsibility of conducting successful investigations into the attack and ensuring that justice prevails. Nevertheless, the number of ‘successfully’ concluded investigations on attacks on the media would provide ample proof of the media suppression.

Be that as it may, when the press in Jaffna of the Uthayan newspaper was attacked on the 13th morning where its press was completely destroyed, spokespersons for the government quickly stated that the attack was “an inside job.”

Director General of the Media Center for National Security (MCNS), Lakshman Hulugalle was quoted in the media saying that the attack on the Uthayan was an inside job aimed at tarnishing the government’s image.

However, Hulugalle’s comment made soon after the attack does not reflect on the police investigation that is ongoing with the police saying that they are yet to find a clue as to who the attackers are.

Acting Police Spokesperson SP Preshantha Jayakody said the special police teams have been detailed to the investigation into the attack on the Uthayan newspaper and the complaint lodged by MTV media personnel about threats received by them.
“A special team from the Northern Range is investigating into the Uthayan attack. So far there’s no clue on who had carried out the attack,” he said.

As for the complaint lodged with the Slave Island Police by MTV media personnel, Jayakody said that a special team is investigating into the complaint, but there was no evidence to follow.

“The complaint had been made based on rumors, but nevertheless, it is our duty to provide security to them,” the spokesperson said.
Nevertheless, both media institutions, the Uthayan and the MTV/MBC Networks have vowed to continue with their work undeterred.
Proprietor of the Uthayan newspaper and parliamentarian E. Saravanapavan said that he would not take the continuous attacks on the newspaper lightly.

He charged that the newspaper has faced many attacks since its inception and that there seems to be an increase now.
Referring to Hulugalle’s statement, Saravanapavan queried as to how he had managed to arrive at such a conclusion within four hours of the attack on the newspaper press when the authorities are still trying to find the culprits who shot and attacked the Uthayan office on May 2006.
“An investigation is being carried out for seven years to find the 2006 attackers, but in four hours, Hulugalle has found the culprits behind the 13th attack,” he observed, adding that the Hulugalle’s comment should be added in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Saravanapavan said that the newspaper would continue despite obstacles and would not be cowed down by attacks.

The Uthayan is being printed with a lesser number of pages and circulated in Jaffna.

“The web offset machine of the press was burnt. Now we have to print in the sheet fed machines from another press. It is costly, but we will somehow continue until we get another press,” he noted.

When asked if he suspected any persons, Saravanapavan said that two of the armed persons who had attacked the office had spoken fluent Tamil.

“It seems like the army intelligence was working with a Tamil group in the area,” he added.

According to Saravanapavan, he is now exploring avenues to take the attacks on the newspaper before the international community to ask for justice. However, he reiterated that the newspaper would continue with its fearless stance.

Meanwhile, the JVP says that there’s no media freedom in the country and the journalists are practicing a form of self-censorship for survival.

JVP politburo member and trade union wing leader K. D. Lalkantha said that there were once white vans that pursued journalists, which has now stopped.

This, he said, is not because of the establishment of democracy in the country, but because of the self-censorship practiced by the media personnel in the country.

“Journalists are now used to writing in a manner to avoid white vans coming after them,” Lalkantha said.
He observed that the people in the country therefore did not have proper means of knowing the truth and the real situation of the country.

He explained that the JVP is engaged in an awareness creating programme by going from village to village to build a dialogue with the people.

“The media criticizes government ministers, MPs, local government members and members of the opposition. However, they refrain from writing about members of the Royal family,” Lalkantha said, adding that there is a need for a broad movement to fight for justice.

Threat To Media On The Rise Again – FMM

The Free Media Movement (FMM) says that there has been an increase in the threat faced by the country’s media once again.
FMM Secretary, Sunil Jayasekera said that this increase could be witnessed by the incidents reported during the past few months.

“Since January this year, there have been several incidents reported from the North where newspaper distributors and offices have come under attack with the latest being the attack on the Uthayan press,” he said, adding that these attacks, especially the attack on Uthayan on the 13th have taken place in the North where there’s a large number of military and police personnel providing security.

