A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Monday, November 18, 2019
Sri Lankan journalists fear situation may worsen after polls
FILE-
In this May 23, 2008 file photo, Sri Lankan journalists shout slogans
during a protest demanding the government investigate into abduction and
assault of fellow journalist Keith Noyahr in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Forced
to flee their country a decade ago to escape allegedly state-sponsored
killer squads, Sri Lankan journalists living in exile doubt they’ll be
able to return home soon or see justice served to their tormentors _
whose alleged ringleader could come to power in this weekend’s
presidential election. Exiled journalists and media rights groups are
expressing disappointment over the current government’s failure in
punishing the culprits responsible for crimes committed against media
members. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)
BY BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
POSTED NOV 13, 2019 12:41 AM EST
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Forced to flee their country a decade ago to escape
allegedly state-sponsored killer squads, Sri Lankan journalists living
in exile doubt they’ll be able to return home soon or see justice served
to their tormentors — whose alleged ringleader could come to power in
this weekend’s presidential election.
Exiled journalists and media rights groups are expressing disappointment
over the current government’s failure in punishing those responsible
for crimes committed against media members during President Mahinda
Rajapaksa’s tenure from 2005 to 2015.
And with Rajapaksa’s younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa — the former
defence chief suspected of being behind the attacks — favoured to win
Saturday’s election, they do not believe the situation will change
anytime soon.
The current government led by President Maithripala Sirisena came to
power in 2015 and promised to end impunity on crimes against journalists
and media organizations. But more than four years later, police
investigations still have not led to any convictions on media attacks.
“We are not satisfied with the measures taken by this government in
probing the attacks on media,” said Duminda Sampath, president of the
Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association, the largest media
organization in the country, adding that “none of the culprits accused
of attacks on media have so far been exposed or punished.”
During Mahinda Rajapaksa’s time as president, several journalists were
assassinated by unidentified killers, while others were abducted in
mysterious white vans and tortured before being either killed or
released. The abductions and killings took place during the final years
of Sri Lanka’s long civil war, which ended in 2009. While there are no
proper records to show how many were abducted or killed, Sampath said
around 60 journalists fled the country during this period out of fear
for their lives.
The abductions of journalists and critics of the government in the white
vans was a symbol of oppression during the presidency of Mahinda
Rajapaksa, who is credited with ending the quarter century-long civil
war. The war ended with the military crushing the Tamil Tiger rebels,
who were fighting for a separate homeland for the Indian Ocean island
nation’s ethnic Tamil majority.
Poddala Jayantha is one of the few journalists who survived after being
abducted by a van squad. He was taken on June 1, 2009, just after the
war’s end, and was brutally tortured — his legs crushed, fingers broken
and body burned — before being released.
Jayantha was hospitalized for 29 days. Even after being discharged, he could barely walk for six months.
At the time of his abduction, he was president of the Working
Journalists Association, speaking against suppression of the media and
organizing protests at a time when doing so was considered dangerous.
Six months after his attack, he fled the country with his wife and
daughter, as threats to his life increased. He now lives in New York.
Speaking with The Associated Press by a Facebook chat, Jayantha
expressed disappointment over the authorities’ failure to bring the
people responsible for his attack to justice.
“So far no significant progress has been made on my case. Police have only recorded statements from some people,” he said.
Only a few high-profile cases are being heard in the courts, albeit at a
slow pace, while investigations haven’t even begun on dozens of others.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, considered the leading candidate in Saturday’s
election, served as the powerful defence secretary during the last few
years of the civil war under his brother, and is considered a hero among
Sri Lanka’s ethnic majority Sinhalese for his role in ending the war.
The bomb attacks on Sri Lankan churches and hotels last Easter Sunday
that killed 269 people have only boosted his popularity, with many
looking for a leader who will prioritize security.
But in addition to allegedly being behind the attacks on journalists and
government critics, Gotabaya Rajapaksa also has been accused of
condoning rape, extrajudicial executions and abductions of civilians
during his time as defence chief.
Rajapaksa’s office did not respond to requests for comment from him, but
he has repeatedly denied the allegations. His spokesman Sarath
Amunugama said recently that “all sorts of allegations can be made. But
there must be proof and judicial processes.”
Sampath lamented comments made by Rajapaksa at his first election rally,
when he said he will release all military personnel under detention if
he comes to power. Dozens of soldiers have been arrested over some of
the attacks on journalists, and a few are still being detained.
“Releasing them without a trial would lead to a collapse of the rule of law and the situation will be worsened,” Sampath said.
Steven Butler, Asia program co-ordinator for the Committee to Protect
Journalists, said his group has heard from journalists who are
frightened by a potential Rajapaksa presidency. “Just the prospect of
his election has already had an impact on press freedom,” he said.
Jayantha, the journalist who survived an abduction, fears that
investigations would come to a halt if Rajapaksa comes to power. “All
the investigations on attacks on journalists will be doomed,” he said.
Jayantha was hoping to return to Sri Lanka after his daughter’s college
graduation in New York in June and restart his journalism career in his
home country.
But if Rajapaksa comes to power, he said, “I don’t think I would be able to come to Sri Lanka again.”
“My family will not allow me to come here. Even if I come, I don’t think
I could perform my role as a journalist, especially in a society where
my attackers are still at large,” he said.
Athula Vithanage, a Sri Lankan journalist who has lived in exile in Paris since 2009, also criticized the government’s failure.
He said by phone that he had been planning to return to Sri Lanka after
the change of government in 2015 but changed his mind because “nothing
significant happened” to improve the safety of journalists or to
investigate attacks on them.
Vithanage, who along with other exiled journalists runs a website that
gives details on 44 media workers who were killed from 2004 to 2009,
said if Rajapaksa becomes president, none of the exiled journalists will
be able to return home.
“Whatever hope that we have in coming back will be shattered if he comes to power,” he said.
Bharatha Mallawarachi, The Associated Press