SRI LANKA Nine recommendations for improving the state of press freedom July 2004 Reporters Without Borders International Secretariat Asia - Pacifi c Desk 5, rue Geoffroy Marie 75009 Paris-France Tel. (33) 1 44 83 84 70 Fax (33) 1 45 23 11 51 E-mail : [email protected] Web : www.rsf.org A few months before his murder on 31 May country has been going through a delicate 2004, Aiyathurai Nadesan, a correspon- period. Some doubts have been raised as to dent in Batticaloa (the eastern part of the whether or not the ceasefi re signed with the island) for several Tamil media, who recei- Tamil Tigers movement can be maintained. ved the prize for “Best Tamil Journalist” in 2000, had told Reporters without Borders: During a fact-fi nding mission in Sri Lanka «We are always caught in the crossfi re. It early this year, Reporters without Borders is very hard for us to check our informa- interviewed dozens of journalists. The ma- tion with both the security forces and the jority expressed their apprehensions and Tamil Tigers. And when a local news article frustrations in dealing with a situation that is released from Colombo, we may face re- has become much too volatile for them to prisals in the fi eld.» His statements attest assert that press freedom is a given in the to how diffi cult working conditions are for country. journalists in Sri Lanka. Nearly 100 days after the new government was formed, Reporters without Borders has decided it was necessary to present Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and President Chandrika Kumaratunga with a series of recommendations that may help to sustai- nably improve the state of press freedom in Sri Lanka. The organisation thereby ho- pes to relay the expectations of Sri Lankan journalists, particularly those of correspon- dents based in the provinces. Reporters wi- thout Borders also urges the international community—notably the Norwegian go- vernment, responsible for monitoring com- pliance with the current ceasefi re agree- ment—to become more actively involved in ensuring the journalists’ safety and free- Aiyathurai Nadesan, killed on 31 May 2004 dom. The LTTE must also adjust its attitude toward the media, so that members of the The circumstances surrounding the murder Tamil-language press can work more safely of Aiyathurai Nadesan—the fi rst journalist and freely. killed since October 2000—are troubling and could threaten the fragile ceasefi re si- Lastly, the organisation would like to make gned at the end of 2001. In fact, the journa- a recommendation to certain Sri Lankan list’s colleagues and relatives suspect that newspapers who sometimes exploit the men close to Tamil rebel leader Karuna country’s ethnical and political tensions at committed this murder. The media minis- the risk of stirring up hatred. ter Mangala Samaraweera recently ack- nowledged that some members of the Sri 1. FIGHTING IMPUNITY Lanka army had aided the Karuna group, which seceded from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeelam (LTTE) movement. Moreo- The absence of any in-depth investigation ver, the latter have been exploiting this col- or trial following the killings or assaults lusion between Karuna’s men and the army of journalists has vastly undermined the to go back on their peace process commit- government’s credibility in terms of its ef- ments. forts on behalf of press freedom. Those who committed the murders of Myilvaganam Reporters without Borders fears that cur- Nimalarajan, Aiyathurai Nadesan, Roha- rent tensions may plunge the country back na Kumara, Nadarajah Atputharajah and into war. Such a failure would undoubtedly Anthony Mariyanayagam which occurred lead to new and very serious violations of over the last four years—and those who hi- press freedom. red them—have never been brought to jus- tice. Reporters without Borders has repea- Since last April’s victory of the United Peo- tedly condemned this climate of impunity. ple’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), headed by It has become urgent for the government to President Chandrika Kumaratunga, the take action. Nine recommendations for improving the state of press freedom SRI LANKA 2 ve repercussions on the country’s future. In the case of Aiyathurai Nadesan—a cor- respondent for the Tamil-language daily On multiple occasions, the organisation has Virakesari and the IBC Tamil radio service— denounced the persistent impunity sur- Reporters without Borders fears that the rounding the killing of Myilvaganam Nima- regime is not enlisting suffi cient resources larajan, a BBC World Service Sinhala and to identify the perpetrators and put them Tamil media correspondent in Jaffna. Des- on trial. Some Sri Lankan newspapers have pite the repeated efforts of the examining pointed out that no minister has publicly magistrate, and the occasional efforts of the condemned the journalist’s murder. That police, those who ordered the crime, and does