FREE MEDIA FOR TRUTH TO PREVAIL

ESPECIALLY IN NORTH--JEHAN PERERA

28 July 2014
The disruption of two media training programmes for Tamil journalists from the former
war zones of the North in quic order maes it appear that they ha!e "ecome a target
for suppression# $n the space of less than si% wees there ha!e "een at least two
attempts to pre!ent Tamil journalists from interacting with the larger ci!il society& to
share their e%periences and to "enefit from the latest ad!ances in methods of news
in!estigation and dissemination# $n this conte%t the spoesman for the 'ree (edia
(o!ement has said& )* journalist needs to "e trained so that they can do more for
society# The go!ernment is stopping that from happening# +hat they want are
journalists who will "e their puppets#, -e added that he had "een threatened not to
spea at the press conference con!ened to pu"licise the issue#
.i% wees ago& a worshop held in a hotel in Negom"o on in!estigati!e reporting on
the enforcement of the recommendations made "y the /essons /earnt and
0econciliation 1ommission 2//013& which had "een organized for the Northern Tamil
journalists "y Transparency $nternational4s .ri /ana 5ranch was disrupted "y a mo"
who threatened the safety of the participants in !iolation of their rights to freedom of
assem"ly and e%pression# The police had only "een prepared to offer safe passage to
the participants to lea!e the hotel when the worshop was prematurely stopped# 5ut
they were not prepared to ensure that the worshop continued with their protection#
The right to free assem"ly and speech are protected in the 1onstitution and the police
are o"liged to protect these rights of the people& "ut this did not happen#
+hat happened thereafter was equally if not more appalling# The journalists who were
from the North& had to stay someplace that night as they had to mo!e out of their
Negom"o hotel# *ccordingly they were transferred to a prestigious fi!e star hotel in
1olom"o for the night as the organizers deemed this to "e the safest place for the
journalists to stay after their ordeal in Negom"o# -owe!er& there was no peace for
them there either& as they were forced to lea!e that hotel at midnight# *fter the
participants were "ooed into their rooms the security and management came around
a"out an hour later and informed them that they had to !acate their rooms alleging
orders from a"o!e# $n effect this meant that Tamil6speaing citizens of .ri /ana& from
the North were forced out of the capital city of 1olom"o& and sent "ac to their places
of residence in the North#
/*T7.T $N1$87NT
$n the latest incident that too place o!er this past weeend another group of Tamil
journalists from the North were stopped at the 9manthai checpoint that was
esta"lished during the war on the main road from Jaffna to 1olom"o# The checpoint
continues to "e in e%istence& e!en though the war had ended for o!er fi!e years&
presuma"ly for reasons of national security "ut also as a sym"olic reminder of the role
of the military in post6war go!ernance in the former war zones of the North and 7ast#
The journalists allege that when their !ehicle was stopped for checing& pacets of
canna"is were introduced into the !ehicle& and they were all detained# The army
!ersion is that they recei!ed information that the !ehicle was carrying canna"is and
had searched it& to disco!er the "anned item in it#
.u"sequently the journalists were released "ut their dri!er and the !ehicle in which
they were tra!elling were detained# 5ut when they came to 1olom"o they found that
their woes had not ended# The !enue at which their training worshop was going to "e
held& which was the premises of the .ri /ana :ress $nstitute& had "een mo""ed "y a
group who had threatened !iolence against "oth the !enue and the participants if the
worshop too place# This was a practical demonstration of the need for the worshop
organized "y the "y 0ights Now 1ollecti!e for 8emocracy and the .ri /ana Tamil
(edia *lliance on ensuring the safety of journalists& al"eit une%pected# $t was decided
that safety was the "etter part of !alour in this case#
+hat occurred was in !iolation of the spirit of unity of the country for which the thirty
year long war was fought# $t was to ena"le people to mo!e freely and to treat e!ery
part of the country as their own# The pre!ention of the worshop on impro!ing on
in!estigati!e reporting& and on ensuring the safety of journalists& is called for "y !ery
specific recommendations of the /essons /earnt and 0econciliation 1ommission&
which the go!ernment has pledged to implement# The !iolation and non6protection of
the rights to free mo!ement& assem"ly and speech& which are the fundamental
requirements of a free society& as against a police state& casts yet another dou"t on
the willingness and commitment of the go!ernment to treat the recommendations with
the seriousness they deser!e# $t also ser!es to strengthen the sense of separation
"etween the North and .outh which is counterproducti!e to the go!ernment4s
commitment to the unity of the country#
/*0;70 8$(7N.$9N
The targeting of Tamil journalists from the North gains an added significance from the
circular issued "y the go!ernment4s N;9 .ecretariat less than a month ago#
*ccording to this circular all N;9s are directed to act within their mandate and are
prohi"ited& in particular& from engaging with the media# The circular states )$t has "een
re!ealed that certain Non ;o!ernmental 9rganisations conduct press conferences&
worshops& trainings for journalists and press releases which is "eyond their mandate#
+e reiterate that Non ;o!ernmental 9rganisations should pre!ent from such
unauthorized acti!ities with immediate effect#, $t is significant that the N;9 .ecretariat
was "rought under the um"rella of the 8efence (inistry after the end of the war# This
suggests a thining that emphasizes national security and sees ci!il society& N;9s
and the media as threatening hard won gains of the war#
The attempt to muzzle ci!il society and isolate those who are adopting a critical
approach towards the go!ernment is unliely to "e a !ia"le or constructi!e prospect#
+ith methods of communication easily accessi"le on mo"ile phones it is impossi"le to
pre!ent !ideos and testimonies from "eing sent from one part of the world to another#
This can "e seen in the case of ongoing military actions in :alestine# +hat is
happening in :alestine is taen to the mainstream media !ia the social media# :eople
throughout the world are therefore a"le to see the different sides of the pro"lem#
.uppression of the truth is counterproducti!e# $t is only healing of wounds of wrongs
done& mutual accommodation and ensuring they will ne!er happen again that is the
way forward#
$n this case there is medical e!idence that the children ha!e "een raped# The failure to
in!estigate the matter thoroughly will gi!e rise to more allegations that such incidents
are more widespread than reported# The tension "etween military and ci!ilian interests
are not uncommon in all parts of the world# 1rises ha!e periodically erupted in Japan
o!er rapes "y <. ser!ice personnel stationed in "ases there# 5ut in those cases there
is an in!estigation& the truth is ascertained and disciplinary action is taen# $n the .ri
/anan situation the large presence of military personnel in areas where there are
scores of utterly poor and women6headed households reco!ering from three decades
of war is a recipe for a"use unless strict systems of monitoring and accounta"ility are
in place# $nstead of treating Tamil journalists from the North as a security threat and
pre!enting them for impro!ing their sills in reporting and interacting with colleagues in
the .outh & the go!ernment needs to correct the pre!ailing situation at the ground
le!el# This is the way forward to national unity& not trying to suppress the truth#
Posted by Thavam