The International Federation of
Journalists is shocked that the systematic campaign of threats and harassment
carried out against Uthayan,
a Tamil newspaper in the northern Sri Lankan city of Jaffna,
has culminated in a “final warning” to shut down or risk lethal retaliation.
According to reports received from
IFJ sources in Sri Lanka, a letter
written to all Uthayan staff and news agents on June 27, and purporting to be a “final warning”, accused the newspaper of being “pro-terrorist” and
of “confusing” the Tamil people of Sri Lanka from the time it began
publication.
With “harmony and liberty” now
purportedly regained in Sri
Lanka,
Uthayan was working towards “destroying the permanent peace and (causing) the
public to turn to terrorists again,
the letter said. The newspaper’s reports allegedly “twisted” the truth and
promoted “communal feelings among the Tamils”.
“This is a potentially lethal
escalation in the campaign of intimidation against Uthayan”, said IFJ General Secretary Aidan
White. “Despite suffering serious public vilification and
numerous violent attacks directed at its staff and its premises, Uthayan has continued to publish over the
years and earned a well-deserved reputation for editorial courage and conviction”.
“All through the years of the
country’s bitter internal conflict, Uthayan and its sister-publication, the
Colombo-based Tamil daily, Sudar
Oli, were a vital platform for
the dispersed Tamil community of Sri Lanka to make their voices
heard”.
In the most recent incident of
violent intimidation that it suffered,
news agents for Uthayan and two other Tamil newspapers of Jaffna, Valampuri and Thinakkural were
attacked early on the morning of June 24 as they began distributing the day’s
editions.
Earlier,
Nadesapillai Vithyatharan, editor of
Uthayan’s sister-publication, Sudar
Oli, was detained on February 26
in an abduction-style manner which the Sri Lankan authorities justified at the
time on the grounds that he was a “wanted person”. Officials of the Crime
Branch of the Sri Lankan police requested an extension of his detention on
March 18 while his alleged involvement in an insurgent air raid on Colombo on February 20
was investigated.
Vithyatharan was released on April
27 without charge.
In the light of the accusations made
in the recent anonymous letter and the clear warning that Uthayan should
shut down by June 30 or risk “capital punishment”,
the IFJ calls on the authorities in Sri Lanka to publicly condemn this
act of intimidation and provide all appropriate security to the staff and the
premises of the newspaper.
For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific
on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ
represents over 600,000 journalists
in 120 countries