not augur well for the attitude of the carried it out, have never been tried. There police in this case. On the other hand, the is no longer any doubt that the police are Tamil movements—notably the LTTE—are either unable, or unwilling, to conduct an actively rallying around this crime, as well investigation and gather physical evidence. as the killings of other personalities from the eastern side of the island. The LTTE re- In the case of Rohana Kumara, editor of the cently announced that «the killing of intel- Sinhalese-language weekly Satana (“Batt- lectuals, journalists and friends of the Tamil le”), Reporters without Borders showed in a people is abominable (…). These actions report published last March that the govern- are bound to lead the people of this island ment had committed a great deal of resour- into a period of calamity and destruction.» ces in order to prevent any light from being On 26 June, the news website, www.Tamil- shed on the case and to protect those who net.com, claimed that the «People saw Na- ordered the crime—obviously high-ranking desan’s murderers in broad daylight in Bat- offi cials. Certain witnesses and suspects ticaloa. But no one came forward to identify were, in turn, eliminated. The organisation them because the killers are working with remains convinced that some members of, the security forces.» or individuals close to, the Presidential Se- curity Division (PSD) are implicated in this murder committed in September 1999, as well as in other attacks on journalists. Reporters without Borders is calling for the creation of an independent Special Investi- gation Unit with judicial powers to reopen inquiries into crimes against journalists. The Unit could be supported by some funds pro- vided by the international community. The organisation urges the Criminal Investiga- tion Department (CID), the army and the At- torney General’s Offi ce to fully co-operate so that these murders—all of which have gone unpunished—can be solved. 2. PUTTING AN END TO THREATS Journalists demonstrating after In Sri Lanka, cases involving murders of Nimalarajan’s murder in 2000 journalists have almost always been pre- ceded by direct death threats. Since early In the opinion of an offi cial of the Free 2003, Reporters without Borders has noted Media Movement (FMM) —a Sri Lankan a signifi cant increase in the number of in- journalist organisation—the murders of timidations. During the election campaign, Karuna’s opponents, particularly that of some journalists were upbraided by leaders Aiyathurai Nadesan, may have been possi- or militants of the campaigning parties— ble because of protection provided by the notably the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Sri Lanka army. (JVP)—which is now a member of the in- cumbent United People’s Alliance party. Reporters without Borders fears that the impunity enjoyed by those involved in Aiya- On 3 May of this year—World Press Free- thurai Nadesan’s death may have very gra- dom Day—some police offi cers, under du- SRI LANKA Nine recommendations for improving the state of press freedom 3 bious circumstances, conducted a search in Ramasamy Thurairatnam, a correspon- the home of D. Sivaram, editor of the on- dent for the Lakehouse press group and the line news service Tamilnet.com, known for Tamilnet.com news website, and Shanmu- exposing abuses committed by the security gam Thavarajah, who works for the daily forces. The police claim to have found ex- newspaper Thinakural, had received omi- plosives in the journalist’s residence. D. Si- nous visits in their homes and could sense varam, who is also a regular contributor to that a vice was tightening around them. the Tamil service of the BBC World Service, Despite these threats, they had helped or- maintains that he received several threats ganise funeral arrangements for their col- during that same period: «I have no inten- league Nadesan. They claim that their lives tion of abandoning my job of reporting the are in danger because Tamil warlord Karu- news but I am afraid of possible reprisals na’s supporters have formed genuine death from paramilitary groups. The government squads whose job is to eliminate LTTE of- must do its job and ensure our safety.» fi cials and those who support them. Local journalist associations have expressed their Some journalists told Reporters without deep concern. The BBC’s Tamil and Sinha- Borders that armed groups planned to re- lese services have stopped broadcasting re- taliate for Tamilnet.com’s coverage of the ports from their correspondents in eastern elections and the recent secession of the Sri Lanka due to fear of reprisals. group led by Karuna. Since 25 June, Thanthiyan Vedanayagam, correspondent with the Tamil-language daily Thinakural in Batticaloa, has been in hiding. He published a report on the press conference held by one of Karuna’s former supporters, who claims that she had been under army protection.