Sri Lanka: 34 journalists and media workers
killed during present government rule
Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) express its serious concern that even after the government’s declaration of war victory and end of war, intimidation and harassment of media and journalists continue with increasing ferocity. People of Sri Lanka are deprived of their right to information and media and journalists are forced to practice an unprecedented level of self censorship.
It is in this context JDS reports with anger and great sadness that 34 journalists and media workers have been killed with no recourse to justice since the present government was formed. Out of 34 killed three were Sinhala journalists, one Muslim and 30 were from the Tamil community. A complete list of all journalists is attached below.
In addition, 10 journalists and media workers were abducted. Journalist Jeyaprakash Tissainayagam, his printer Vetrivel Jesiharan and Jesiharan’s wife Vadivel Valarmathi remain in custody since their arrest over a year ago. These killings and abductions clearly demonstrate the culture of impunity that prevails in Sri Lanka.
The United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government came into power in April 2004 with the present President Mahinda Rajapakse as its prime minister. Never before in the history of Sri Lanka have such a number of journalists and media workers been killed in such a short period of time.
During the same period, intimidations and threats against journalists and media increased unabated. This situation resulted in more than 50 journalists leaving Sri Lanka fearing persecution: Austria 01; Australia 03; Canada 03; Denmark 01; France 12; Germany 04; India 05; Malaysia 01; Netherlands 02; Nepal 02; Norway 02; Switzerland 16; UK 10; USA 02.
JDS supports the 11 point plan put forward by International Press Freedom Mission to redress the perilous press freedom environment in Sri Lanka and pledges to work with all democratic forces within and outside the country to achieve human and democratic rights for all peoples in Sri Lanka.
JDS calls upon the United Nations, governments and other international organisations to put pressure on the government of President Rajapakse by taking all practical means at their disposal to end the culture of impunity and to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.
Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) is an action group of journalists, writers, artists and human rights defenders who fled persecution in their country and convened in Europe in order to campaign for democracy, human rights and media freedom in Sri Lanka.
Executive Committee
Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka
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Annex:
RECORDED LIST OF KILLINGS OF
JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA WORKERS
APRIL 2004 - MARCH 2O09
2004
1. Aiyathurai A. Nadesan - Journalist / 31 May
2. Kandaswamy Aiyer Balanadaraj - Writer / 16 August
3. Lanka Jayasundera - Photo journalist/ 11 December
2005
4. Dharmaratnam Sivaram - Editor / 28 April
5. Kannamuttu Arsakumar - Media worker/ 29 June
6. Relangee Selvarajah - Journalist / 12 August
7. D. Selvaratnam - Media worker/ 29 August
8. Yogakumar Krishnapillai - Media Worker / 30 September
9. L. M. Faleel (Netpittimunai Faleel) - Writer / 02 December
10. K. Navaratnam - Media worker/ 22 December
2006
11. Subramaniam Suhirtharajan - Journalist / 24 January
12. S. T. Gananathan - Owner / 01 February
13. Bastian George Sagayathas - Media worker / 03 May
14. Rajaratnam Ranjith Kumar - Media worker / 03 May
15. Sampath Lakmal de Silva - Journalist / 02 July
16. Mariadasan Manojanraj - Media worker/ 01 August
17. Pathmanathan Vismananthan - Singer and musician / 02 August
18. Sathasivam Baskaran - Media worker / 15 August
19. Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah - Media owner / 20 August
2007
20. S. Raveendran - Media worker / 12 February
21. Subramaniam Ramachandran - Media personnel / 15 February
22. Chandrabose Suthakar - Journalist / 16 April
23. Selvarasah Rajeevarman - Journalist / 29 April
24. Sahadevan Neelakshan - Journalist / 01 August
25. Anthonypillai Sherin Siththiranjan - Media worker/ 05 November
26. Vadivel Nimalarajah - Media worker/ 17 November
27. Isaivizhi Chempian (Subhajini) - Media worker/ 27 November
28. Suresh Limbiyo - Media worker/ 27 November
29. T. Tharmalingam - Media worker/ 27 November
2008
30. Paranirupesingham Devakumar - Journalist / 28 May
31. Rashmi Mohamad - Journalist / 06 October
2009
32. Lasanntha Wickrematunge - Editor / 08 January
33. Punniyamurthy Sathyamurthy - Journalist / 12 February
34. Sasi Mathan - Media worker/ 06 March
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Detainees or Internally Displaced Persons?
By R. Wijewardene
UNP MP M.M. Naushad urges the government to come clean and formulate a comprehensive rehabilitation plan for all the north’s people.
Speaking on the subject of the Muslims evicted from their homes in Jaffna by the LTTE in 1990 the MP Naushad urged the government to devise a resettlement plan for all the civilians displaced by the conflict.
Naushad urged the government to accept and state openly that the 300,000 people held in the Vavuniya refugee camps were not IDPs but in fact detainees as they did not have the right to freedom of movement and were being held on account of government fears that they are LTTE sympathizers.
“They should have the freedom to move when they wish. They should have the freedom to go home. But, they are not having that freedom. Therefore, they are detainees and the government must be bold enough to say, yes, these 300,000 people we are holding in these camps are detainees who need rehabilitation and we are rehabilitating them,” he said.
The MP argued that the genuine IDPs were not the 300,000 held in the camp but the 300, 000 additional civilians who had fled the north for other parts of the country over the last 20 year of the conflict. This number includes the Muslims evicted by the LTTE and the Tamils who, as a result of the conflict, fled the area and chose to settle in Colombo.
In his speech Naushad suggested that a resettlement plan be drawn up for all these people and that a survey be conducted of all those people who had been displaced from the north which makes clear whether these individuals / families wish to return to the north and what land holdings in the area they claim. “When the IDPs have the freedom to go back, how do you assure that they would get back the places where they originally lived? What is the plan you have to do this?”
He stressed that the people now in camps had the ability to care for themselves; “they do not want your food. They want freedom. They want the ability to move out and live with their own people. I would say the northern people are people who can fend for themselves. They have proved it throughout history. We have known them as the most hardworking people that this country has ever had.”
And the MP insisted that any resettlement plan should respect the original demographic composition of the areas. “If we had Muslim majority areas, in the resettlement process you must ensure that it remains a Muslim majority area. If it was a Catholic area, it should be the same because otherwise you start the conflict all over again.”
Naushad also urged that freedom of movement be restored to the north as swiftly as possible. “The Puttalam-Mannar Road, which makes it a very short journey to Mannar from Puttalam, needs to be re-opened. If that road is re-opened, you will find people will start moving even without your assistance.”
He attacked the government for its lack of a coherent plan on the resettlement issue.
“We need to know how these things are going to happen,” and insisted that the problem has to be looked at holistically, with the people being allowed to be part of the solution through their own hard work. “If you say ‘we will first do this and then take these people,’ then you are going to create problems. But if you take the two in parallel we can ensure that the ‘Wasantham’ we are talking about will come to the north very soon,” he said.
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