“This shows that the attacks are carried out in an organized manner with the support of higher offices,” Jayasekera noted.
Speaking of the complaint lodged by journalists from the MTV/MBC Media Network, the FMM Secretary said that the police should take action to provide security to the journalists and the institution.

“In January 2009, the Sirasa office was burnt when they had made a police complaint. The security divisions would have to take responsibility if any incidents take place against Sirasa,” Jayasekera said.

He explained that the failure to carry out proper investigations and punish the culprits behind the killings, abductions and attacks on the media has resulted in an increase in the threats faced by the media.

When asked why the country’s media does not have a strong force that could demand justice for the media field, Jayasekera said there were several reasons.

“One is the fear in the minds of media and civil society activists following killings, abductions and attacks on their colleagues. This has resulted in many of them leaving the country. The other is that the media in the country is under a great control. This has resulted in media personnel imposing a self-censorship and they are not even free to write what they really want,” the FMM Secretary pointed out.

“We need to build a broad force that could fight for a common cause,” Jayasekera said.
————————————————————–

Suppression Will Not End – Samaraweera

UNP parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera said that for too long the incumbent regime has left questions unanswered about repeated and debilitating attacks on this country’s Fourth Estate.

“Scribe killers, white vans and armed groups terrorizing media institutions have roamed outside the ambit of the law for long enough. It is a travesty that as such crimes against the nation’s free press go unpunished,” he said
According to him, this consistent assault on independent media institutions is a gross infringement of the people’s fundamental right to free expression and impedes their right to information.

“I call upon all media institutions to shed their differences and stand together in the unequivocal condemnation of this latest threat against Sirasa and Uthayan in the knowledge that while today it might be their turn, the suppression will not end until each and every newspaper, radio station and television station is effectively silenced and subjugated,” Samaraweera further said.

He added that it has become customary for whispers and speculation of impending elections to be followed up by brutal onslaughts on what remains of the country’s free press.

“It is not surprising therefore that a dangerous trend is being set, commencing with twin attacks on the Uthayan newspaper publishing in the country’s north in the space of less than a month and followed up with a threat against the Sirasa Media Network,” he noted.

—————————————————

Attacks Since 2008

Following are some key attacks on the media since 2008:

May 23, 2009 Abduction and assault of Associate Editor of The Nation, Keith Noyhar
July 2, 2008 Assault of senior journalist Namal Perera
January 6, 2009 Depanama attack
January 8, 2009 Lasantha Wickrematunge assassination
January 23, 2009, Attack on Rivira newspaper editor, Upali Tennekoon
March 25, 2009 Grenade attack on Uthayan office in Jaffna
June 1, 2009 Attack on senior journalist and media activist Poddala Jayantha
January 24, 2010 Prageeth Eknaligoda goes missing
March 22, 2010 Sirasa head office in Colombo attacked
July 30, 2010 Siyatha media institution attacked
January 30, 2010 Sealing of Lanka newspaper
July 29, 2011 Uthayan journalist attacked
January 31, 2011 Arson attack on Lankaenews website office
April 13, 2013 Uthayan office in Jaffna attacked
—————————————————-

Broad Front Needed To Fight - Lalkantha

The JVP says that only a broad movement with the participation of persons from all sectors in the country that could bring justice to the issues faced by the media, judiciary and every other sector.

JVP politburo member K. D. Lalkantha explained that the country has so far seen struggles limited to certain sections.

“When there is an issue related to the media, several media organizations take to the streets. Similarly, when the judiciary is faced with an issue the lawyers take to the streets. It is the same with every sector. Even trade unions agitate for salary hikes but all these are done as separate groups,” he observed.

He noted that individual fights could never succeed against a regime like the one that is in power at present. “What we need is a broad movement with the participation of all sectors in the country. We can all agree to fight for a common cause and we could also retain the right to fight separately on other matters,” he said.

He further noted that there is a need for a change in the existing governing system in order to find a proper solution to the issues faced by the country like the lack of democracy and human rights.

“A change in the system would bring about rights to the people including the freedom of expression,” Lalkantha observed.